Blind Eye Photography

Well, to start I need to say I have been doing photography all my life, from as far back as I can remember. As a kid right on up till now the bigger kid
I am today. I was of course the hobby photographer and then married in to a family of professionals that set the hook in me to become more serious.
I used SLR cameras for the longest time when I started to notice my shots were continuously blurry no matter what correction I was doing with focus on
The camera. Off to eye doc to get "better" glasses or contacts so I thought. This is when I was diagnosed with RP (10 yrs now) so, for a while I let
My photography sit on the side as I became depressed and annoyed, angry, all those normal emotions one feels going thru this.
Then the day came I just decided "to hell with it" I can make this work, just take more time deciding what shot I was taking, what I was doing and most
Of all if I needed help. My husband Dan is big on telling me I can do anything, so he has encouraged my love of photography in any way he can.
Now I have a DSLR (digital SLR) and I am loving my photography more and more every time I go out and get my WOW shots. I love to take pictures of nature
and sometimes I will have to ask Dan where a bird I hear is and he helps me by pointing me in the right direction but I am the one taking the photo, (we
Are a great team). Dan generally tells me using a clock as a locator for me, it works pretty good. I also use the eyepiece on my camera not the LCD screen
As I cannot see it, so the eyepiece helps keep out light when I am trying to focus in on my shot. Many shots I have taken I don't know what I have until
I get home to my computer, so it is sometimes a wonderful surprise on my screen.
Being visually impaired I do have to really take my time, pick my shots carefully, if I am looking for something specific, but if I am just having fun out
with my husband and dogs, I just aim and shoot.
TTFN Nora Devane, California
"My Sunshine Does Not Come From the Skies,
It Comes From the Love in My Dog's Eyes"
ahttp://blind-eye-photog.blogspot.com/

Story by RP Friend

 
As with any animal, the love and affection you feel and receive from your guide dog can be overwelming. My decision back in 2000 to get a guide has turned
out to be one of the most important decisions I have made in my life. Although a lot of work and love goes into these pups, the love and willingness of
these great pups to please you and make your life and mobility a more pleasurable experience can't be fully expressed in words. We must remember, however,
guide dogs aren't for everyone. You must be prepared for the responsibility and work it takes to keep these pups up in their training and health. The better
you take care of them, the better they will take care of you. 
The RP experience can be a long and drawn out roead full of self pity, depression, stress and worry due to its constant changing nature. I believe the inconsistancy
of this disease to remain stable is the main factor that makes this disease and its constant attack on the vision wittling it down step by step is what
makes RP stand out from other eye disorders. At age 56 I have fully traveled my RP road reaching the point where I am fully totally blind, for some of
you this may seem the most frightening thing that could possibly happen. However, I am fully comfortable with my life at this point. The constant change
in my vision from year to year in the past took more of a toll on me metally then dealing with being stable for once in my life. Because I have fully traveled
the RP road, I do feel pain for those who have the long road ahead of them. Fortunately I believe that with science and research moving at such a high
rate of speed and the many breakthroughs due to this research, I hold big hopes that others may not have to fully go down this long and sometimes painful
path. 
Daniel R. Huhn, Missouri  

Stories by RP Friends

The Path to a Guide Dog

By Larry Marcum, California-2001      

As many of my friends know, I am about to embark on a new and exciting experience in my life. Because of my diminishing eyesight due to an eye disease called
Retinitis Pigmentosa, I decided a few months ago to apply for a guide dog, also known as a seeing eye dog. Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is also known as tunnel
vision. The cells in the retina die off as it progresses, and the tunnel gets smaller and smaller, and can result in total blindness.  Night blindness
and loss of visual acuity are also symptoms. My field of vision is less than 10 degrees, whereas a person with normal vision has a field of about 180 degrees.                                                                                                                                                                             


The school I selected is Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael. The course is 28 days long, with training 6 days a week. Persons eligible for a guide dog
must be legally blind (corrected vision of worse than 20/200 or a field of vision of less than 20 degrees), at least 16 years old, physically, mentally
and emotionally able to care for and work a guide dog.     

The application process has included doctor’s verifications, Orientation & Mobility training (white cane), personal references and phone and personal interviews
by the school. I was notified by the school just before Thanksgiving that I was accepted (and am I thankful!). I will travel to the school January 6th
with graduation February 2nd.     

This is an exciting time for me. Just knowing that right now as I write this, this dog that I have not met yet is being trained to help me. This dog will
guide me for the next 8 or so years, going most everywhere with me, keeping me safe and allowing me to go places that otherwise would be difficult for
me.