Drew Bedo:
I am interested in knowing about HOW we all work. How do we set up the equipment, choose (or create) a composition, make an exposure and produce a print?
For instance: I know of a photographer,not a member of this group yet, who shoots interiors of large. He frames a bright window or entryway on a large format camera. He uses hyperfocal principles to get sharp focuus and uses premeasured sticks to set the diastance between the front and rear standards. His shutters have click stops for speed and aperature. He contact prints in alternative processes (cyanotype, platinum etc).
So then; What do YOU do?
At Drew’s suggestion, I would like to begin a project where we, as a community, investigate how each of us makes photographs. We are all unique in the way we use our camera. We vary in our experience, equipment, interest and goals. Some of us are professionals and others hobbyists, some are more artistic and some less so, some shoot daily and some sporadically, some shoot for an audience and some for themselves. These define, in part, how we approach the camera. Yet we all share something in common. We each face challenges related to our eyesight, challenges that affect our image-making process. Let’s take this opportunity to explore how we approach photography. Possibly, we will adapt our own processes as we learn the details of how others make images. If not, we can still satisfy our curiosity about how our vision affects our images.
This project neatly solves an issue that I have wanted to deal with since I founded the flickr group. I have always asked new members to share their stories. This builds a foundation for our community. But these threads have been to awkward to address the issue, central to our group, about the interaction between visual impairments and our photography. This is chance for each of us to be and stay in the spotlight.
On a practical note, we regularly receive questions about how our eyesight and our photography interact. I have received two surveys in the past few weeks from students in two separate continents. This project should, at least, give these students a place to start. If there is interest, perhaps we could work to publish this project.
The Process
The project will work as follows. Anyone interested should start a topic in the discussion forums. Title it appropriately, such as “Blindsighted: Oberazzi”, so we know that the topic is part of the project and whose process we are focusing on ih this thread. Then lay out how you actually produce images, how your vision affects you and how you adapted your process to deal with your vision. How do you set up the equipment, choose (or create) a composition, make an exposure and produce a print?
The reason we each will have our own thread is so that the rest of us can follow up with questions. Trying to contain this in one discussion topic would become cumbersome and confusing. Interesting questions would be lost in the jumble of thoughts. Consider your thread like a blog where you can develop your own story over time. If and when you are satisfied with the results we can carry it over to this blog.
If you are interested in joining our mailing list, please submit your email below. 
