A Wheelchair View

I tried to avoid writing about it but after tons of email in my box about the subject I decided it was time to inject a different perspective here. Obama flying without a script and the eloquence that we are all used to in his speeches, made a reference to the Special Olympics and his low bowling score. After the show he immediately called the Special Olympics and made an apology. Since then I have seen demands for public apology. I must confess, the first thing I thought of when I heard of Obama’s joke on Leno, was Brittany Spears. How many jokes and crude references have been made at her expense? Jessica Simpson has also been the target of many jokes. These are the “poster girls” (please pardon the expression) for “dumb blondes.” This shows that women are still under the scrutiny of ethnocentric thinking. I bring up this comparison to say that people are always going to make stupid jokes at the expense of someone else. I’m not saying it is right, in fact I think Brittany and Jessica ...

Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, regression and retaliation the foundation of such a method is love – Martin Luther King Jr. One of the hardest things to say, is I forgive you. When someone important to us wrongs us and hurts us deeply it is much easier to hold on to anger. Anger gives us strength, it gives us the illusion that we are in control of ourselves and nothing can touch us again, hurt us again and we begin to feel that we will never hurt again. In most religions, at least, the constructive ones, we learn that anger is like your first experience with cocaine. It gives a feeling of invincibleness and strength and it empowers; but as we continue to "use" it and breathe it in, it becoms an addiction and to embed itself within our being. It begins breaking down what is good in us and begins destroying our relationships with other people and within ourselves. This is something I learned from my experience years ago when someone I love...

I was recently asked by one of my “Twitter Mates,” if I would write a little something on what it is like to be a wheelchair photographer. I of course am very happy to oblige. I want to talk a little bit about the equipment that I have and why I chose it. I own a Nikon D50 digital SLR, and two lenses. One lens is the standard 28-80mm lens for close range shooting, like headshots, or focusing on a specific object. The other lens is a 55-200mm VR. VR stands for vibration reduction and vibration reduction is a disabled person’s friend! I don’t have cerebral palsy but I do have many of the same characteristics such as spasticity in the muscles that can cause a little bit of a tremor. I really didn’t realize how much I did it until I started taking pictures. Holding a steady shooting position can be a challenge for any photographer sometimes and the VR feature helps reduce movement. It also helps the lens shoot sharper pictures under lower light. Optical zoom is also a friend to the wheelc...