by Cecilia Travis © 2010
From “Currents” The Magazine of the North American Nature Photography Association Summer 2010
Imagine yourself on a photo tour to Bosque Del Apache. Geese — thousands of geese! You shiver into place well before dawn to catch the earliest light as it slides across the water, silhouetting the birds and highlighting morning mists.
Now suppose you are in a wheelchair. Photographing in wild areas is an impossible dream—right? Wrong. Wildlife photographer Angelo Sciuli , who was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS) in 1998 asked me to look into accessible photo tours. “Be prepared for deer-in-the-headlight looks”, he warned.
The results were encouraging. Many have already worked successfully with photographers who have mobility challenges, and many more are open to including them in their programs. Almost all leaders will create a custom workshop for individual photographers. Accommodating a wheelchair photographer in an otherwise able-bodied group is best for diversity, but requires flexibility by all parties. The key is full communication beforehand.
The wheelchair attendee needs to understand possible obstacles. How is the terrain? Will the workshop disembark from a pontoon boat into three feet of water? Is the blind ten feet up a tree? How wide is the boardwalk and how will it be accessed? Do highway pull-offs have room for a wheel chair ramp? Can atendees shoot from a vehicle? Are they responsible for finding their own suitable accommodations? Is the event planned with alternatives – a long hike for some, scenic, accessible overlook for others? If so, will both options have their own highly skilled photographer? Physical limitation does not equate to limited skill.
Guidebook writer and photographer Don Laine urges organizers to personally visit each site beforehand. He recounts a company that claimed “only a few easy steps to the boat…it was more like 20 or 30.”
Workshop leaders are concerned that the able-bodied photographers in the group may feel cheated. They need to know if the mobility-impaired photographers can keep up. Can they walk? Can they go up stairs? How many? How steep a slope can be managed? Can they be safely left alone? If not, will each be accompanied by an assistant? Does they have their own transportation? How do they transfer to the wheelchair? Do they use/have a hydraulic lift or a ramp? What are his toilet needs? Some leaders require a doctor’s declaration of a disabled photographer’s condition.
Most workshop leaders welcome the photographer’s helper to push the wheelchair or assist with physical needs, leaving the professional free to teach. The helper would not be charged other than for food and lodging. However, a few outfits are concerned that an assistant might take up vehicle or blind space needed by a paying client. All agree that a non-paying assistant should not take images nor participate in photography-related discussions.
Expectations on all sides should be clear.
Photo clubs are a promising source of workshops. The Rocky Mountain and the New Mexico Outdoor Writers and Photographers Clubs put on yearly conferences and book outstanding workshop leaders. Both organizations have had physically limited participants at their events. Not every event will be suitable, but the clubs try to schedule enough to make it worth coming. They know the fresh perspective brought by disabled photographers enrich the group experience.
“I would love to put together a wildlife photography workshop or even a series of workshops across the country for disabled photographers” says wildlife photographer and tour operator Weldon Lee. Many workshop leaders like the idea of developing programs around a group of disabled photographers.
Suggestions for developing these workshops from professional photographers Loren Worthington, a quadriplegic with limited use of his arms and Doug Walsh, a tour leader : Use facilities already set up for the disabled, and therefore truly ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant. Provide transportation from the airport to the site. Take the group, perhaps by bus, to nearby locations chosen by the leader. Partner with charitable organizations which work with the disabled, such as Easter Seals. Have the organization provide trained assistants, maybe donate the use of adapted vehicles. Look for sponsors or grant money. Open registration to able-bodied shooters, to ensure sufficient participants. Publicize well in advance. Price on par with similar professional workshops. Keep the quality high. “ I want to be challenged by better photographers.”, declares Worthington.
Yosemite, Blue Ridge Parkway, Anhinga Trail in the Everglades, John Dillon Park in New York, and Colorado’s Wilderness on Wheels are examples of national and state parks, and specially designed private recreation areas which could be used. Exotic locations? Check out Endeavor Safaris, Eco-Adventure International, Ecuador for All, and Epic Enabled.
Is wheelchair photography easy? Of course not. Bob Edens, a landscape and event photographer confined to a wheelchair proclaims, “I have fallen off all the prominent curbs in Chattanooga.” David Farber, a triiplegic nature photographer with only partial use of one hand, flipped backward trying for a better angle on a fox squirrel. Loren Worthington just worries about “how the camera lands.”
Bodies may be damaged, but the dreams are intact and not impossible!
My thanks to the following disabled photographers for help with this article:
Bob Edens, www.bobedens.com
David Farber, www.naturallyfarberphotos.com
Mike Matenkosky, www.imagesinthebackcountry.com
Bob Scott, www.quadtographer.blogspot.com
Angelo Scuilli, www.scnature.com
Christopher Voelker, www.voelkerstudio.com
Loren Worthington, www.rollingfstop.blogspot.com and www.AccessingArizona.com