by Dudley Hanks

Created on: October 27, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Most people don't understand why I, a blind man, love photography.

I suppose, it must look a bit strange as I walk onto a scene, guided by my dog, and pull out a camera. Truly, the image of a blind man pointing a camera at something without looking through the viewfinder must strike most as more than just a bit curious.

From my point of view, however, it is all quite natural. You see, I picked up my first camera when I was about ten years old, and I fell in love with the whole process of capturing an image by painting with light.

Back then, I was attending a summer camp. One of the activities was to shoot off a roll of film and then develop it. Instructors at the camp showed all the kids how to use the cameras and how to develop the film. Then, we were given some free time to trudge around the lake-shore area and camp grounds looking for interesting subjects. I don't remember every picture I took, but I do remember how intrigued I was, as I watched my images define themselves in the developing trays.

A few years later, at age fourteen, an ophthalmologist told me I was going blind. He told me I had a condition called retinitis pigmentosa, (RP) and that I would eventually lose my vision. Perhaps, I should have been devastated, but I wasn't. Indeed, I was a bit anxious, maybe even a bit troubled, but I had a number of aunts and uncles who had the condition, and who were living fairly normal lives. I guess the whole blindness thing just wasn't as terrifying for me because I had grown up in its midst.

With a diagnosis of blindness confirmed, I merely hardened my resolve to make the most of what vision I had, for as long as I could see something.

Accordingly, I started taking pictures of concerts. Since I was working for the weekly newspaper in a small community just outside Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada, I used the limited connections I had to get back-stage passes to a number of concerts being held at the Edmonton Coliseum.

It was great getting close to such bands as Molly Hatchet, FM, Kim Mitchell, Peter Frampton, Eddie Money, Trooper, Heart, Supertramp, etc. I even had an opportunity to chat for a few minutes with the lead singer of the Boomtown rats, which was then the opening band for a Canadian group called Street Heart. Of course, I'm talking about Sir Bob Geldorf, who was later knighted for his work organizing Band Aid, Live Aid, etc.

Sadly, though, my concert photography days were numbered. I had to stop when my sight faded away. Still, I managed to keep shooting

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