Cover Photo by: Rich-Joseph Facun

Well seems I’m famous, I guess… A letter I wrote a few months ago was published in Rangefinder Magazine. The letter was published in the December issue of Rangefinder, page 21 “Problems and Solutions“…

From: R. Favinger (Me)~

I came across an article in Rangefinder when I decided to search for people like me.

Seems an odd search when you Google “Legally Blind Photographer” doesn’t it? I am legally blind; I have Nystagmus (CN). I’m 20/200 with glasses, and 20/400 without. I use a -3.0 diopter adjustment on my viewfinder and rely heavily on AF. But I don’t pick the easy subjects of portrait and landscape.

I’m a sports photographer. Funny enough, my favorite sport to shoot is baseball (Little League), and I am the official game photographer for our local league and district here in PA. I can’t see the ball, everything is timing and anticipation, though through the camera I can see almost perfectly. I watch the pitcher, time his motion, and fire for the swing. I listen to the players and coaches and know their plans before they do. Guy on 1st? Best watch 2nd! Guy on 3rd? You better cover home!

My only dilemma is almost never getting outfield shots. When the ball is hit, to me it is as good as lost because I can never see where it goes. I watch for the kid setting up in the in-field to catch the ball as it’s returned.

I don’t always announce my vision disability to potential clients because I fear they may overlook me or question my skill. But I feel it’s time for others to know. Some photographers really are blind.

If you’d like to learn more, feel free to contact me. My website is: www.favingerphotography.com.

Thanks for the very inspiring letter. I assume the article you found was about Michael Richard in the January 2007 issue. He too was legally blind and could only see light and dark, but produced startlingly beauti-ful imagery. ~ Editor

Kind of cool I think, a letter in a major national photography magazine. 🙂

This issue also displays some of the best pictures in 2008, check it out!