I took this photo at the Brooklyn Developmental Center, Brooklyn, NY. Michael was assigned here temporarily as part of the re-assignment of Willowbrook[1] residents, before he was housed in a group home. The photograph is illustrative on several levels. Photographically, it seems clear that Michael is the center of attention. He is different than the other characters […]
The term autism was coined in 1912 by psychiatrist Paul Bleuler, who combined the Greek words ‘autos’, meaning ‘self’ and ‘ismos’, meaning ‘action, or state of being’. The resulting word, ‘autism’ therefore, means the state of being absorbed by one’s self.[1] This differs from self-absorption, or willful selfishness. Every baby concentrates on getting […]
I tried getting the whole family involved in my project to document Mike’s life. Here is a portrait of all of us. There’s not much more to say. It speaks for itself.
Reminiscing can be a good thing. The major portion of this blog thus far, is composed of memories. I relate my early experiences, how I revisited them and revisit the revisitations. Some may call that self indulgent. Maybe it is, but I prefer to call it ‘my process’: a combination of persistence, engineering analysis, and […]
I was less than 4 years old in this picture. I’m the short one. I looked up to my big brother back then. It was just the two of us at that time. As much as I try, I can’t remember what it was like. I can remember what it must have been like. I must have […]
Normally, I’m pretty sensitive. I have a lot of trouble taking pictures of people. When I used to take photographs in New York City, I concentrated mainly on street scenes and architecture, seldom on people. I didn’t have the courage to confront people with my camera. Whenever I took pictures of people on the street, […]
Mike was calm most of the time. Sometimes he would pace back and forth. At times he would grab my hand and take me to a door he wanted open, or to the refrigerator. He liked to sit. Occasionally he would stand in front of the sofa, and fall back. If you were behind him, […]
I always had my camera equipment with me when I visited Michael. I was hot on the trail of capturing the image that would explain it all. I was proud of one particular portrait of Michael, and printed a special copy for him. I wondered what he would do when he saw it. Below is […]
I may have taken this picture. Mom and Grandma are looking down slightly, at the level of someone my size at the time, and the camera angle is slightly upwards. Michael is attending elsewhere, as usual. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t trying to make Grandma look like a million bucks, but I certain didn’t mean to […]
… you should see the movie. Yesterday’s post referred to refreshing one’s memory with the aid of home movies. The above image is one frame of a home movie Dad took. In his inimitable way, he double exposed the 8mm film. That wasn’t hard to do in those days. Our 8mm movie camera used a […]
