Day After Day - Living With Parkinson's

[skids]

http://www.parkinsons.org.uk/

[StephenL]

Re: Day After Day - Living With Parkinson's

What a courageous project! Don't quite know how you'd do it pictorially, but I would like to see some documentary on the start of your problems - how they first manifested themselves to you, how it was diagnosed, and so on. And also some illustration of the "other side" of the illness - lighter moments where you can genuinely laugh at yourself, as I'm sure you must do from time to time.

[Rocknroll59]

Re: Day After Day - Living With Parkinson's

John you have my utmost respect....both in how you are dealing with your situation, and your photographic abilities. I spent time looking at your web-site before you closed it down and that gave me more passion to achieve better pictures. I would say yours along with a few others are the opinion's which I have valued most when posting my offerings on the this site, and I have only been a member here for 2 years.

My mother in law suffered with this, and also my brother in law has it, both had differing symptoms. Carry on with your project, it is a brave decision to open your life for others to see.

Peter

[Zuiko]

Re: Day After Day - Living With Parkinson's

The television programme about Ivan Vaughan showed him swimming. The Parkinson's symptoms completely disappeared in the pool and he powered up and down like an athlete.

I really think a support group could help!

Jim

One of the really odd things about Parkinson's is how the condition affects different people in different ways. This was brought home to me when I read your above post about Ivan swimming. I've never been a great swimmer anyway but since I've had Parkinson's I've given up because every time I enter the water, even in a heated pool, I get toe-curling cramp from my feet, right through my calf muscles. I really do think I need to go walking more, I think the problem here is that it's something I used to regularly enjoy but now it feels clumsy, awkward and laboured. However, as I discovered last week when I walked for 5 miles with a friend, I can do it if I set my mind to it. OK, there are days when it's all I can manage to walk up Dunmow High Street, but that's the sort of day to turn back.

[Zuiko]

Re: Day After Day - Living With Parkinson's

http://www.parkinsons.org.uk/

Hi Jon,

Thanks, I do visit the Parkinson's web site and forum from time to time and will contact them when I have something a bit more concrete to show.

[Zuiko]

Re: Day After Day - Living With Parkinson's

What a courageous project! Don't quite know how you'd do it pictorially, but I would like to see some documentary on the start of your problems - how they first manifested themselves to you, how it was diagnosed, and so on. And also some illustration of the "other side" of the illness - lighter moments where you can genuinely laugh at yourself, as I'm sure you must do from time to time.

Thanks Stephen, I can certainly cover all those points in the text, not sure how I could retrospectively depict them in photographs, though. However, I probably don't need to support the introduction with too many pictures anyway; they can become more important in the main body of the work.

[Zuiko]

Re: Day After Day - Living With Parkinson's

John you have my utmost respect....both in how you are dealing with your situation, and your photographic abilities. I spent time looking at your web-site before you closed it down and that gave me more passion to achieve better pictures. I would say yours along with a few others are the opinion's which I have valued most when posting my offerings on the this site, and I have only been a member here for 2 years.

My mother in law suffered with this, and also my brother in law has it, both had differing symptoms. Carry on with your project, it is a brave decision to open your life for others to see.

Peter

Thanks for your kind words Peter. It's bad luck for two people in the same family to have Parkinson's, it's not normally genetic and usely occurs at random. Only around 1 in every 500 people develop it, so it is relatively uncommon.

[brianvickers]

Re: Day After Day - Living With Parkinson's

I can only echo the sentiments above.
Its a brilliant idea for a project....and the two photos you have posted are a great start.

[Mrs T]

Re: Day After Day - Living With Parkinson's

John,

I think this is a very brave thing to do. I'm sure other people will find it interesting and maybe in some cases helpful.

Amanda

[PeterBirder]

Re: Day After Day - Living With Parkinson's

Wow John, you're a dark horse, you didn't mention this fantastic project yesterday.

I found reading the tremendous number of replies you've already received very uplifting and am sure they will encourage you greatly with this project. What a great bunch of people we have on this group!

You asked for comments/critique on your first two shots.
The first is IMHO perfect. It is ideal for the opening shot in the book or perhaps the cover. It's a powerful, "gritty" and true to life image, I've seen you in this posture quite a few times now. I'm not bothered by the flies. If anything I think they add to the stark reality of the image. I don't believe you're trying to produce a "nice" picture but one that grabs your attention "flies and all" and it does that for me.

Similarly the second. It illustrates graphically the difficulties Parkinson's gives you with the mundane everyday activities we take for granted.

I think B&W is the ideal medium for these type of shots but agree with others that some colour shots should also be included, perhaps for some "lighter moments" which StephenL suggested.

I look forward to following your progress with the project which I believe will be beneficial for both you and other Parkinson's sufferers.

Regards.

[Zuiko]

Re: Day After Day - Living With Parkinson's

Wow John, you're a dark horse, you didn't mention this fantastic project yesterday.

I found reading the tremendous number of replies you've already received very uplifting and am sure they will encourage you greatly with this project. What a great bunch of people we have on this group!

You asked for comments/critique on your first two shots.
The first is IMHO perfect. It is ideal for the opening shot in the book or perhaps the cover. It's a powerful, "gritty" and true to life image, I've seen you in this posture quite a few times now. I'm not bothered by the flies. If anything I think they add to the stark reality of the image. I don't believe you're trying to produce a "nice" picture but one that grabs your attention "flies and all" and it does that for me.

Similarly the second. It illustrates graphically the difficulties Parkinson's gives you with the mundane everyday activities we take for granted.

I think B&W is the ideal medium for these type of shots but agree with others that some colour shots should also be included, perhaps for some "lighter moments" which StephenL suggested.

I look forward to following your progress with the project which I believe will be beneficial for both you and other Parkinson's sufferers.

Regards.

Hi Peter,

I didn't mention the project yesterday because I've had it on the back burner for a while, with a long list of possible photographs, but I've been prevaricating for weeks! It was only when I got home that I realized I had a couple of hours to spare before Debbie and Freya came home and, with the room being unusually tidy for a change, it suddenly seemed the ideal opportunity to get a couple of shots under my belt.

I was sufficiently encouraged by the results to test the reaction. I'm in two minds about the first picture, partly because of the grain/noise and partly due to the flies. I feel that a certain amount of grain suits this type of image, but is it a bit too much? The flies don't seem to be bothering too many people but Ulfric does have a point and more than a few times I've found his observations to be very perceptive. However, you are right when you say that I don't necessarily want to produce a "nice" image, so maybe I will confront the viewer with my flies! The main issue is that they must not detract from focussing on the tremor.

What I tend to do in this type of situation is soak up different opinions like a sponge, then live with the image for a while before I come to my own conclusions. I may well re-shoot in a different context then see which version I prefer. The whole project is going to take a while to shoot anyway, if I am able to see it through.

The second shot seems more straightforward, except possibly the noise although it's not quite so pronounced as in the first shot. Maybe it was a mistake to use such a low seat as it seems to raise the thought amongst viewers that they would have trouble anyway. Another seat I have trouble arising from is the toilet seat, but I can hardly show that!

Thanks for commenting, Peter, and I look forward to meeting up with you again soon.

[Ulfric M Douglas]

Re: Day After Day - Living With Parkinson's

Toilet = gritty realism ... hmmm.

[Grumpy Hec]

Re: Day After Day - Living With Parkinson's

John

I haven't got into this thread until now. I have to say I think this is project has massive potential on all sorts of levels - photographically, personally and its a superb way of documentating this disease.

Like others I have a friend who has the problem and she just throws herself into a variety of projects, she did anyway to be honest, and sort of blasts it into submission. I think she is similar to you in the progression of daily problems and she has recently stated playing golf. I'm not a fan of said method of ruining a good walk but that does seem a counter intuitive thing to do when you have Parkinson's so that one is worth watching!

More images developing the theme of that first one have the potential for being immensley powerful as it is the area most people think of with Parkinson's so it's immediately accessable if that makes sense. I also agree that a little humour injected would make the other images even more dramatic by allowing a temporary lifting of spirits.

Just a suggestion. Can this thread be made sticky so that we can all follow this over time. That is of course if you wish to do that.

Good on you John

Hec

[Zuiko]

Re: Day After Day - Living With Parkinson's

Toilet = gritty realism ... hmmm.

Are you sure you meant gritty and not **itty?

[Zuiko]

Re: Day After Day - Living With Parkinson's

John

I haven't got into this thread until now. I have to say I think this is project has massive potential on all sorts of levels - photographically, personally and its a superb way of documentating this disease.

Like others I have a friend who has the problem and she just throws herself into a variety of projects, she did anyway to be honest, and sort of blasts it into submission. I think she is similar to you in the progression of daily problems and she has recently stated playing golf. I'm not a fan of said method of ruining a good walk but that does seem a counter intuitive thing to do when you have Parkinson's so that one is worth watching!

More images developing the theme of that first one have the potential for being immensley powerful as it is the area most people think of with Parkinson's so it's immediately accessable if that makes sense. I also agree that a little humour injected would make the other images even more dramatic by allowing a temporary lifting of spirits.

Just a suggestion. Can this thread be made sticky so that we can all follow this over time. That is of course if you wish to do that.

Good on you John

Hec

and with Parkinson's but it's good fun and occasionally I get within 10 strokes of the others.