Photography: A Universal Language

" Who we are and where we stand when we watch the world determines how we see and what we record."

- Wendy Ewald



The mobile digital photography lab is utilized as a tool to compliment community based instruction. Young adults with significant disabilites are provided with digital cameras to document their experiences... from their point of view. Students photograph themselves, their friends, their environment, and their activities. Through photography, each student is empowered to find his/her own unique voice as they record and interpret their world. The photographs can be printed or stored as digital files.

The young people are encouraged to present their imagery in any format that they choose: photo album, slide show, etc. The photographs can serve as a creative means of expression. The project enables students who have verbal and written communication challenges to actively participate in storytelling through the use of a visual medium. Sharing the photographs invites rich opportunities for social interaction and meaningful exchanges among diverse people. It is the goal of the project to facilitate the engagement of young individuals with disablilities with the community at large.

"Photography must contain one thing: the humanity of the moment."
- Robert Frank

"A community that excludes even one of its members is no community at all."
- Dan Wilkins