Changing Light

I am sitting in the office of Dr Geeta Lalwani, an Ophthalmologist and Retina Specialist, trying, somewhat unsuccessfully, to read the large E on the eye chart. She tells me, you have a form of Macular Degeneration, and that Someday, I will almost certainly lose all my central vision; the ability to read, drive a car, recognize faces or colors, and see objects in fine detail. That was July 29, 2013, and Someday was rather abstract. A long way away. Certainly not today.

Macular Degeneration is a chronic progressive disease that affects the cells which convert light to electrical signals that are transmitted via the optical nerve to your brain so you can “see.” In my case, the light makes it through the cornea fine and it shines on large sections of dead cells. As more cells die less light is converted to electrical signals for my brain to “see.” My own setting sun of sorts.

Today, five years later, I see Someday, more clearly than I see most things. I no longer drive after dark. Finding the cursor on my computer is a constant frustration. Worst of all, how do I tell the people I have worked with for years that the reason I don’t acknowledge them right away is not that I don’t care, I just am not sure who they are until they are close, or I hear their voice?

I read somewhere that when you take a picture of something it helps you remember that moment more clearly. Perhaps that is what draws me to photography. Images like this bring back great memories. The day my friend, and amazing photographer, Ron Williams and I climbed up to the top of Hawksbill Mountain to capture the setting sun; from a point that most people will never see. It is an image that will be forever in my memory. Even Someday.