About Capirani Photography

Hello, I am Cindy and the owner of Capirani Photography. Ever since I can remember I have loved taking pictures (and hated getting my own picture taken.)  When I was little I would hide in any way possible from the camera because the flash always hurt my eyes.  Those were the days of the Brownie Camera.  My mom had a Brownie and those flash bulbs were really bright!  I don't remember what year it was when the Poloaroid Swinger camera entered my life, but I remember seeing it for the first time in the little downtown drugstore window.  My cousin and I were there looking for our usual Tiger Beat magazine so we could stay caught up on our favorite music stars.  It was The Monkees for me. But there it was in the window, shiny, white with black trim, and that little red button to take the pictures with.  And best of all, the pictures would come right out of the camera!  You didn't have to wait for the film to be developed later.  Oh how I wanted one.  Well I remember that having been on a nice warm day in summer, but later at Christmas, I opened a present from my cousin and there was that beautiful camera!  It may have been the best present I had ever received (except for the trumpet her parents got me, also around that same time period so I could be in the school band.) I still have most, if not all, the photos I took with the Swinger.  They are small, and slightly curled, and yellowed with age, but to me they are amazing.  

After the Swinger I moved up to the next level of Polaroid Instamatics beginning with the Polaroid Land Camera and then moving on to the Square Shooter 2. Cameras were always such fun for me and I was always taking pictures.

Eventually I "graduated" to the Kodak 110 camera and after that the Disc camera and shortly after that to the Canon AE-1 35mm camera which I still own.  About six years ago I also purchased my first digital camera, the Kodak EasyShare Z885.  Most of the photos on this blog are from these last two cameras with a few being from my phone.

Over the years I have purchased various filters for the Canon.  When I got the Canon I also got a 75-200mm zoom/macro lens which is on the camera probably 95% of the time.  The biggest drawback for me with the Canon is the bulkiness and weight of the camera bag, as well as still having to wait for film to be developed along with that expense. A friend of mine recently bought a new camera and sold me his Canon EOS Rebel T3i which I really love using.

In June 2006, an occasional irregular heart rhythm suddenly took a turn for the worse, becoming a chronic condition which is known as Atrial Fibrillation.  I have battled this condition since 1991 but only two or three times a year until this happened in 2006.  For me, personally, there is no known cause of the irregularity other than my body's way of dealing with the stress of life including some extreme events over the years.  This condition along with other medical conditions created my current situation where, although I can walk short distances with the use of a cane, I need a wheelchair for longer distances or instances where standing for long periods is required.  Over the past few years as I have physically, emotionally, and mentally adjusted to the changes in my life, I started to realize that even with the Americans With Disabilities Act, life is not always that accessible to people with even minor disabilities.

Gradually I started imagining myself photographing the difficulties of life with a cane and life with a wheelchair.  People tend to believe that we can go everywhere anyone else can, but it just isn't that easy.  Even though most grocery stores and places like WalMart have motorized scooters and regular wheelchairs with shopping baskets attached, even shopping can be a challenge for disabled people. For one thing, those scooters are always breaking down, and there are often more people needing them at any given time than the stores can provide and keep fully charged. Reaching items on the shelves, whether they be the high shelves or even some of the bottom shelves can be a challenge to reach for us. Most regular smaller stores don't even offer this much, and many are too small or crowded for a wheel chair or scooter to maneuver safely inside without knocking things over.

For those who can walk but need a cane, crutches, or who just have some balance issues, stepping down off a curb can be risky without someone or something to hold onto.  Parks may offer a ramp or two from the street or parking areas, but parking may often be further away than the disabled person can get to and from easily, even though there are parking spaces clearly marked for us.  In one park I know of specifically, for the regular weekly summer concerts which are free to the public, they actually block off the street that is easiest for the disabled to have access so that it makes attendance at the concert much more difficult...all for the convenience of refreshment vendors to be able to set up their booths.

So, with all that in mind, I have a goal to focus some of my photography on this problem to make it more aware to people. At this point I am not sure whether to do this as a book, blog, or some other method.  But in the meantime, with all my photography, the focus will be that this work is done by someone using a cane or wheelchair to get where they are going.  I am not able to do the climbing of rocks, or hills, or the lowering myself to the ground for special shots.  Everything is from the viewpoint of that cane or that wheelchair.  For example, a beautiful flower on the ground might not get the macro shot I would prefer it to have and I might miss that honeybee at work.  Or the view from atop a mountain will unlikely be part of my portfolio.  Another example is the Marblehead Lighthouse from the photos here on my blog.  There were 77 steps to the top if you wanted to go inside and climb up for the amazing view it offered.  But no elevator. So when you see my photos, keep this in mind.  There probably is a better vantage point for the photo, but there are going to be a lot of times when I won't be able to get to that vantage point.  On the other hand, my vantage point may just be the right one to see things that you might not have seen before.  Hopefully this will be true at least some of the time.

I hope you enjoy what you see here.  If you are interested in purchasing a print of anything you see here, please contact me at aworkinprogress2@yahoo.com