With Dale by my side, I can take on the world! How a guide dog changes the world for a person.

I met Otillia a few years ago when I was assisting a photographer with a shoot in the Karkloof forest in the KZN Midlands. Here was this lovely young lady who despite her visual impairment was the perfect model. We did a series of themed images and you would never ever say that this was a model different to any other model that I had ever shot. 

Otillia modeling in the forest - 2016

Late last year I read an article about how Otillia and her new guide dog had been refused entry into a bridal boutique in Umhlanga for her to choose a wedding dress for her upcoming wedding. All of this because her dog was not allowed in the shop because it might mess the dresses up. OMW. What a disgrace! This is not a pet but a WORKING DOG. The eyes of the person. In fact one of the most disciplined and cleanest dogs I have ever come across. (For those of you who don't know, we photographed close to a thousand dogs last year).

I immediately contacted Otillia and asked if we could please do a photo shoot with herself and Dale for the purposes of creating awareness to the uneducated about guide dogs. I also asked her to share her story with me so that I could share it with the photos. 

A lovely woman with a minor disability who is day after day discriminated against by store owners, shopping centres and security guards because Dale is apparently not allowed in. What total BS! This is a working dog and people need to be educated.

Stand Tall - Otillia and Dale

This is Otillia's story.

My journey as a VIP (visually impaired person) started in 1994 as a 6 year old. My Grade 1 teacher noticed my inability to see on the black board. After numerous tests and specialist visits I was diagnosed with a genetic eye condition called Stargardts. This is a type of macular degeneration that causes the loss of Central vision and leaves you with some peripheral vision and there is no prevention or cure in modern medicine yet.

I matriculated in Pretoria at Prinshof School for partially sighted and blind in 2006 and while most teenagers my age were applying to get their licenses for their shiny VW Golfs, I was applying to get my shiny black K9 transporter Tia. Tia Maria stole my heart at first sight but sadly it didn't work out, she was more of a guard dog than a guide dog.

As a college student I strived for independence and removed myself far from anyone and anything I knew. Potchefstroom came with a lot of new adventures but also with big challenges and through my teary phone calls back home my determination just kept growing. I was desperate to fit into normal society and subconsciously started training myself to hide my disability at all costs. I refrained from using my phone in public to avoid people noticing how closely I had to look at my screen. I learnt in order to appear less squint I always had to look to the left of someone when I spoke to them. I also had to constantly break my routines and step out of my comfort zones to try and build as well as keep confidence and appear confident.

7 Years ago I started my therapeutic massage practice in Howick KZN. My partner and I bought a home and started establishing a comfortable life for ourselves but the more comfortable I got, the more I stopped challenging myself and I started losing confidence and independence. I started withdrawing  more. I started feeling like a burden on my partner and my sister more often than not.

Last year on my normal route to work I started tripping and stumbling over rocks and pieces of concrete and realized that there was construction all along my route. It dawned on me that I was using my memory instead of my sight to get to work and that this could cause me major injury because I'm not able to see the ditches, holes and obstacles. I was now even more unsure of myself and relied on others to get around.

It was a major decision for me applying for a guide dog again because this would mean revealing my disability which I spent so much time hiding from the world. Who out there likes drawing attention to their biggest weakness? You always think that you are coping just fine but you don't realize how much more fulfilled your life could be. 

A very special bond

Dale is my new shiny black sports model with built in navigation, 360 degree obstacle sensors and ABS brake system. She's my eyes, she's my confidence, she's my independence and she's my best friend. There is no sighted person alive that would ever understand the complete trust, love, gratitude and companionship between a visually disabled person and their guide dog.

DALE IS PART OF ME

Autumn at Kenmo

It was Tuesday morning when I got the call. "We need some good autumn colourful images for the publication".... mmmm.. I had done some autumn images at Zoo Lake the previous week but that wasn't quite going to be spectacular  enough for what we needed. Where to was the question? I had seen quite a few spectacular images from Kenmo Lake in the Southern Drakensberg but I had never been there before. It is situated just outside a small town called Himeville which is a few kilometers from Underberg. I quickly made some enquiries about where I could stay and the plans were made.

I left Johannesburg on the Friday morning and after one or two quick stops, I arrived in Himeville just in time before sunset. Early Saturday morning, about an hour before sunrise, I was at the lake... with about 100 other photographers. This was a photographers hot spot with everyone finding their spots to capture the magic that was about to unfold.. I immediately headed to the opposite side where everyone was setting up. I most certainly didn't want the same shots as everyone else. It was overcast and very misty and I was worried whether the light would be any good. Did I mention that it was cold? One degree in fact! My fingers where numb and carrying the tripod didn't exactly help.

My first view. Misty, cold and overcast

I walked to the far embankment and waited for the light... and then as if a magical wand had been swung, the sky was a bright pink and the view around me sublime..

As the morning progressed I witnessed many different magical scenes. I took countless images and it would be impossible to show them all here. I have chosen a few of my favourites from the morning but this is only really a sample of what I saw. It was a feast for the eyes. The ever changing colours and views from the plethora of colours that kept unfolding in front of me. A true gourmet meal for the eyes.

I returned on Sunday morning and it was a different world. The sky was clear with not a single cloud to be seen. A completely different scene was about to unfold before my eyes. There were not as many photographers present this morning and I had a bit more freedom moving around without getting photographers in my shots.. :) :)

The "Burning Bush"

The wives of 2 of the photographers I bumped into struck some poses for us.

The Packett Family Shoot

I met Brigid early this year when she asked me to help her with her photography. We have had a few sessions over the months and her photography has grown in leaps with her progressing to doing some family and preggie shoots. She is a lady full of life, a wonderful wife, mother and grandmother. Her wedding anniversary this year heralds 40 years of marriage and with this she wanted to do a family shoot with her children and their wives/husbands and her adorable grandson. It was with great pleasure that I agreed with a resounding yes when she asked me if I would do the shoot of them. Now I must explain that Brigid is a lively, happy lady that simply adores her family. Her house is filled with lots of family pictures and this bears tribute to many family events and occasions that shows how close this family is.

We agreed on a date not too long ago at a lovely restaurant that has beautiful gardens  that would be ideal for a morning shoot and then they could have a celebratory anniversary lunch. As fate would have it, they day before the shoot the weather was pretty lousy and light rain was predicted for shoot day. mmmmm.. not ideal but we would switch to plan B if it was raining... (I didn't really have a plan B but would create it if the need arose... lol)

With Brigid's permission, I would like to show you a few images from the shoot.

Fortunately on the morning of the shoot there was no rain even though it was pretty overcast. We started the shooting with the family standing on a wooden bridge that crossed a small stream on the property. I had brought the number 40 along and we did some standard shots but then I asked the kids to show some emotion towards Brigid and Ken on having reached this milestone...

This is what I got... lovely..

As you can see, this was going to be a fun shoot... we did a few more pics on the bridge..

We then shot the "guys"...

Sebastian wanting to really be in the frame

and then then Sebastian ran off with the frame.... a great little guy doing what little guys do....

Dad eventually got hold of Sebastian and I fired of a couple of shots while dad and son were having some fun..

 

After some more family shots, I got the girls together..  Really beautiful ladies..

I must tell you that daughter and daughter in law seem so have some sort of liking of hats... they arrived with a bag full and we put these to good use..

The "Pouting" shot

The gardens had these beautiful rocks and the ladies obliged..

By this time Sebastian had saught out mom and my camera captured some lovely moments including this one....

A kissy please mom...

There were areas of the garden that had a carpet of purple flowers and the girls couldn't resist..

I had also found a lovely spot which had this real country forest feeling and it made for the ideal spot for a miniature couple shoot... I wasn't disappointed...

We ended the shoot with a couple more shots including this wonderful happy family shot

 and I quite liked the feeling of openness and attitude of this shot