File: M09-01
(Files: 2021001-0040 and 2021001-0041)
At a college for the Deaf, Leger Way, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom. Date unknown, circa 1987, give or take a year.
About the photograph.
Those candid photographs were taken with a Minolta X-700 35mm film SLR camera, and either a 135mm lens or 80-200mm zoom lens. The roll of film was Ilford, likely to be either FP4 or HP5, as those are the two black and white film that I ways use.
The photographs were taken from the window of the guest room at the top (third) floor of an accommodation building for deaf students who lives far away and stays at the college.
As deaf people communicate by sign language, which is a visual form of communications, there is no need to be within earshot of each other or to shout over long distance, like hearing people do. Thus a lot of deaf people can simply communicate to each other between outside and inside, across a room, or even across a playing field, as long as there is a line of sight.
This Deaf guy, came over to the building, simply stayed outside and chatted with other deaf students who were at a second floor window.
Here in the photographs, he is seen asking “Why?” in British Sign Language (BSL). I don’t remember if he just asked a single word question, or it was the start of a question like “Why do you…”
In BSL, the sign is done by a tapping the side of index finger to the front of the opposite shoulder, and kind of bounce it off your shoulder (as seen in the second photo).
The facial expression is often used to express the kind of mood. For example: A curiosity “Why do you ask?” or an angry “Why did you do that?”
The photographs were taken about slightly more than a second apart, just the length of time to manually wind on the film, as I did not have the motor drive at that time.
Why did I take those photos?
In 1985, in my last year at a deaf school, I decided that I wanted to attend college to study photography with the aim of becoming a working photographer. But the teacher explained to me that it is not something suited for me, because of my being deaf and having communications difficulties. I told my mother the same thing, but my mother and my family were even less supportive.
Today, it is easy to look back on this and recognise that it is a discrimination, pure and simple.
Despite my efforts to try to apply for a college course in photography, I ended up on a one year further education course at college, suited for school leavers unsure of careers. It was during that time, I redouble my efforts, and tried to get the kind of college course I wanted.
There were different courses available to me, at different colleges, including a deaf college in Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, which is approximately 130 miles away from where I live. Arrangements were made for me to visit the college and have an overnight stay at a guest room, so that the next day, I would have a formal look around and an interview.
I travelled by train to Doncaster, stayed at the guest house, and like any good photographer, I bought along my camera. I decided to do some documentary-like photography while I was visiting the college, and during the early evening, I saw this guy standing there, chatting with the others in the building, so I decided to take a candid shot.
I developed and printed my own photographs, it was only about a couple of years ago, that I decided to scan the prints.
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