ARTROM Gallery, TOP TEN Edition 2007 / Alan Babitt / Photography

In October 2003, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s (PD).

“It’s progressive and there’s no cure,” said the neurologist.“Uh oh,” said the photographer. Since the late 1960’s, I’ve been doing my own brand of fine art photography and it’s always been agreat source of joy for me.

Drop me almost anywhere there’s nice light and I can happily get lost in the visuals around me for hours. That began to change when the PD showed up. My 1st major symptom was a right hand tremor. Oh,great. Shakiness. Just what a photographer needs. Then, my photography muse, who’d been with me for years, took off without leaving a forwardingaddress. The bitch!

I lost interest in photography - only rarely venturing out to shoot - bored with what I shot. Lens cap on. Fade to black. Then one night, on the Las Vegas Strip of all places, I saw the light! Instead of fighting to steady the camera to get sharp images, I let the tremor have its way as I clicked the shutter. Wow! The visual gumbo of flashing lights, multi-tinted neon and watery reflections became wonderful smears, blurs and streaks of color. Now THIS was fun!

The camera – a point and shoot digital – was unconvinced - beeping and moaning as it tried to find something solid to focus on – while being shaken like a paint can at the hardware store. But it did its job admirably, and I came away that evening with some wonderful images and a realization that something important had shifted in me – changing the way I saw my photography, my PD, and for that matter, the world.

As I’ve continued to explore this “tremor enhanced” photography, I’ve experienced a rush of creative freedom I’ve never felt before. It’s liberating to break through the photography dogma of “still”ness and sharpness – to create images with movement and blur. Best of all, the fun and joy are back, and for that, I guess I have my Parkinson’s tremor to thank! Is that weird or what? The damn disease has given me a terrific gift. (Hmmm. I wonder if there’s anymore in there?)

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