File: 2021001-0043
Male journalist, at a factory, somewhere in Worcester, Worcestershire, England, United Kingdom. Date unknown, but circa 1992-94.
About the photograph.
This is a local newspaper journalist, the one seen here with the camera, attending an event at a local factory.
The factory is one of those companies that makes either the majority of the parts or even an engine, for an open wheeled single seat racing car, like a Formula One car, which you can see in the right side of the photo. The factory allowed a group of school children to attend a tour, to talk about engineering works on stuff like that, possibly to let those kids think about their future.
Because of this, the local newspaper sent us, that’s him and me, to attend and report about it. I’ll explain why I’m there in the next section below.
What is this all about?
I am a deaf person, I attended a deaf school ran by hearing teachers, and in my last year (1985-86) at school, my class were learning about jobs and work. The teacher and the visiting career advisor were to tell us about jobs, like difference between part-time and full-time, and stuff like that. They also talk to us about what kind of jobs and future we wanted to have, and also to see what needs to be done after school. Like to see if arrangements can be set up for some to get a job after leaving school, or if some of us need to attend college.
I admit my first choice was to become a diver, but my teacher dismissed it as something I can’t do because of my being deaf. I had at least 3 or 4 other ideas, but all were shot down. It is easy to look back and realised that was discrimination.
My next idea was to become a photographer. I really wanted to, I want to be a photographer, and wanted to study photography. Again, he dismissed it, but I decided to put my foot down, and stick with it. I keep trying to ask for a college course in photography, they keep asking me to rethink my options.
As time was running out, they all agreed to make arrangements for me to attend a one-year college course, which is really more of a further education course. Once again, I keep asking for a college course in photography after that course.
Finally they got me a two year college course, but it was more of training course. I had three days on-the-job training, working for a professional photographer, and two days at college, studying graphic design.
After leaving college, I struggled with trying to get a job in photography, because during those days, the early 1990s, there were still discrimination against disabled people.
I think maybe around 1993, the Job Centre got me a short term training course, in helping improve my job seeking chances, and I managed to ask if I could have a volunteer work in photography, and somehow got a placement with a local newspaper’s photography department.
I was there, familiarise myself with how photojournalist work, and learn the ropes. I was told to go with this journalist to attend this event, and while he was taking photographs for the newspaper, I was taking photographs of him for myself.
It was only a few weeks, but enough for me to want to push harder, and try to get into photography as careers, even if I still face discrimination.
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