A budding photographer who is slowly losing her vision to retinitis pigmentosa might sound like the plot for a tragic story. But Jamie Cook, a student with retinitis pigmentosa at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), isn’t worrying about the future of her eyesight. Rather, she’s enjoying college life, and snapping a lot of photos to capture the light and images of the world around her. She’s truly living in the present.  It’s not that Jamie is in denial about the disease that is slowly robbing her of vision. In fact, her latest exhibit at MICA was a 10-panel, photographic essay of her experiences living with the sight-robbing condition. Her work was part of the Junior Photography Seminar exhibition that ran in MICA’s Main Gallery in February.Retinitis pigmentosa has caused devastating vision loss for her mother, Ellen, and other members of the Cook family. In fact, Ellen was forced out of a rewarding nursing career because of fading vision. The Cooks aren’t shy about sharing their experiences with RP. Jamie says it brings them closer together. “When we talk about it, it feels good to get it off our backs…to have someone else know what it feels like to live with RP.” Ironically, visual art has always been a passion for the Cooks. Jamie credits her mom for helping her develop the appreciation, but it was actually her grandmother’s Brownie camera that drew her attention to photography when she was just a little girl. “I’ve always had a camera in my hand,” she says, “It has been a natural thing for me.” Ellen, of course, is very proud of her daughter’s artistic pursuits and is a big fan of her work. After Jamie earns her bachelor of fine arts degree, she may go to graduate school, or move into some type of teaching role. Regardless, she will definitely keep taking pictures. And, she doesn’t waste a lot of time worrying about her declining vision. She says, “I’ll just adapt to the visual changes as they come. I have learned about a handful of photographers that are visually impaired, and they have continued to produce very fine art.” Jamie and Ellen Cook are both big supporters of the Foundation. Although Ellen is the one in the family who stays up-to-date on FFB-funded research, says Jamie. “Research is more of my mom’s thing, but she fills me in. A cure would definitely be nice.” |
