Listener Spotlight: Bob Weinberg
AINC listener Bob Weinberg was a professional photojournalist and accomplished portrait photographer with his own business when his eyesight began to rapidly deteriorate in 1996. He was diagnosed with retinal pigment epithelial dystrophy, blurring his central vision. By 2003, after more than 30 years of shooting and producing photos, he was legally blind with a small amount of vision left.
He closed his 20-year photography business for the opportunity to work at Envision Xpress as a sales associate. Envision is a non-profit that helps people with vision loss to become independent through employment in their military Base Supply Centers. About one-fourth of Envision’s retail items are manufactured by National Industries for the Blind (NIB).
Bob works at their store on Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colorado.
Bob’s photography interest started in 1966. After the U.S. military rejected his attempt to serve in Vietnam, he joined the AmeriCorps VISTA program, which assigned the Denver native to its East St. Louis office. He bought a Canon SLR to document his fellow volunteers and scenes in the area.
The photography bug led to him to the commercial photography program at Colorado Mountain College in Glenwood Springs. He worked as a photojournalist and specialized in portrait and abstract photography. Along the way, he snapped a photo during Pope John Paul II’s 1993 visit to Colorado that was used by news outlets across the world. The photo shows President Clinton and the pontiff walking across the Regis quad.
He continues to photograph and displays his work on his website.
His artist’s statement on the website says, “The focus of my photography is my passion for documenting the people, places, things, and the movement between them. I enjoy taking portraits of people, interpreting the landscape, and documenting the places I visit. Fine details are woven into all of my images, and I use a unique play of composition, lighting, gesture and action to make a photograph that has a clear visual impact.”
Buckley AFB published a story highlighting an exhibit of Bob’s photography at Regis in 2011.
Matt Kissane, Director of Listener Services
Audio Information Network of Colorado. Providing blind & visually impaired individuals with audio access to reading materials. 303-786-7777, ext. 108 or matt@aincolorado.org/
