Over the past year, I have photographed many different events and activities but nothing like this one. I had the pleasure of sponsoring and photographing Berks Deaf Dash 2018! It was so much fun meeting new people, working with such a fantastic cause, and not to mention learning something new!

Before this event, I haven't met or worked with many people that were hard of hearing or deaf. It was such a unique experience from any event I have ever participated in.

Now I do have a bit of experience finger spelling, but I am not well versed in sign language. Talking with a few volunteers, I was very fortunate that they taught me a few signs so that I could communicate with the participants and capture all the photos you see!

A few words that I learned how to sign are: Camera, Great, Excitement, and probably the sign I used the most, Thank You.

Despite not having a vast vocabulary in sign language, it was an amazing feeling being able  to communicate with everyone at the event, hearing or not. This was a challenging obstacle as a photographer at first, but I was very excited and thankful for the experience and hope to come back to photograph more of their events!

I wanted to thank everyone who participated, staffed, and sponsored the Deaf Dash. It was a wonderful day and an amazing organization to support!

Don't forget to book Gretchen Elaine Photography for your next portrait session, event, or wedding! I am looking forward to connecting with you.

Gretchen Elaine Photography, LLC

717.799.7077 ~ gehphotos@gmail.com