Robin Rayne, documentary photojournalist

Disability Redefined: Stories From the Front Lines

  • Derrean Tucker and his wife, Deshan, prepare a spaghetti dinner, navigating the kitchen without sight—both are blind. They married in 2023 and have never seen each other, except through touch. “I lost my sight after I was jumped by a gang in prison four years ago,” Derrean said. “I was in a gang as a teen and got busted for armed robbery. I was stupid. Then, in prison, another gang jumped me and beat me. My sight gradually disappeared.”Deshan’s vision deteriorated after she suffered a stroke. The two met over the phone when she was working for a blind advocacy organization and he called seeking help after his release from prison. Despite their low income and limited job opportunities, they remain hopeful. Both are active in voter registration advocacy in LaGrange, Georgia, where they share a modest rental home.
  • Grace Dodd, 22, beams in her evening gown at the Special Friends Prom, a celebration for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities, held at a golf clubhouse in Brentwood, Tennessee. Grace, who has Down syndrome, embraces life on her own terms, refusing to let a diagnosis define her. “I’m just me,” she says, dancing the night away with confidence and joy.
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  • Nita Wilcox stretches her son Luke’s arm as part of his morning physical therapy. He lives with his aging parents in a rural area of the state and is dependent on them for all his needs, due to a critical shortage of direct support professionals who provide in-home care for people with physical and developmental disabilities.
  • Allison Holmes listens to her son JJ’s address to Florida legislators that he typed on his iPad with his nose. His comments reflect his frustration at the state’s disability policies and long wait list for Medicaid waivers. Jj is non-speaking because of his cerebral palsy but communicates through his iPad that recites what JJ writes.
  • Josie Klaaren, 22, shares a tender moment with her father Joshua outside their Asheville, NC home. Joshua is anxious about his developmentally disabled daughter’s future as she is incontinent and unable to express herself due to apraxia. “Who will care for Josie when her mother and I are gone? We can understand her limited speech and we know her needs, but we haven’t been able to find or hire any in-home caregivers. Nobody wants to work for the low wages the state is paying,” he said.
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  • Erika Jones, 32, is on the slow path to recovery from a brain tumor that left her paralyzed and unable to speak more than a few words. Her mother Joyce Jones insisted she be moved back into her family's home rather than a nursing facility. {quote}I am committed to caring for my baby until the day I die,{quote} Joyce explained. {quote}She wouldn't get that love in a nursing home.{quote}
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