Just yesterday, I received the following question over email:
The person who told me your name, or more specifically about your group, is lion42 and obviously a visually impaired person. I forgot the ratio she can see, but finding out about she got into photography and her subject matter. wasn’t fun.
So. I will ask you. How do you know, i guess where to point your camera, if you can’t well… see the target? For example… like the school for tap dancing. i can’t think of a good way to say this: If the dancers appear very unfocused and you can’t see very much at all of their performance, how do you know when and where to pont the camera to get the best shot?
I Hope you don’t get offended because, i don’t mean that because i can see, that i can do a much better job, i just wonder how you figure it out
This is how I answered the email:
Before I answer your question, let me suggest you visit our group, Blind Photographers, on Flickr and our web site. You will find good discussions plus a lot of photography by blind and visually impaired photogs.
Each blind photographer has a different visual impairment. Even if two of us share the same cause (disease or whatever), each level of residual vision will be different and the techniques that we have developed to adapt will be our own. So each of us shoots differently, depending on our visual acuity and chosen methods of adaptation. Even saying ‘visual acuity’ is misleading. Even saying that two of us have 20/300 vision does not mean that we see the say way. Some impairments cause blurriness (out of focus), some cause lower resolution (less ‘pixels’ per inch on our retina), some have better peripheral vision and others better central. Some have color issues, others have sensitivity to too much or too little light. All this is complicated by our having two eyes. It is a rare case where visual acuity is identical in both eyes. Sometimes the issues are not entirely (or even at all) ocular, but have to do with the way the brain processes our visual information. All of this is to say is that there is no representative blind photographer. I will share my story, but encourage you to learn more. A good place to start is our Project BlindSighted.
For me, I have much better vision than lion42. I see much closer to the 20/200 level, close enough that I get around without a cane, a dog or too many bumps and bruises. Yet I can not recognize my wife just a few feet away unless I know to expect her. I can’t read print without low vision aids. So how do I frame a photo? How do I know what is in my viewfinder? First, I zoom out when shooting and crop later on the computer. Second, I take a whole lot of photos, knowing most will be thrown out. Third, I pay attention and plan.
Everyone pays attention and plans, right? Probably not in the same way since the early days of photography with those large box cameras. I need to spend serious time getting to know the environs. From there, with some general observation, I can put together a good picture, so to speak, in my head. For more details see my earlier post, Stitching Sight. Once I have an idea in mind of what and where everything is, all I need to do is anticipate and then hit the shutter button a bunch of times. Hopefully, when I get the images uploaded to my computer, I will find that I captured what I though I captured.
This is my story. Each of us has a different one. Drew Bedo carefully constructs and controls his shooting environment to ensure he captures what he thinks he is capturing. Alex de Jong uses his ears, memories and feelings to frame his images. Read about Alex’s sonified viewfinder on his Project BlindSighted page.
This is a fairly frequent question. Hopefully, this answer will help those who stumble across it.
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A very great article. Thought I’d learn a lot but realized that I was doing much of the same things, such as taking a lot of photos and cropping them on my computer. I guess a person just automatically compensates where there is impairment. Thanks for the links.
I like your reply and it is spot on, for me I can see as far forward than any “Normal” sighted person, But I have No peripheral vision in my left eye and my right eye is Glass that is the reason why I’m reg blind.
I used to play a lot of Crown green bowls and when new bowlers made a comment when I said that I couldn’t see which bowl was nearest the Jack Quite often I would take my “Glass eye” out and say “Well take a look through this”.
We are All different.
Ian
Your explanation of how you are able to photograph is a lesson in life. To see what we think we see and focus on that, this is enough to give us an amazing picture of a reality that in effect we ourselves create.
thank you for your insight.
you are welcome! Thank you for visiting and commenting on our site.
Ian, thanks! Very nicely said.
@Henry Staub, you are welcome. I am glad you have found our site useful.
Hmm. I just saw this and I wonder who on earth asked that question. I don’t remember. *laugh* oh well.
Hi Tim,
It’s been awhile since I’ve done anything, but back into getting Blindsided sorted out. Did a quick google search and it looks like you’ve been really busy! Compared to what was out there when I first started!
It’s great to see(or not…!)
Kerry
We certainly have been busy. There have been loads of updates in the discussion threads on flickr. Feel free to set up a profile and contribute!
I was very impressed to see such a beautiful artistic performance. The photos are amazing!
The funny thing is that I came across your site because I actually help people to improve their vision and to see better. However after seeing the photos I’m not sure you have any vision problems;)
Anyway, if somebody is thinking about improving her or his conditions I have an audio book available in my program.
You are more than welcome to visit my site and get an idea what is all about. http://www.Unleash-Your-Vision.com
I absolutely agree that first you must see a picture in your mind…
With love,
Evgania
[...] BlindPhotographers.org – Photography by the Visually Impaired In life, we all have to compensate or adapt based on our situation, but generally though adaptations aren’t nearly as extreme as those needed for the individuals who run and contribute to BlindPhotography.org. A site developed to showcase the photography of visually-impaired artists, BlindPhotography.org houses a wealth of images taken by individuals who are all considered to be legally blind. Anyone who’s taken a photo before can attest that one’s sight is usually the most important sense when behind the camera, but these photographers have found ways to compensate for their visual impairments and create beautiful art through their lenses. Visit BlindPhotography.org to see their work, or visit their Frequently Asked Questions page to read the story of how one man with 20/200 vision creates his images and continues to indulge his passion for photography, despite his impairment – FAQ: How do Blind Photographers Know What They Are Shooting? [...]