Comments on: Visually impaired photographers

Visually impaired photographers

mediareport — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 22:33:57 -0800

"I'm photography's degree zero." Evgen Bavcar takes interesting photos despite being blind. "Naturally there are certain adjustments I have made to the camera" [quicktime]. He's also far from alone. [first link via the Athanasius Kircher Society] [more inside]

By: mediareport

mediareport — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 22:35:12 -0800

Are you blind?, a wonderful photo-essay Gothamist interviews a blind street photographer "What are you thinking, teaching photography to blind people?" (promo site for an upcoming book)

By: dminor

dminor — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 22:51:19 -0800

this is really impressive and kind of unbelievable

By: dobbs

dobbs — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 23:07:02 -0800

Thanks.

By: grapefruitmoon

grapefruitmoon — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 23:12:02 -0800

Wow, this is amazing. I wish my photography skillz were half as good and I've got 20/20 vision. I don't quite know how he does it, or how the blind compose their images in general, but it's freaking awesome.

By: mediareport

mediareport — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 23:23:06 -0800

I'd love to know more, too. He explains the process a bit here, and I love what he writes here: Every photo I take I have to have perfectly organized in my head before shooting. I put the camera at the height of my mouth and that's how I photograph people I hear talking. The autofocus helps, but I can manage without it. It's simple. I measure the distance with my hands and the rest is done by my internal desire for images. I know there are always things that escape me, but that's true of photographers who can physically see. My images are fragile; I've never seen them, but I know they exist, and some of them have touched me deeply. And I'm guessing that's him using his hand to judge the distance in the "interesting photos" link above.

By: Tlogmer

Tlogmer — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 01:45:16 -0800

Holy shit.

By: Brittanie

Brittanie — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 01:48:06 -0800

This is so amazing and beautiful it almost has me choked up.

By: markdj

markdj — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 04:07:01 -0800

Wonderful. Reminds me of the movie "Proof" where Hugo Weaving plays a blind photographer who takes photos as proof of what people tell him.

By: anastasiav

anastasiav — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 06:07:33 -0800

I've met blind people who also take photographs but never as self-consciously as I do. Some of them even do it with the hope of seeing again some day. Man, that's going to stay with me all day ... taking photos of today in the hope - hope! - that when enough tomorrows come technology and/or medicine will have advanced enough to allow you to see that instant you recorded.

By: elmwood

elmwood — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 06:15:15 -0800

Are there deaf musicians? Seriously, I'd like to know.

By: CautionToTheWind

CautionToTheWind — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 06:24:07 -0800

I believe there might have been some noteworthy deaf musicians in the past...

By: knapah

knapah — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 06:39:38 -0800

For the record elmwood, I believe CautionToTheWind is referring to Beethoven

By: availablelight

availablelight — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 06:46:09 -0800

So much of being a "good photographer" happens post-exposure, when you cast an unforgiving eye towards which images make the cut or don't, and make other decisions about cropping, etc. He must have a heck of an editor as well.

By: blendor

blendor — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 07:25:16 -0800

Amazing post. Thanks for this.

By: CitrusFreak12

CitrusFreak12 — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 07:41:20 -0800

Yes, what availablelight said. I wonder, given his disability, just how many photos we don't see. The photos on his site are amazing, regardless.

By: dios

dios — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 07:53:42 -0800

Awesome post. Yesterday I would have laughed at the idea of a blind photographer: "What? You can't lack the one ability necessary for the task! What's next? A singer without vocal chords!." But I would have been foolish then. Thanks for opening my eyes to that. I enjoyed it.

By: booth

booth — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 08:07:49 -0800

Reminds me of the movie "Proof" where Hugo Weaving plays a blind photographer who takes photos as proof of what people tell him. And a young Russell Crow plays his reluctant accomplice. Good movie.

By: elmwood

elmwood — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 08:56:29 -0800

Uhh ... Beethoven began to lose his hearing when he was about 30. I should have been clearer, and said "deaf from birth".

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 09:53:53 -0800

Isn't there a blind photographer in Pecker?

By: ism

ism — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 12:04:58 -0800

elmwood, check out evelyn glennie, a deaf virtuoso percussionist working in classical, pop and avant garde music.

By: autoverzekering

autoverzekering — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 12:17:46 -0800

I love this post

By: gwyn

gwyn — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 16:57:56 -0800

That "Are You Blind?" photo-essay is especially impressive. Putting the text in Braille and making the viewer scroll over the words was a great touch. Great post! Thanks!

By: zoinks

zoinks — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 00:02:37 -0800

Astro Zombie, indeed there is. First thing I thought of.