There is nothing more inspiring than people who overcome their limitations. Blind photographers show us what is possible when our passion is stronger than our obstacles.
Their work is also an important addition to photography in general. The perspectives blind photographers offer are unique. The techniques and methods they develop can be an inspiration to every photographer, and their voices are a valuable contribution to the world of photography.
Portfolios of Blind Photographers
Pete Eckert
“I didn’t take photography seriously until I went totally blind … What I get out of taking photos is the event not the picture. I do the large prints to get sighted people thinking. Talking with people in galleries builds a bridge between my mind’s eye and their vision of my work. Occasionally people refuse to believe I am blind. I am a visual person. I just can’t see.”
James M. Gates
“I was born with a condition called congenital nystagmus which makes things like reading a book difficult, and driving a car will probably never be in the cards for me, but I’ve learned to live and deal with my condition. Taking pics can also be somewhat difficult at times, but when you love something you will do whatever it takes to do it.”
Bruce Hall
“I think all photographers take pictures in order to see, but for me it’s a necessity. I can’t see without optical devices, cameras. Therefore, it’s become an obsession. It’s beyond being in love with cameras; I need cameras.”
Seeing with Photography Collective
“Coming from diverse backgrounds and life experiences, we share an awareness of sight loss, along with the determination to dialogue and integrate our images into a more universal context … The nature of our visual limitations can provoke any viewer or perceiver of these portraits…Is less, more? What is seeing? What does one choose to see?”
—Steven Erra
Evgen Bavcar
“In 1962, at age 16, Evgen got hold of a camera, in order to take a picture of his then-girlfriend. As he pressed the shutter, he realized that, even though he would never see exactly what his photos looked like, he was a great photographer.”
Rosita McKenzie
“Photography allows me to express my fleeting thoughts and emotional responses by capturing visual images in an instant that can be permanently held and shared. Such self-expression is common to all photographers; however the dissimilarity is that I employ other methods: I am guided by my hearing, by my sense of touch, taste and smell and overwhelming curiosity, not merely physical sight.”
