Blind Photography: A Growing Community
By Timothy O'Brien
29 Jun 2009
About three and a half years ago, I started the Blind Photographers group on Flickr. I was curious to see if I was the only blind (or visually impaired) photographer around. I certainly was not alone. I asked "Is anyone out there?". Within a short time, I had my answers. Since then, membership in the group has grown to over 150, over half of which are visually impaired photographers who contribute images to the group pool and thoughts to the discussion forums. There is even a regional group, Visually-impaired photographers in the UK, run by a great guy, Brian Negus.
Over the last year, we have taken our Flickr group to the next step. With the skilled help from blind photog, Alex de Jong, we have built a web site, Blind Photographers, for our group. The site features both a photo blog, with a new image daily from one our members, and articles, written by, for and about blind photogrpahers. Not only does the site feature related news, but alsow includes equipment reviews, philosophical musings and personal stories. On the site, you can read about Project BlindSighted, where members discuss their vision and technique.
We are making some inroads into raising awareness about blind photography. Today, the Lens, the New York Times' photojournalism blog, highlighted our gorup in a post about blind photographer, Kurt Weston. In Behind the Scenes: Altered Vision, here is what the Times' Jim Estrin had to say about us:
While the concept of a blind photographer may seem counterintuitive, Mr. Weston is not alone. Many legally blind people photograph and exhibit their work, as Time noted in "The Art and Heart of Blind Photographers." There are over 150 members of the Blind Photographersgroup started by Tim O'Brien. The Web site BlindPhotographers.org developed out of the Flickr community.
I hope this helps our community grow and the wider community understand a bit more.
