On the way back to Boise Idaho, I pondered what life would be like now. I had worked for about forty two years without having an outside hobby. I was not able to continue my job, which was very sight intensive, reading building prints, developing budgets and making site inspections. So what hobby did I take up, photography, which is one of the most unlikely hobbies for a person with macular degeneration, that can no longer read a book or a newspaper nor drive a car.
I am very fortunate to have enough peripheral vision to see large type and a large computer screen. I bought a point and shoot Sony H1 camera and fitted a LCD shade with a magnifier. I was able to compose photos with that set up. I am now using a Sony H9 with the same set up. This camera has a large LCD screen and along with the magnifier I am able to do a fair job of composing my shots. I am however, often surprised at some of the elements in my photos once I load them on my computer screen. As an example, I took a photo of a red bike rack from a low level, when I uploaded the photo there was a red Coke truck that made the photo interesting, I had not seen the truck during the shooting of the bike rack.
I cannot see the expressions on a face or the feather pattern of a bird. With the camera and a magnified computer screen I can once again see these details. So photography for me has been an amazing experience. It allows me to once again enjoy many of the details I miss in everyday life.
I have decided to tell this story, not to show how well I have adapted to my loss of central vision but in the hopes that someone reading this might pass this on to a visually impaired person or someone with a handicap and it might help them know that they may be able to do things that others might not think is possible.
I would be happy to talk with anyone that can benefit from my experience
silvizee
Thanks for this sharing this valuable insight with us.
Deborah Bowness
Thank you so much for writing about your experiences, and how you’ve not let it stop you from living your life, is a true inspiration to us all!
I don’t know if it’s Macular degeneariton that my Mam has (but I have heard that mentioned), but I know that she has bleeding at the back of one eye, but she carries on exactly the same as before, and most of the time I forget, because you just wouldn’t know, she hasn’t slowed down any! She goes for regular check ups, and the last one showed that it hadn’t got any worse, and we were all so greatful about that.
I watched a program the other night about MD, and they did an experiment on 3 or 4 people with it, and got them to eat a handful of spinach everyday for a few months, most were sceptical about it, but it did actually work and improved most peoples eyesight by quite a high percentage!
Sorry for rambling on for ages, your journal just really struck a chord with me! Keep doing what you are doing, cause your work is brilliant!! Debbi x
Tina monroe
thanks for sharing! you do beautiful work.
Suni Pruett
You inspire me and I am so glad that you shared this with us.
Darlene Ruhs
Your words are truly inspiring, probably more so to me in a direct way than others.
Right at this moment I have less than half of the vision that the average person has and that will slowly deteriorate over the years. I have Dominant Optic Atrophy which is a withering and deterioration of the optic nerve that sends messages to the brain. My Mom has this disease as well and in her 50’s became legally blind. I am now 38 so that makes me a bit nervous but I believe my eyes are not quite as bad as my Mom’s were at this age.
I’ve always had this disease and never really let it affect me, until recently. I guess in a way it is the opposite from your story in that I didn’t let my lack of vision bother me UNTIL I found photography. Now I always wonder what i am missing. I can’t see the viewfinder really well so sometimes I find it hard to line up an image. Then when I get my camera home I have a lot of difficulty figuring out what is clear or not. I’m not sure if you have this also but with my disease I am also colour blind, not totally, but enough to cause me grief.
However, as I said at the beginning your words are inspiring to me!! You are at a stage in your vision that I try not to remember I am heading, and yet, you STARTED photography at that point. Sometimes it takes another’s story to make a person happy for what they have, or do not yet have! I have always found a way to work around, or with, my vision issues and I now believe that will not change. Things may get more difficult but I will step up as always and find a way.
Thank you SO much for sharing your story. I am sure many others will find your words very inspiring. Not only are you inspiring but you are very talented as well!!
Great job, with everything!!!
janpiller
We are currently carrying ona discussion in the public General Discussion Forums about art for Blind People and how they relate to art etc. Would love it if you would join the discussion!