Coinciding with World Sight Day, the collection, Through Their Lens, demonstrates how technology can make photography accessible to people who are blind or partially sighted.
Gary Williamson discovered a love for photography while at art college in the late 1980s but was unable to pursue his passion after suddenly and unexpectedly losing his vision aged just 18 due to Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), a rare genetic disease. However, when digital cameras came along in the early 2000s, Gary was able to view the images he had taken on a larger screen.
Gary has since developed his unique style of striking black & white photography, relying on his skill for mental mapping and supported by advances in technology. The 10 images in the Through Their Lens collection bring to light how he sees the world.
‘My narrative has always been not to look at what is lost, but what is possible. My story is about inclusion, resilience, and empowerment, and with my photography I hope to challenge stereotypes and create a deeper appreciation of all forms of sight,’ Gary said.
‘In life, I am constantly recording the world around me, whether through touch, sound, taste, smell or what sight I have. With my sight, I’m reliant on using the contrast between things, like the pavement and a double yellow line, to know where I am and where I need to be. That’s one of the reasons I often shoot in black and white, because the contrast allows me to see the shot better and it connects me to the feeling I got at the time when I took it.’
‘I want to create art that pleases me, something that is from my eyesight and creates fine art. I only keep a shot if it creates a story, it isn’t about making something that’s pretty, it’s about leaving someone with a question or emotion.’
Gary shot his Through Their Lens collection using a Sony Alpha 7C II, which includes accessibility features such as a screen reader function to read out menu items and an Enlarge Screen function, which allows the text in the menu display to be enlarged up to 2.5 times in its size. The camera also has Touch Tracking, AI subject recognition and Focus Peaking.
