Blind Photographers

My street bathed in early morning light

This morning, I saw something rather breathtaking: an HBO documentary called Dark Light on the work of three American photographers who are blind.  Yes, blind.  The artists are Henry Butler, Pete Eckert, and Bruce Hall.

The work these three artists create is worthy of any sighted artist's portfolio, as one fellow photographer notes when interviewed. (Butler is also a renowned jazz pianist and provided some of the soundtrack.)  The whole notion that an art form that is fundamentally dependent on how light interacts with objects can be made -- brilliantly -- by those who cannot actually see the light is astounding.  However, each of these artists has vision.  They have artistic vision and the photographs they make help them experience our "sighted" world better and, hopefully, help us understand their world more clearly.

I urge you to spend the time to watch this documentary; it's not even an hour long.  Click on this link for more information.