Since learning about my eye problem, I have wondered about photography's role for people with visual impairment. There are schools that teach photography to people with vision problems and some of the work produced by these students is quite good. Back in the old days of chemical/film based photography, even blind people found jobs in the industry - mostly in film and x-ray processing where working in total darkness is a requirement.

Almost all of those jobs are gone now because of the digital revolution. With cameras that are autofocus and auto exposure, visual impairment really only limits these photographers to solving compositional challenges.

I want to offer a challenge to photographers - try taking some images where you deliberately obstruct your normal vision by 75% - either by wearing plastic eyewear smeared with vasline or partially obstructed by paint - something that will make it difficult to see through. Do not manipulate your photos with Photoshop. Send me an image by e-mail (125dpi jpeg) by July 1st. I will select the top ten images and post them here. I will send $25 to the photographer who takes the most interesting image in my judgement. I want to know how you "impaired" your eyesight for the assignment.

My e-mail is Harker@Harkerphotography.com; be sure to send me your address so I can mail you a money order for $25 if I should pick your image!

To see some photographs done by impaired individuals, google "Photos by Blind Photographers+Time magazine".

Cheers!

Michael