View allAll Photos Tagged visuallyimpaired
I was presented with my British Empire Medal today by the Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire. It was awarded in Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's final Birthday Honours for my voluntary work helping other blind and visually impaired people to live their lives more fully and independently by helping them select the right technology and then training them to use it. It has been very rewarding, especially over lockdown and the BEM was a huge, delightful surprise.
This is Jackie and me in the gardens of Beaumanor Hall after the presentation. Photo by our daughter, Michelle.
If you are interested in the work I do with iPhones and iPads please take a look at
and here's a Gallery of photos taken by the official photographer
These pens have served me very well over the past decade. It's also satisfying to know that the production of these pens had provided work opportunity for the visually impaired.
"First of its kind in North America"
WATER SNOEZELEN POOL
@ W. Ross Macdonald School
The Grand Opening was on February 2, 2006
The contributor to the renovations of the olympic-sized pool was Paris Lions Club.
Small section of "truncated dome" tactile paving.
"Tactile paving is a system of textured ground surface indicator found on footpaths, stairs and train station platforms to assist pedestrians who are visually impaired." (Wikipedia)
Tactile paving originated in Japan and has spread throughout the world. Different patterns are use to provide information about the type of hazard or crossing (roadway, street-level tram, elevated platform, etc.).
Tom Scott has a short video about tactile paving in England.
Strobist: 600EX-RT with 12" diffuser held at a ~45-degree angle at the upper-left of the camera to generate more shadow/depth. Without the flash the shot was very flat.
Seen recently; this beautiful guide dog. My own photograph, with added digital art. Thanks for all views, comments and fave adds.
That's a question I've been hearing lately. Well, there are two main reasons: health and cosmetic. Those who are only visually impaired can wear dark glasses (sunglasses) to protect their remaining vision. However, that's not the case with people who are completely blind. They wear dark glasses for cosmetic reasons. Blind people's eyes can be deformed, they can look abnormal (different from healthy eyes), they may move rapidly, they may point in another direction than where, for example, the person you're talking to is. Dark glasses are therefore worn by blind people mainly to hide such a disability and make others feel more comfortable. I do wear dark glasses now: I wear them for cosmetic reasons, but only when I go out. I never wear them at home or when I'm with friends.
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Tactile paving at night.
Description of the photo:
The black and white photo shows a closeup of the tactile paving that forms an interesting pattern together with the pavestones on the sidewalk. In the background there are some people and a pair of car lights.
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I'm always looking for interesting things on my daily walks to capture for my Picture-of-the-Day for the 365 Group, and these sidewalk bumps, also known as "warning pavers" that are meant to assist visually impaired people really caught my eye.
These are 2 different pavers that are about a block apart and they're identical in every way, except one seems to be slightly more worn. However, the one on the left clearly looks like raised bumps, whereas the one of the right looks like depressions. It's a trick of the eye due to the angle of the sun and shadows!
See how easily amused I am....
On a recent holiday to North Wales we visited Talacre I had the opportunity to photograph the lighthouse on a virtually deserted beach
How do you illustrate a Braille book? With tactile illustrations, of course!
Tactile illustrations are raised pictures that can be explored by touch. They can be general or detailed, but it always helps if there is a Braille description under the picture. This picture, for example, represents a bike. The shape of the bicycle is raised and there is the word "bike" written in Braille under the picture.
In the Holiday Season, you can buy Christmas cards with raised pictures and Braille messages, so even if you're blind you can still experience the joy of sending or receiving a Christmas card :-)
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Even on a hazy day there is always an opportunity to stop pause and absorb the landscape before you…….
Marsh tit (Poecile palustris).
Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Visually impaired. Monocular vision.
Animal in wildlife.
SBZ Unterschleißheim (Sehbehinderten- und Blinden-Zentrum Südbayern)
Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired
On my walk today I noticed this shed , it has been there for a long time and I have walked past it many times. Perhaps this is the start of a new photography project …..
"The RedHawk Effect" by George RedHawk aka DarkAngelØne for Vintage Workshop®
(You may want to read an example on how the Art of this Master is steadily vampirized in my for last comment down below)
*** If you have a non up-dated browser (like me),just right click with the mouse on the download arrow on the right hand side below photo to view pic in "all sizes" & the gif will project. ***
A cooperation in photography by Vintage Workshop® and image animation by the Native American artist DarkAngel0ne dated 2014. This photo of one of our still lifes with Vintage accessories, in particular belts & body ornaments & suspenders was among those choosen by Maestro RedHawk to be animated. A first experiment of morphing with Vintage accessories that fitted so well our industrial art .
The stunning flashing in the gif reflects very much the distrophic damaged sight of the artist DarkAngel0ne that, at that time, was already legally blind for a heavy retin distrophy. For this reason, M° G. RedHawk entitled his entire art opera "The World Through my Eyes" which he also registered TM.
Image copyrighted ©The G. RedHawk Effect & ©Vintage Workshop® All rights reserved.
Any use either than watching striktly forbidden.
In all the hustle and bustle of life it's always good to pause and it's even better when you have a great location to just stop, be still
A view through the fields towards Castle Hill and the historical Victoria Tower which look over the town of Huddersfield
Every year, 15th October is celebrated around the world as White Cane Safety Day. The day celebrates all the achievements of blind and visually impaired people. It also raises awareness about blindness and vision loss among people.
Description of the photo:
The photo depicts a drawing of a foldable white cane with the words "White Cane Safety Day" written above the cane in Braille.
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On my walk the other day I came across this garage that appeared to be left to the forces of nature that were covering the structure up.
January is the official Braille Literacy Awareness Month.
I bought a new novel yesterday. It's in Grade 2 Braille. It comes in 7 volumes, each volume being about 3 cm thick (2.5 inches). These 7 volumes are equal to a regular-print paperback novel of around 500 pages. While you can put a regular-print novel in your pocket and head out into the park to read it, you need a bag to carry around the Braille book. However, the reading experience you get when reading Braille can never be compared to reading print. As Jim Fiebig once said:
"There is a wonder in reading Braille that the sighted will never know: to touch words and have them touch you back."
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My first attempts with a black mirror. I'm quite pleased with the result, actually :-)
While I initially started out with different combinations of coloured pencils, I decided to post this photo here on my Flickr. Why? Well, I decided to use it as a way of explaining the question that I got the other day about my white cane: "Do the colours on your cane mean anything?" And the answer is yes!
While today white canes can be colourful, too (different colours of grips, tips, etc), there is a kind of an international "code" about white canes, too.
1) A white cane that is completely white indicates that the user is completely blind.
2) A white cane with a red bottom part (like the one I have) indicates that the user is visually impaired and still has some usable vision left.
3) A striped red and white cane indicates that the user is deafblind.
So, next time you see someone with a white cane, pay attention to the colours of the cane. This way, you'll know how to act around them and perhaps help them if they ask for help.
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The photo shows the Braille letters BRL - short for the word Braille.
4th January is celebrated as World Braille Day every year. The whole month of January is Braille Literacy Month.
Many people say that in the era of modern technology Braille is outdated. However, that is absolutely not true. Just like sighted people must know how to read and write, blind and visually impaired people must be able to use a system for reading and writing, too. In fact, it is even more important for blind and visually impaired people to be able to read and write. Being literate is a basic skill that everybody must master. Sure, screen readers are great and make life a lot easier if you can't use a phone or a computer screen. But still - these apps and programs are not a substitute for the basic ability of reading and writing. So, if you are visually impaired or blind, I encourage you to learn Braille! As a Braille user I can tell you from experience that it will open up a whole world of new possibilities for you just as it has for me!
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I just got two new Braille cubes. The black one is a Braille playing cube for playing board games. It's made in such a way that the dots are actually little pegs that you can feel and this way count the dots. However, the dots are also painted in white and are therefore visible, too. When you're blind, such a little device means that you can still enjoy board games with your sighted friends.
The white cube (in reality it's actually yellow) is a Braille letter cube. The three layers can be turned and this way Braille letters and symbols are formed. It's a great little device for learning Braille. It's also a keychain, so it makes a nice little fidget toy. It's very pleasant to turn between your fingers. Sighted people often wonder what this little device is, so this little cube connects the blind and the sighted, too, since it helps in educating sighted people about Braille.
These two cubes may look like only two small toys to anyone who can see, but when you're blind they can make a world of difference. Their most important role lies in their ability to connect the blind with their sighted friends.
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Beginning And End Sculpture
It marks the end of the Offa’s Dyke National Walking Trail. Installed in 2009, the obelisk like sculpture is made of mirror finish stainless steel and locally quarried Welsh limestone and was designed by Craig and Mary Matthews.
Bain News Service,, publisher.
Blind stenographer using dictaphone
1911 April 27. (date created or published later by Bain)
1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller.
Notes:
Title and date from data provided by the Bain News Service on the negative.
Photographer's name (Byron, N.Y.) partially visible on negative.
Forms part of: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress).
Format: Glass negatives.
Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.
Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
General information about the Bain Collection is available at hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.ggbain
Higher resolution image is available (Persistent URL): hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.09147
Call Number: LC-B2- 2191-9
I took me a long time and countless shots to get this photo. I think it turned out quite nicely!
Description of the photo:
The black-and-white photo shows a closeup shot of the human eye looking at the computer screen. The mirror reflection of the word "flickr" is seen in the pupil of the eye.
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Tomorrow is 15th October, which is White Cane Safety Day. "The mission of White Cane Day is to educate the world about blindness and how the blind and visually impaired can live and work independently while giving back to their communities, to celebrate the abilities and successes achieved by blind people in a sighted world and to honor the many contributions being made by the blind and visually impaired. " (www.whitecaneday.org)
When you lose your sight, white cane becomes a big part of your life. It offers you independence and enables you to travel safely. While it looks simple, the white cane is actually quite a sophisticated tool. Firstly, it enables you to feel what's in front of you when you walk. Secondly, it alerts you to a change in the ground surface with sound (the tip of the cane makes different sounds when you drag it across different kinds of surfaces). Thirdly, it lets the people around you know that you're blind or partially sighted.
However, instead of embracing the chance of independence and safety offered by the white cane, many blind or visually impaired people feel embarrassed and refuse to use it. They prefer to rely on other people's help to get around. That is so unnecessary. White cane is a wonderful tool that gives you back some of the independence you had before losing sight.
And, finally, here's some information on my new white cane that you can see on the photo. I got it a few days ago and it's great! It's a folding cane, it folds into 4 parts (three parts are white and one is red). The handle is made of black rubber, which offers a very good and solid grip. The cane has a marshmallow tip, which spins around, offering good tactile and audio information about the ground surface. The tip is made of a sturdy material, which doesn't wear out easily, but can easily be replaced when it does. The cane itself is made of aluminum, which means that it is sturdy and light. A tough elastic connects the cane parts inside the cane. This means that I just have to grab the handle and let the rest of the cane "drop down" and the elastic makes the parts "jump" together and connect instantly so that the cane can be used immediately.
So, to sum things up:
If you suffer from sight loss or blindness, don't hesitate to talk to your doctor about the possibility of getting a white cane! You might have to go through a mobility training to learn to use the white cane correctly first, but after that you will be able to move around independently and safely. And that's the most important thing!
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A blind man relaxes in the changing room of Unión Nacional de Ciegos del Perú, a social club for the visually impaired in Lima, Peru. Unión Nacional de Ciegos del Perú, one of the first societies for disabled in Latin America, was established in 1931 to provide a daily service for blind and partially sighted people from the capital city. The range of activities includes reading books in a large Braille library, playing chess or using a computer adapted for visually impaired individuals. As the majority of the blind does not have a regular job, the UNCP club offers them an opportunity to learn and lately, to provide massages to the club visitors and thus generate some income. © Jan Sochor Photography
Richmond, Virginia
Listed 11/22/2016
Reference Number: 16000800
Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2016, the Virginia Commission for the Blind building is significant for its architecture and association with Lucian Louis Watts for his work in the areas of Health/Medicine and Social Welfare. The building was designed by prominent Richmond architects J. Binford Walford and O. Pendleton Wright of Walford & Wright, Architect. The building served for some 40 years as the principal administrative offices for statewide services for the blind, as well as provided vocational training, an ophthalmological clinic, and a regional Braille and “talking machine books” libraries. The success of the school would not have been attainable without its significant associated with Lucian Louis Watts. Watts’ efforts and achievements in his life were addressing the social welfare of the blind population of the Commonwealth. Watts was acknowledged as a leader in demonstrating the ability of a state agency to deliver a wide range of services to blind adults and children. Watts was involved in the founding of state and national organizations for the blind, namely, the Virginia Association of Workers for the Blind (now Virginia Industries for the Blind), the Virginia Commission for the Blind (now the Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired), and the American Foundation for the Blind. His work influenced educational and training opportunities for blind Virginians for more than 30 years, and his legacy has continued to the present day.
National Register of Historic Places Homepage