Blind Photographer Pete Eckert Describes How He Sees and Captures the World
When Pete Eckert found out he was going to lose his sight to retinitis pigmentosa 27 years ago, he was well on his way to becoming an architect, receiving acceptances from graduate programs. It was also around this time that he discovered his mother’s old camera.
He’s now an award-winning photographer, and in the above short by The Avant/Garde Diaries, he describes how he sees the world and uses his photography to create “a bridge between the world of the blind and sighted.”
Pete Eckert’s story is reminiscent of a couple of other blind photographers we’ve mentioned in the past, including Gary Albertson and Sonia Soberats. Soberats’ work in particular is similar to Eckert’s in that they both create surreal light paintings.
Eckert discovered this passion right before going blind, and voraciously learned as much he could about photography before he finally lost his sight entirely. As is the case with Soberats, photography is in many ways therapeutic for Eckert.
“The byproduct is an image for sighted people, but the event is an image for me,” explains Eckert. “The product is what I bring into the sighted world, but I’m very clear about not mixing the two so that the work of blindness is not tainted by the sighted world.”
You can watch the short film at the top to hear a lot more from Eckert. And if you would like to find out more about the inspirational man himself or view some of his award-winning work, be sure to check out our previous coverage and/or head over to his website by clicking here.
(via iGNANT)
