Photographing Blind

I had a shoot last week that pushed my environmental portrait envelope. The story was about a woman who was in essence trapped inside her home. She was blind and didn’t trust the local transportation system to pick her up at the prearranged time and place – she had been left over 10 times. At her house, nothing visually jumped out and said “I’m Blind!” – she was an extremely capable woman – except that the whole place was extremely dark, the only light came from the front door… so I went with it.

Gloria Swieringa in her Fort Washington home on July 22, 2010. Swieringa, who is blind, was trapped in her home after Metro Access claimed her eligibility had expired.
Fort Washington 07/22/10