When Krishna took her first photograph,he thought it was a snake he was capturing on camera. When the picture was developed,it turned out to be flower. But now,children like Krishna,who have varying degrees of visual impairment have come up with a whole photo exhibition. These 10 children have broken the misconception that photography is not for the visually impaired. They are now confident they can be ace cameramen. All it took was a four-day session on photography. The exhibition is being organised by Sightsavers,a global development organisation working to eliminate avoidable blindness. The event is an awareness programme Through Different Eyes that aims at sensitising people to the challenges faced by the visually impaired in their everyday life. The children,aged between 10 and 16,have improved their sight to a considerable extent through surgery. The children were taught the basics of handling a digital camera and photography through interactive sessions that included a mix of classroom as well as outdoor shoots. The outcome has been a set of brilliant pictures full of colour and expression, said Elizabeth Kurian,CEO (India),Sightsavers. The first time I took a camera in my hands,I saw a snake and took a photo but later I realised that it was a flower. Now all my friends want me to take their photographs. It feels nice, said 13-year-old Krishna. Taking photos was a nice experience. It has taught me a lot and also boosted my self confidence, said Harish Kumar,another participant. Kurian says the collection of 30-40 photographs was displayed at the event held last week at St Xaviers College. The event,according to Kurian,was aimed at educating parents of visually impaired children that more than 80 per cent of the disability could be cured. This would also encourage others suffering from visual limitations to improve their eyesight.
