Inspiration Through a New Lens: Visual Storytelling and Sight Unseen
Students in the Visual Storytelling class taught by David Foster at Kent State University's School of Media and Journalism took part in a photo project inspired by the Sight Unseen exhibit on view in the Main Gallery upstairs.
Each student was assigned a specific type of vision impairment and used Vision Loss Simulator Glasses to better understand the condition. They conducted research, photographed everyday scenes through the glasses, and reflected on how the experience altered their perception—both visually and emotionally.
This project aimed to deepen empathy and awareness around vision loss while strengthening students’ skills in composition and narrative.
Ultimately, it served as a reminder that visual storytelling begins in the mind. The creative challenge was not just what to photograph—but how to see differently when vision itself is altered.
Sight Unseen: International Photography by Blind Artists presents work by the world’s most accomplished blind photographers as they explore ideas about the nature of seeing. The artists represent span a wide spectrum of sight impairment: most are completely blind, some are legally blind but nevertheless perceive an attenuated image of the physical world in varying degrees. All of them, with photography as their medium, navigate with their other senses to visualize and represent the space around them.
“Blind photographers operate at the heart of the medium: they are the zero point of photography. These artists occupy the pure, immaculate center – image as idea, idea as image.” - Doug McCulloh, Curator
About the Student Project:
Using Simulator Glasses representing various types of vision impairments, students in the Visual Storytelling class completed the following:
- Researched the specific condition assigned to them.
- Photographed everyday scenes through the simulator glasses.
- Reflected on their experience.
The goal was to deepen empathy and understanding of different forms of vision loss while honing compositional skills in photography and visual storytelling.
My approach to this project began with finding a common ground among people with and without vision impairment through daily routines and experiences. When I reflect on my own internal struggles, I’m often led to the burden of decision making. I chose to translate the struggles of decision-making through images that simulate CMV Retinitis. My aim was to convey a story of altered decisions through a familiar environment, such as grocery store shelves.
Anthony Albanese
This is a photo of Ruby, my golden retriever. It reflects the fragmented viewpoint of someone suffering from CMV retinitis, a serious eye illness that affects vision and blurs details. The photo, which was captured with my camera wearing simulator glasses meant to replicate the effects of the condition, transforms a familiar and comforting scene into an abstract mix of textures and hues. Ruby's golden fur merges into the blurry wall, with her contour somewhat blurred, displaying how vision loss impacts the way one perceives even their most treasured memories. This experience reveals how limitations, such as impaired vision, can lead to creative ways of "seeing," in which motion, texture, and lighting become storytelling elements beyond plain sight.
Cole Bowser
After a few days shooting images through the simulator glasses, I can confidently say that smartphones do not like things held over their lenses. Due to the size of the simulator glasses, smartphone lenses were the only thing small enough to fill the frame. However, with multiple lenses trying to take the “correct” image, it was a constant battle. However, there is always beauty in the process, even the failures.
David Foster (Instructor)
Taking inspiration from what I saw at the exhibit “Sight Unseen,” I relate many of my images to the artists of the exhibit, specifically Gerardo Nigenda, in his picture “The Roadway of Water is Enclosed by the Earth.” The overlay of Braille onto the images was something that I’ve never seen incorporated into art before. This image recollects a point of view from looking out a window in a midwestern town however, the viewer has CMV retinopathy. Ironically enough, my cat also has this type of blindness, and the point of view is looking out her favorite window, so this image is something she sees daily. For me, the experience of photographing for the sight unseen project has shown the importance of capturing light intruding on the lens. Adjusting my ISO was difficult in finding a sweet spot for the image, and I can imagine to people who have CMV retinopathy, light effects what they can view as well.
Sam Lutton
The peripheral vision loss simulator glasses limited my vision of the world to the very center of my field of view. I have a friend who has this form of vision loss and felt both grateful and inspired to be able to experience life through her lens. Capturing images with the glasses added a level of difficulty and frustration but only a minor challenge compared to those living with the visual impairment day to day.
David Foster (Instructor)
Making music is something I hold very deeply and it’s always been an activity that I prioritized in my life, so I thought I should put on the glasses while trying to pursue my favorite pastime. Having my vision completely impaired while trying to make music was a challenging task. I couldn’t mix any song by feeling my DJ board alone nor see what notes I was playing on my bass. Frustration took over me, I gave up really fast, alas I gained an overarching sense of guilt. Disabilities and ailments truly don’t stop people from creating art, of course; Stevie Wonder and José Feliciano, the man who wrote “Feliz Navidad,” are a few names that come to mind, but they don’t define themselves by vision impairment. When you listen to these artists, you can’t even tell that they are blind, it’s interesting to me how disabilities can be so invisible.
Cassandra McCoy
I wanted to make sure I fully understood what it would be like to view all of these things that I view every day but with a visual impairment.I really like that I decided to take pictures of things I see on a walk to class, but I definitely would have liked to actually use these in a studio editorial shoot, since that is what most of my art style centers around. I would have wanted to have tried to do what I normally shoot with the glasses on. If I could have done this differently I would have taken shots of people and possibly put the final images in black and white to make them more cohesive overall.
Felicity Dicken
I was really amazed and empathic towards the overall blurry vision, It was beautiful but very hard to while taking photographs. As I was taking this photograph it was distraught to see this kinda vision loss but as I was doing research, It’s commonly caused by dry eye syndrome, Diabetic Retinopathy as well as, increase blood pressure. But what’s even more interesting is the colors they see is very intact.
Aaron Johnson
When I was walking around campus, I saw this beautiful shot and I just had to take it. I looked through those glasses and saw something very different yet still beautiful. Then I took off my own glasses that I wear every day and couldn’t see anything clearly. This project has meant a lot to me as someone with overall blurry vision, learning about all of the different eye conditions, all of the “Sight Unseen” photographers had it really made me view the world in a different light. CMV retinitis is a viral infection of the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye, caused by the cytomegalovirus (CMV). It is a serious condition that can lead to permanent vision loss if not treated promptly.
Chloe Porter
After seeing Pete Eckert's create Images through his blindness, I decided to play with color. Central vision loss occurs when individuals lose the ability to see clearly in the center of their visual field, primarily due to damage to the macula, the retina's central area responsible for sharp vision. Common causes include age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and other eye diseases. This condition hampers activities like reading and recognizing faces, often leading to reliance on peripheral vision. It can significantly impact the quality of life,
Connor Crislip
The low contrast simulator glasses were by far the most difficult to capture images through. Searching for anything that I could focus on was a challenge. It was only when I saw the contrast of my shadow on the ground that I was able to make out what I was seeing.
David Foster (Instructor)
This activity showed me that vision loss is more than simply darkness; it's about navigating a world full of missing parts. Simple activities, like finding a phone, having to listen for vibrations, or feeling for contours. It's stressful but also revealing. Restrictions drive creativity. For example, blurring edges let me realize how movement and texture can express stories that words cannot.
Cole Bowser
When I was using the glasses I didn’t know what to take a photo of, however I saw the fridge at the end of my hallway so I decided to snap a quick photo of it. It took a lot of time to calibrate my phone’s center, and I took a lot of pictures to make sure one of them was right. The glasses made me realize that unlike my glasses which are one lens far and one near, this would be blind farsighted.
Brian Muetzel
When first assigned this project, I resonated with the fact that this is a person's life and they can’t just take away the film from their camera. One thing that I immediately thought of when we first discussed the glasses in class is my cat who struggles with CMV retinitis as a result of upper respiratory issues and also having cat herpes. To my surprise, those glasses are the ones I got to pull randomly, what a coincidence! Some of the difficulty I had while taking these images through the CMV lens is the way light affects what you can see through.
Sam Lutton
