News release details

Winnipeg – May 16 – A blind photographer from California will share stories about art, perception and ability on Wednesday, May 18 at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) in two events that are generously supported by the Manitoba Association of Optometrists.

Bruce Hall's work is featured in Sight Unseen, an exhibition of photography by blind artists at the CMHR. He has profoundly autistic twin sons who are the subject of his photos in the Museum. He and his wife have created a book, expected to be published next month, called Immersed: Our Experience with Autism.

What: Blind photographer shares his story
When: Wednesday, May 18, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Where: Stuart Clark Garden of Contemplation, CMHR

Hall was born with multiple eye conditions and is legally blind, but retains very limited sight. He grew up hearing about stars, but had never seen them – until one day when a neighbour let him look through his telescope. This glimpse became a turning point, directing Hall into a lifelong engagement with cameras, lenses, magnifiers, telescopes and computer screens. Watch a video about Hall's photography.

He treats the devices as extensions of his own body, using them to construct his world. The result is a strange form of double vision. "I always see things twice. First, I see an impression. I take [a photograph of] what I think I see, and later I can see what I saw." Hall is also an expert diver whose underwater photographs have appeared in National Geographic.

May is Vision Health Month, and the Manitoba Association of Optometrists is urging Manitobans to make eye exams part of their preventative healthcare routines.