When Steven Erra was in art school, he found out that he had an eye disease that would cause him to go completely blind within 20 years. While for many people, this news would be devastating, for Erra, it motivated him to create the best art of his life. Check out this inspirational video showing insight into Erra's story.
These days, Erra works with The Seeing With Photography Collective, a group of sight impaired artists that specialize in light painting. According to Erra, he sees only very bright lights. Everything else isn't black, white, or gray, to him, it just doesn't exist. Specializing in light painting, a technique where "you use your mind as much as your eye," he shoots portraits in a dark room, using a long exposure and flashlights to paint his subjects. While his sight is still deteriorating, he finds comfort knowing that he has strong work, and will be able to continue creating beautiful work as his sight fades. If you are interested in checking out more of Erra's amazing light paintings, you can head over to his website, where you will find beautiful imagery and more about his story.
[via ISO 1200]
Fantastic.