One of the hardest things as a blind person with limited vision to explain to sighted people is how we see. Most people assume blind means totally blind and even those that do understand that differentiation often have trouble grasping what our vision is like. Even amongst other blind persons, I find it hard because I have always seen the way I do so I don’t know how it specifically differs from anyone else’s let alone perfect vision.
That isn’t to say, however, that I don’t enjoy hearing how things are supposed to look. One of my favorite things is listening to someone describe a sunset to me — my dad in particular has a very vivid way of explaining the colors and how the sky looks. I don’t really get it since I have no perception of color, but it sounds pretty cool. I also have fond memories of listening to another friend of mine who lost her sight at 13 explain things to me that she remembers, like the colors of fireworks.
Anyway, I’ve long since wished there was a way to show others how I see. Achromatopsia is such a strange disorder because in a lot of ways what I do see is quite vivid and what I don’t see is indistinct and generally ignorable. But the difference between those two really depends on how much light there is and what kind of light, too. For instance, a lamp can cause me to loose detail but being outdoors even with the sun behind a cloud will completely blind me because the sky itself is a source of light.
Awhile back a few internet pals of mine posted about this topic and used some fancy photography to trick their cameras into being nearsighted to sort of show how their vision works. (See here and here if you’re so inclined.) I tried to emulate the saturation that light causes my vision by fiddling with exposure levels but couldn’t really get the results I wanted from my camera and so instead I decided to play with Photoshop and the results aren’t so very bad.
The photo on the left is just a greyscaled version, which is pretty much how I see things. I couldn’t tell the difference between the color and the black-and-white because while there is an absence of color there is still a very present definition of contrast. However, on that particular day this photo was taken it was very sunny and the dogs were in the snow, which also messes with my vision, and so the photo on the right is more close to what it would have looked like to me. The image is blurred not because my vision is specifically blurry but because all that light makes the focused image less distinct and harder to make out. If I had been right on top of her or it was less bright out or there wasn’t snow, I may have had a bit more detail and she wouldn’t have been so washed out.
Again, left is a greyscaled version and on the right is slightly more what I see on a sunny day outside. This was taken about a foot from the blossoms, but it was so incredibly sunny that day I couldn’t really see much of what I was shooting. In fact, there’s a bug on one of the blossoms that I only noticed when I uploaded the photo and had it displayed on my computer.
Lastly is a photo from an overcast day on Empire State Plaza, you’ll notice the photo on the right is less saturated than the previous but still there is much degradation of my detail vision. On a day like this I can usually make out more things around me than the random shapeless grey and black blobs that make up my vision outside, but I still can’t see well enough to trust myself without a mobility aid.
I didn’t bother manipulating any photos taken in doors because for the most part they’re much like the greyscaled images above. Generally if the light levels are to a point that I’m having trouble seeing things I turn off lights or close blinds or stop doing whatever it is I’m using my vision for, like reading. If I can, of course. But for the most part, if I’m close enough to something indoors, I don’t have much loss of detail in what I see.
Also, I didn’t bother showing any night photos, but I will say that my vision is very good. Not just because of the low level of light but because that is when the rods (the functioning part of my retina) are meant to be working and as I am so used to seeing minus distinct detail and all I probably could get around even better than most sighted people. I don’t have any distance vision or depth perseption, though, so it’s not like I’d be driving a car. But I can safely walk around without Yara guiding me and make out buildings and other landmarks usually absent to me.
Anyway, it isn’t a perfect representation. But I hope it helped to show you all a bit of what it’s like to see through my poor eyes. ;-)
I was going to say this was “illuminating” but maybe that’s a poor choice of words…
Regardless, thanks!
LOL! I do appreciate a good pun. ;-)
Glad you found it worthwhile!
I found this very interesting, I know that I’ve talked with you or read about you talking about your achromatopsia before, so I had somewhat of an idea of how see things. But the images certainly help with understanding.
Thanks. I’m glad it was informative!
Yay, I’m glad you found a way to get your photos to look right for this. I had a friend in college with this eye condition, and we use to “compare notes” on what we could see. So, it’s really interesting to check out your depictions of it.
Me too. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to find a way and then I just started fiddling in Photoshop.
I’ve only met one other person with achromatopsia in my life, though, I do know of others through the Achromatopsia Network. It used to be more of a long distance support group, but I never was a good pen pal and I’m assuming it wasn’t much different for others and/or the organizer found it too difficult to maintain in that way. But the few people I’ve had occasion to discuss my vision with that have this have seemed to have either far better or far worse vision. So, it does seem to affect people in many different ways, even though everything known about it says differently. Not surprising, since it is quite rare.
Cyndy,
I have Achromatopsia and I enjoyed reading your post! You mentioned that you have never met anyone else with A. Did you know that we put on a convention for folks with A. every other year? Researchers and scientists speak, and more people with A. than you ever knew existed get to meet and greet. It’s great fun. You can join the Achromatopsia group on Yahoo Groups to find out more. Cheers!
Actually no, what I said was I’ve met ONE other person with achromatopsia. Additionally, I was pen pals with a few others and I was somewhat active on the Yahoo! group for a bit, but I hate the setup of Yahoo! Groups so I eventually fell out of the habit of checking.
I wasn’t aware of the convention, but I doubt I’d have gone even if I had. Conventions are just a pain and if I’m going to be subjected to crowds, I’d rather it be for something fun like Dragon*Con. Thanks for the information, though.
You’ve grappled with a really difficult one here, as I know from trying to illustrate my sight deficits in photos. As you’ve found, it takes a lot of insight (pun alert!) to work out how you see things yourself, and then you’ve got to guess how anyone else might see what you’re looking at. Very tricky, and well done for having a good go at it.
I have macular degeneration, which can give some of the same effects you describe with achromatopsia. Glare, even on a cloudy day, rubbish colour sense (though I still have some), and sometimes things are just blurry. Sometimes when a photo looks a bit blurred or overlit, or colours are bleached out in bright sunshine, I leave it pretty much as it is because that’s the way I’ll have seen the scene in front of me anyway. Other people might see these as just amateurish mistakes! which sometimes they are. Not to worry – gives some people anew way of seeing the world, maybe. I’d rather carry on like that than edit everything to death.
Thanks, Vince!
Much like you I can’t really see the difference between a photo that lacks sharpness or whatnot, that detail vision is completely lost on me. I don’t do much photo-editing in terms of color for that basic reason.