Hope

I’ve had a challenging start to the new year. The geographic atrophy in my left eye is nearly complete, and my vision has been a real struggle over the past month. I was on the verge of giving up on my creative pursuits. However, this morning, I picked up my camera and discovered that if I take my time and rely on my peripheral vision, I can still see through the viewfinder. My next step is to practice and test how well my autofocus functions. Will it work? Can I continue using my camera, or will I need to rely on my phone for photography? Next, I adjusted my iPad, positioning it with the camera in the lower left corner of my stand. It was a revelation—now I can use it more effectively for tracing and drawing. If I need additional magnification, I can still get it. I realize I’ll need more practice, but I can still paint and create. I may need to add more tactile markers to my paints, brushes, and pencils, but things are looking promising for continuing my creative work. I’ve also found that I can enlarge images on my iPad while creating digital art. Although my Fusion software doesn’t integrate smoothly with Photoshop, I’ve learned to work more slowly and focus on mastering keyboard shortcuts. Overall, I’m much happier than I was at the start of the year. I’ve even discovered it’s easier to draw using my CCTV, though I anticipate this will be a challenge when I travel to Australia. Hopefully, Vision Australia can provide a similar tool for me, or perhaps I should consider shipping mine over.

The new year started off with challenges. The geographic atrophy in my left eye is nearly complete, making vision a real struggle over the past month. I was close to giving up on my creative pursuits.

But this morning, I picked up my camera, and something unexpected happened: if I take my time and rely on peripheral vision, I can still see through the viewfinder. My next step is to practice using autofocus to see how well it functions. Will it be enough to keep using my camera, or will I need to rely on my phone for photography?

I also adjusted my iPad, positioning it with the camera in the lower left corner of its stand. This small change was a revelation—I can now use it more effectively for tracing and drawing, with extra magnification if needed. I know I’ll need more practice, but I realize that painting and creating are still within reach. Adding tactile markers to my paints, brushes, and pencils could help, and I feel hopeful about continuing my creative work.

Digital art on my iPad has also become more accessible, with image enlargement and other tools. Although my Fusion software doesn’t sync smoothly with Photoshop, I’ve adapted to working more slowly and relying on keyboard shortcuts.

Overall, I feel much more optimistic than I did at the beginning of the year. I’ve even found that drawing is easier with my CCTV setup, though I expect travel will bring its own challenges—particularly when I go to Australia. Hopefully, Vision Australia can help me find a similar tool, or I may consider shipping mine over.