Sony and Gary Williamson launch Through Their Lens photography collection for World Sight Day
• New photography collection shows how creativity and technology can break down barriers for a more accessible future.
• Shot in black and white, the collection intends to showcase how Gary’s unique way of seeing while being registered blind enhances his creativity, and ultimately reframe perception of disability to different ability.
Sony Europe and renowned blind photographer Gary Williamson have today launched a new photography collection, Through Their Lens, to showcase how innovation can remove certain obstacles and empower creatives to realise their potential for a more accessible future. The work coincides with Word Sight Day by inviting viewers to experience the world as Gary does and demonstrates how technology and creativity make photography accessible to people who are blind or partially sighted.
Gary discovered a love of photography and storytelling through imagery during art college in 1989. However, he was unable to continue pursuing his passion the following year at age 18, after suddenly and unexpectedly losing his vision due to Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), a rare genetic disease. This changed when the first digital cameras introduced in the early 2000s made it possible for Gary to view the images he had taken on a larger screen.
Beginning with capturing holiday photos, Gary has since developed his unique style of striking black and white photography over the past 20 years. Relying on his skill for mental mapping, and supported by advances in accessible technology, Gary has now become one of the foremost blind or low vision photographers in the United Kingdom and Europe.
The Through Their Lens collection explores Gary’s perspective that has been shaped by living with a visual impairment, with 10 images bringing to light how he sees the world.
“My narrative has always been not to look at what is lost, but what is possible. My story is about inclusion, resilience, and empowerment, and with my photography I hope to challenge stereotypes and create a deeper appreciation of all forms of sight,” Gary Williamson said.
“In life, I am constantly recording the world around me, whether through touch, sound, taste, smell or what sight I have. With my sight, I’m reliant on using the contrast between things, like the pavement and a double yellow line, to know where I am and where I need to be. That’s one of the reasons I often shoot in black and white, because the contrast allows me to see the shot better and it connects me to the feeling I got at the time when I took it.”
“I want to create art that pleases me, something that is from my eyesight and creates fine art. I only keep a shot if it creates a story, it isn’t about making something that’s pretty, it’s about leaving someone with a question or emotion.”
An image from Gary’s ‘Through Their Lens’ collection for Sony. | © Gary Williamson | Sony α7C II + FE 16-25mm F2.8 G lens | Visual ID: Black and white photo of a blonde-haired woman in a trench coat, who is carrying an open umbrella and standing on steps with dark contrast, that run from the beach.
How the scene appeared through Gary’s eyes as he captured the shot. | © Gary Williamson | Sony α7C II + FE 16-25mm F2.8 G lens | Visual ID: The same image, this time in colour and very blurred to replicate Gary's vision. Stairs can be identified by the high-contrast lines leading into the distance. A silhouette can be seen standing on the stairs in the background of the photo, with something above the head, or a dark object in the sky, which is cloudy.An accessible future for photography
Gary shot his Through Their Lens collection using Sony’s Alpha 7C II E-Mount Camera, which comes with accessibility features such as a screen reader function to read out menu items, which is activated out-of-the-box with a long press of the menu button for easy setup. Another feature is the Enlarge Screen function, which allows the text in the menu display to be enlarged up to 2.5 times in its size. The camera also features Touch Tracking, to easily track a moving subject, and AI subject recognition that automatically focuses on subjects including people, birds, animals and insects.
Other features include Focus Peaking, which assists manual focusing by highlighting the edges of the subject in the picture with a thin coloured line (which can be toggled between white, red, blue and yellow), and tactile controls make it easy to differentiate between buttons for easy operation.
“Sony is deeply committed to making our products and experiences accessible, to be used and enjoyed by as many people as possible. It has been a pleasure to collaborate with Gary on this collection and to show how creativity and accessible technology can enrich people’s lives, such as the ability to capture and enjoy incredible photographs,” said Joe Clark-Jones, Accessibility Promotions Lead at Sony Europe.
Sony has worked with blind and partially sighted people and organisations, including the UK’s Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), on several projects to make products like its Alpha camera range more accessible for blind and partially sighted people.
Ahead of World Sight Day, Robin Spinks, RNIB Head of Inclusive Design, said, “It’s great to see Sony striving to improve their products and in particular cameras to include more inclusive features which can make photography more accessible for blind and partially sighted people. The magnification accessibility feature on this new Sony device is a great innovation making it easier for people with sight loss to enjoy. The enhanced screen reader function also helps verbalise the majority of the text on the menu screen which can also enlarged. I’m sure Gary’s collection will showcase how blind and partially sighted people can enjoy photography and get involved in creative industries.”
© Gary Williamson | Sony α7C II + FE 24-50mm F2.8 lens | Visual ID: Black and white photo showing a silhouette in a cap walking through a building and out of an archway towards a sidewalk where some construction bollards can be seen in the distance. The person’s back is to the camera, and the building walls showcase geometric shapes and rectangular strips of light, creating striking visual contrast.
© Gary Williamson | Sony α7C II + FE 24-50mm F2.8 lens | Visual ID: Black and white photo showing a silhouette walking through an underground tunnel, nearing the sunlight outside. The person wears a beret and has their back to the camera, while the tunnel walls feature graffiti and the dome-shaped roof is lined with a row of lights and painted with geometric designs.
© Gary Williamson | Sony α7C II + FE 16-25mm F2.8 G lens | Visual ID: Black and white photo of a man in a trench coat and top hat standing on rocks at the beach, looking up at New Brighton Lighthouse, UK.© Gary Williamson | Sony α7C II + FE 16-25mm F2.8 G lens | Visual ID: Black and white photo of a blonde-haired woman in a trench coat, who is carrying an open umbrella and standing on steps with dark contrast, that run from the beach.
© Gary Williamson | Sony α7C II + FE 16-25mm F2.8 G lens | Visual ID: Black and white photo of a paved side street, captured with a wide perspective that emphasises the road lines and shows fire escape stairs on the side of a building. In the distance, a man in a baseball cap and jacket is seen rounding the corner, with his back to the camera.
© Gary Williamson | Sony α7C II + FE 20-70mm F4 G lens | Visual ID: Black and white photo of a man standing on a dark spiral staircase playing the violin.
© Gary Williamson | Sony α7C II + FE 20-70mm F4 G lens | Visual ID: Black and white self-portrait of Gary Williamson. He is facing the camera in front of a black background and wearing a turtleneck, while holding a Sony Alpha 7C II camera and his white cane.Through Their Lens
Sony has launched the Through Their Lens series to show how advanced technologies that are intuitive and easy to use allow people with disabilities to pursue their passion of photography. This collection with Gary Williamson offers a peek into a remarkable and deeply personal creative process behind his visual storytelling.
About Gary Williamson
Gary Williamson is a photographer from North West England. He is registered blind due to Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), an optic nerve condition. After losing his sight whilst backpacking around Europe at 18 years old, he rediscovered his passion for photography and the ability to capture a story in one moment with the introduction of digital cameras. Gary’s story has always been not to look at what is lost, but what is possible. His photography offers a unique perspective shaped by living with a visual impairment, through which he hopes to challenge stereotypes and reframe beliefs from disability to different ability. For more information about Gary’s work, visit www.swirlymagnolia.com and @swirly_magnolia on Instagram.
About Sony Europe Limited
Sony Europe Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation and is headquartered in the UK. As the European headquarters for Sony’s Entertainment, Technology & Services (ET&S), Sports, and Imaging & Sensing Solutions (I&SS) businesses, we work to deliver Sony's purpose to fill the world with emotion through the power of creativity and technology. For more information, visit: www.sony.eu/presscentre
For more information on how Sony is delivering innovation for an accessible future, visit www.sony.co.uk/sustainability-accessibility