Archive for May, 2010
The Blind Buzz on Photography
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on May 30, 2010
3D photography and 3D cameras FAQ | News | PhotoRadar – now that 3-d photography and film is of the moment, you can read up on the basics.
A Blazing Coolangatta Sunset – enjoy Bradford Smith’s dramatic photos. You may also like to read
Bradford Smith Photography: An Update
About « Eric C. Peterson – Inner Vision Blog – he is an accomplished painter who is exploring sculpture and photography. He is also legally blind.
Eric C Peterson’s RSS Feed
Exhibition: Exposed – Voyeurism, Surveillance and the Camera Opens at Tate Modern – you know all those people who stare back at you when ou look at your photos?
Help Support Blind World War Two Ex Servicemen | News and Society – Fred Ward has kept up his photography, thanks to St Dunstan’s, the UK blind veterans’ organisation.
Inspite of Disability, Teen Becomes Professional Photographer | Firstcoastnews.com | Most Popular – Joshua Phillips is a Florida 17-year-old with rod/cone dystrophy who is a talented photographer. He has been hired for gigs and weddings, and has his own photography business.
One man’s journey of sight loss, photography, the arts, charity, sailing, life, love and guide dogs – | Action for Blind People Blog – Toby Davey is registered blind, has a degree in photography, and works for both Action for Blind People and Vocaleyes, the audio description people.
Photography workshop for blind in Goa .:. newkerala.com Online News – Partho Bhowmick, the man behind
Blind With Camera in India, has provided these free workshops.
Event: e-Access 2010 (UK)
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on May 25, 2010
Received today from AbilityNet in the UK.
OneVoice Discount Offer
Every modern organisation uses digital technology, from websites to databases: and in tough economic times, ensuring all your customers and staff can access or provide all your services is more vital than ever.
As a member of the OneVoice for Accessible ICT Coalition, our own members and networks qualify for discounted attendance fees for e-Access ’10, the conference on access to technology by all, on 13 July at Olympia 2, London. OneVoice is the UK’s leading umbrella group for organisations committed to making sure the technologies they use are accessible to people with disabilities.
e-Access ‘10 is aimed at helping organisations of all kinds – from blue chip corporates to small business, public bodies and third sector –ensure that all modern goods and services using new digital technologies are accessible to as many people as possible, regardless of ability.
The event is a compelling, practical, strategic look at the legal, ethical, business and other drivers of ICT accessibility. Case studies covered include accessibility in the workplace; website accessibility; and access to specific new technologies such as electronic books, mobile services and cloud computing Many people in each organisation have a stake in accessible technology, from web and IT staff to teams working in communications, sales and marketing, business strategy, equality, HR and corporate social responsibility. The event is largely non-technical, and aimed at everyone from beginners to experts – sessions include ‘Why bother?’
and ‘Where do I start?’.
For more information including a draft programme and to register (see below for discount code), please see the conference website at:
http://www.headstar-events.com/eaccess10/
NOTE: OneVoice member organisations can claim a 15% discount on delegate places: discounted places for public sector, charities/non-profit £165 + VAT (usual price £195); discounted places for private sector £250 + VAT (usual price £295). To receive your discount, please use the following
Promotional Code: AN10
WHAt THEY SAID ABOUT e-ACCESS 2009:
a valuable overview of ‘accessibility’: very useful.
Phil Hodge, Business Development Manager, Thales
a thoroughly enjoyable and informative event, with excellent guest speakers. I’ll definitely be back next year.
Andy Lees, Special Needs Assessor, Napier University
Very good speakers and talks and we made good contact with a range of delegates, so as an exhibitor it was great. Subjects covered were relevant and interesting and overall it was well-organised.
Christopher Lofthouse, Outreach Manager, Ricability
Extremely useful. The presentations were of a particularly high calibre and fully realised my expectations.
Thomas O’Neill, Web Architect, Royal College of Nursing
The E-
Access seminar was excellent…again! Each seminar has been better than the last and they serve to keep me up to date with significant developments in the accessibility arena. I would be lost without them!
Jane Crook, CEO, Berkshire County Blind Society
The Blind Buzz on Photography
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on May 25, 2010
Blinkie Night Workshop in Melbourne – Blinkie Photography – Andrew Follows persuaded 5 sighted photographers to put on funny glasses and experience the city at night as blind photographers.
Experience | The image museum – The Alinari National Museum of Photography in Florence includes the ‘Touch museum’, where there are photographs represented by relief tactile versions – open to blind and sighted people alike.
FAQ: How do Blind Photographers Know What They Are Shooting? | Blind Photographers – Tim O’Brien explains some techniques that could be used by blind photographers.
Fisheye Connect to Launch June 1st – PPA Today – connects photographers and aspiring photographers with professional workshops internationally. Search your geographical area or by subject matter.
Improve your photography without buying gear – Craft & Vision – – ebook with 50 blog entries on improving your photography by improving your mind. $5.
New AdoramaTV Educational Videos Enhance the Adorama Learning Center – StreetInsider.com – videos to make you a better photographer.
New Photographic Exhibition – Blinkie Photography – Andrew Followswill have his own exhibition November 1st to 6th 2010 at Fortyfive Downstairs Gallery, 45 Flinders Lane Melbourne. Opening Night will be on Wednesday 3rd November (huh?)
Passionate Focus and Chicago ROCKS – Blind Eye Photography – blind photographer selected for chicago exhibit.
Photographer’s Just Do It List « Dave Cross – the website – ideas to get your creativity going. One of the suggestions is shooting blind.
Share Your Vision with people who are blind or visually impaired and Wikiscribe It! – Sighted people are invited to describe images, sighted and blind people alike can take part in the wiki and react. Maybe useful for our own images as blind photographers?
[Video] TV Feature – Blind Photography.mov – documentary where several people from London and 2 others from Leicestershire (including yours truly) talk about their experiences of blind photography.
VISIONS Memorandum in Support of New York State Licensure – New York Vision Rehabilitation Association’s Blog » Blog Archive supports blind people in keeping up activities they followed when sighted, including photography.
Paracycling Event, Kent, September 2010
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on May 25, 2010
Championnats internationaux de paracyclisme du Kent -Eurotunnel
Fowlmead Country Park, près de Dover
Manifestation de niveau P1 sanctionnée par l UCI pour toutes les catégories/divisions, intégrant les épreuves du championnat britannique de contre la montre handisport et de l European Handcycling Federation (EHF).
Le total des prix sélève à 15,000 euros (13,225 £).
(date de clôture des inscriptions : le 4 août 2010)
4/5 septembre 2010
The Eurotunnel Kent International Para-cycling Championships
Fowlmead Country Park, near Dover
P1 status UCI sanctioned event for all categories/ divisions, incorporating EHF and British Disability Time Trial Championship.
Total prize money is 15,000 Euros (£13,225)
(race entries close 4th Aug 2010)
4th/5th September 2010
The Blind Buzz on Accessibility
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on May 19, 2010
Access is a Right and Good Public Policy | Accessibility News International – May 30 to June 5 is Manitoba Access Awareness Week
Access IT review of SuperNova v11.50 – Dolphin
Accessible book (Open Library) – read books online.
Accessible Media Project – ways of presenting media on web sites. Requires Silverlight.
Accessibility for the Disabled – A Design Manual for a Barrier Free Environment – United Nations Program on Disability.
Accounting Software for Vision Impaired, World First – Cash Manager, an Australian product.
Adobe Announces eLearning Suite 2 & Captivate 5 – Assistive Technology
AFB AccessWorld: Technology and People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired – May 2010 Issue – contents include Android Phone Accessibility, Oratio Screen Reader for BlackBerry, Illuminated Magnifiers, the iPad, CSUN 2010 Highlights, Social Networking Accessibility, Home Appliance Update
Another iPhone 4 Prototype Leaks–What Can We Learn From It? [Updated] | Fast Company – probably one of those controlled Apple leaks…..
AssistiveWare: Accessibility solutions for Mac OS X
Bad Eyes Sees the PDF Light – PDFs need not be horribly inaccessible.
Barriers to Careers – Fred’s Head – guess what – not all blind people are musicians, and not all need huge amounts of care…..
BrailleNote Apex BT 32 – HumanWare USA new 18-cell Braille notetaker.
Humanware UK
Computer centers for visually impaired open – UzA – centre in Tashkent, Uzbekistan .
Crosswalk removed after complaints – China Daily – 2 weeks after being installed to enable blind and deaf children to cross the road, the crossing, in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, annoyed local people by being too noisy when driven over.
E-Access Bulletin’s sixth annual conference and exhibition on access to technology by people with disabilities, e-Access ’10, takes place on 13 July 2010 at Olympia 2 Conference Centre, London.
EASI Webinar – Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Section 508 Monday May 24th
eSpeak text to speech – a speech synthesiser that can handle English and many other languages. Works on Linux and Windows.
Eye Glasses Turns iPhone into Magnifier For Oldies | Gadget Lab | Wired.com
[Book] Google It! A Guide to the World’s Most Popular Search Engine (2010 Second Edition) (GOOGLE) – new edition to cover recent developments.
GPS for guide dogs promises greater freedom for the blind
Happy Birthday VoiceOver– The Mac-cessibility Network – News [Lioncourt.com] – what’s happened to VoiceOver since its launch in April, 2005.
Helpful bus stops are talk of the town – Edinburgh Evening News – blind passengers can use a fob or smartphone to get timetable and other bus information in this new pilot project.
How Are Seeing Eye Dogs Taught to Interpret Stoplights if Dogs Are Color-Blind? – short answer – they aren’t, and they don’t.
How to Allow Your Visitors to Switch Between Alternate CSS Styles / Themes (thesitewizard.com)
HTML5, ARIA Roles, and Screen Readers in May 2010 — Research — Accessible Culture – how the major screen readers measure up in these new environments.
HTML5 & Accessibility – Access U 2010 – slide show without apparently any sound. Humph!
Importance of HTML Headings for Accessibility
Indoor & Outdoor Travel Skills for Adults with Vision Loss | VisionAWARE – an american site, but could be useful anywhere.
J-Tools? – T & T Consultancy – enhancements for JAWS version 11.
Bierley Maggie – Hagger Electronics – a pocket CCTV for £99 (£116 including VAT)
Michigan Students to Develop RFID-enabled Robotic Guide Dog – RFID Journal – sounds a bit like the Batcane or Ultracane, but this one recognises radio tags in places like supermarkets.
Microsoft Impresses — Really — with TellMe Voice Text and Search – PCWorld – text messages and web searches look really easy on the Samsung Sprint Intrepid, which responds to voice commands.
MoPix – Motion Picture Access – Making Movie Theaters Accessible to Disabled Audiences
Mushroom FM Internet radio station. – The home of the Fun guys – Jonathan Mosen, Brian Hartgen, Jeff Bishop and others have set up this new Internet radio station.
New information system for blind and visually impaired individuals – Freie Universität Berlin researchers are working on a device that connects wirelessly to the Internet and provides numerous information channels and the ability to handle e-mail. This is aimed primarily at those who are not experienced computer users – the InformA device works a bit like a radio.
Over 1 Million Digital Books Now Available Free from the Internet Archive – Fred’s Head
[DOC] Self-directed support – What it is and how blind and partially sighted people can benefit. Factsheet from the RNIB in the UK about the new Personal Budgets/Direct Payments system. You may also like to read
[DOC] Personalisation: getting the most from personal budgets and self-directed care
ScreenRuler Suite V3 from Claro Software – with new features for Windows XP and Windows 7 (including 64-bit). This is a screen tool of most use to those with some sight, though it also has high-quality voices.
SeroTalk Tech Chat 61 – The iPad, Tool or Toy?
Speech in a Virtual World, Part II – SpeechTechMag.com – technology assisting in Second Life, etc, including the Virtual Guide Dog and speech recognition.
Tactile voting system for the blind sought – RTÉ News the current system in Ireland is to ask a trusted friend to help you vote. the National Council for the Blind say this is no longer adequate.
This Free WiFi Network Finder is Easy to Use and Very Powerful
UK Service TextMagic Makes Texting Your Friends as Easy as Sending Email – Fred’s Head
Visually Impaired Person Technology User Conference (Hosted by Vista Center for the Blind) | DAISY Consortium – May 22nd, 2010 in Mountain View, California. Presentations on smart phone topics.
West Bank invention to help blind – Al Jazeera English – Video – 3 girls from a Palestinian refugee camp have researched and produced a buzzing and vibrating cane for blind people.
The Blind Buzz on Photography
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on May 18, 2010
A talk to a youth group. – Blinkie Photography: Photography and Blindness. – a workshop that turned out to be both fun and a good awareness-raising exercise.
Adobe Camera RAW 6.1 Release Candidate Available » Photography Bay | Digital Camera Reviews, News and Resources – this release has RAW support for more cameras.
At the Canopy – Tree Climbing Techniques for Photographers | Ask The Plant Lady – photographing forest life or avoiding grizzlies – you never know when you’re going to need this.
BBC Wildlife Magazine Offers Free Online Classes in PDF format.
Car Photography: A letter to Randolph de Leon – day’s stories – Randy is a partially blind photographer with a passion for cars. He learns what’s involved in car advertising.
Have Fun Learning Creativity – you don’t have to be blind to read this, but, who knows, it might help!
Moss’s nude pics auction – iafrica.com | highlife | fashion & beauty | cutting edge – photos of Kate Moss aged 19 in Morocco were taken by ‘one-eyed’ photographer Albert Watson.
My world in Photography: By legally blind photographer Andrew Follows
Silverware Still Life « Losing Vision Gaining Insight – ideas about some other subjects for your photos if you don’t want to be confined to flowers! I know the feeling!
The Blind Buzz on Accessibility
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on May 11, 2010
2010 SDS Conference | Society for Disability Studies, Temple University, Philadelphia, June 2nd to June 5th.
A Brief History of Markup – A List Apart – presents chapter 1 of “HTML5 for Web Designers”.
A smartphone for Geniuses? | Tech Blog | FT.com – the HTC myTouch 3G Slide features a QWERTY keyboard, speech recognition and some speech output functions. The Genius button starts some of the ‘smart’ features.
Access Technology – Now and Tomorrow – the author, who is about to leave AbilityNet, reflects on progress over the last 10 years and speculates about the future in assistive technology.
Accessible Tourism? – Low Visionary: accessible information, disability rights, web accessibility » Blog Archive – disabled people are still likely to be seen as problems.
Accessibility & Inclusive Design with Ann McMeekin & Antonia Hyde – developer Fusion – ASP.NET, C# Programming, VB.NET, .NET Framework, Java and Visual Basic Tutorials – event in London on 24th May, 2010.
AccessibilityOnline – "AccessibilityOnline represents a collaborative training program between the ADA National Network (DBTACs) and the US Access Board. The program includes a series of free webinars and audio conferences on different topics of accessibility. Sessions are held on a monthly basis and cover a variety of topics concerning accessibility to the built environment, information and communication technologies, and transportation."
Accessing YouTube Offline with Tooble | DigMo!
ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing
Adding ARIA Landmark Roles – Web Axe – Practical Web Design Accessibility Tips – Podcast and Blog – future-proof your site!
An Interview with the Audio Only Game “Cadet 227″ Creator
APCD impressed with Brunei disability advocates – there is still much to develop, but there is also a great deal to praise.
APH News, May, 2010 – products, services and training from the American Printing House for the Blind.
Audio Available from Today’s BookSense and NFB Newsline Webinar
BarrierBreak Technologies Launches the Digital Talking Book Website | DAISY Consortium
Bay Area project puts 1 million books online for blind, dyslexic – ContraCostaTimes.com – Internet Archive, a San Francisco non-profit, aims to make many more books accessible to bline people.
BBC – AM Glass Box – The ‘Disabled Voter’ or ‘The Disability Vote’ – one listenerto the Radio 4 PM programme claims that UK politicians don’t care about disabled voters.
Better Internet & Technology Access for Blind, Deaf Community – Senator Mark Pryor, Arkansas, reveals new legislation.
BlackBerry OS 6.0 will target consumers – CNN.com as opposed to business types, who, of course, are a different species.
Blind for a day where a medical student has to take on a disability for a day. In this case the disability was blindness.
Blind women taking on doubters, one brush at a time | Jordan Times – blind women from under-privileged backgrounds train to be hairdressers in Amman, Jordan.
Blindness-Related Books, Publications, and Periodicals
Braille Printing Services & Alternative Formats |T-Base Communications – information on compliance, and a service that will send you an impression of what your site sounds like to a blind person.
Canada has no federal accessibility law? « transect
Changing How Qatar Sees the Blind – one womans achievements as head of a school for blind children, and the cultural and accessibility difficulties.
chester creek large key keyboard visionboard – yellow – Cheap! Game Controllers » Blog Archive
Creating Accessible Computer Applications – American Foundation for the Blind
Creating accessible links in PDFs
DaveBanesAccess – Access Technology – Today and Tomorrow.
Designer Cool Canes – "unique designer canes for people with disabilities and for those who want to make a fashion or attitude statement."
Disabled rights advocates say proposed legislation long overdue – The Nassau Guardian Online Guide – advocates in the Bahamas complain of 25 years of broken promises by governments.
Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) & web accessibility Webcredible – this refers to the UK equality law.
Disenfranchisement at its Worst – jady_lady – blind UK voter tells of her futile attempt t to use a polling station in the General Election.
Disney World magical for the disabled – CANOE Travel – Florida
Early Voters Test New Machines – electronic voting machines in California can accommodate several languages and people with disabilities. Early voting to avoid the crush is also possible. Seems there are lessons there for the UK’s antiquated electoral system.
FCC Releases First-Ever Paper On Accessibility & Technology Issues | Accessibility News International – part of the US National Broadband Plan.
[PDF] FCC TO HOLD WORKSHOP ON EXPANDING DISABILITY ACCESS WITH WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES, MAY 13 – Federal Communications Commission – Washington DC
Experiment with video accessibility and time-aligned text
Innovative New Apps for the Blind : Healthymagination – useful summary of some recent developments in technology.
iPad Available in Nine More Countries on May 28 including the UK.
Play AudioRacer, a free online game on Kongregate – an audio game that includes blind players.
Screen Readers And WAI-ARIA Landmark Roles – Humanising Technology – Léonie Watson describes a relatively new way of navigating through web pages.
Solona Enhanced iPhone Screen Protector – makes the touch screen of your iPhone more tactile and prolongs its life, Solona claim.
Speak To Me Catalog – many kind of talking product, including coffee maker, photo album, clocks, music players and the PenFriend.
Special services at Macquarie University – Sydney Morning Herald
[PDF] The EU. What’s in it for me? – booklet made accessible on the Web, aims to demystify the benefits of membership of Europe for UK citizens.
World Access for the Blind – US-based non-profit that promotes FlashSonar, a technique whereby a blind person can make clicks like a dolphin to detect objects around them. Also read
Blind boy learns how to ‘see’ using dolphin technique – Telegraph
The blind Buzz on Photography
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on May 11, 2010
Artists reach out to sight-impaired with touchable works at Plymouth show – The Boston Globe – not strictly on-topic for this column, but possibly interesting.
Bismarck photographer featured at Medora this summer – David Nix is blind in one eye, and has a passion for photography, particularly of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the Dakota landscape. He has an exhibition in Medora from 31st May until September.
Exhibition of visually impaired photographers at Olive – dnaindia.com – ‘Beyond Sight’, an exhibition by the ‘Blind with Camera’ Project in Mumbai until May 16th.
Featured Artist : Pete Eckert on a site named Artists Wanted, which seems to be completely impenetrable by screen reading software. Can’t comment on the content because of this.
Longing For Sight at MAMCO/BAC – re-thinking visual » press release – Laetitia Boulud and Alex de Jong presents the installation "longing for sight" at Mapping Festival in Geneva from 6 – 16 May, 2010.
Photographer Layla Love fighting to save her sight – New York Daily News – this successful photographer has a neurological condition that could rob her of her sight.
[Video] Seeing Again – Sonia Soberats became blind in 1991. Today she’s a photographer and works for Seeing With Photography Collective in New York City. The video gives an idea of how the Collective makes light paintings.
sensing what is possible – Daniel Sroka Open Studio – sighted photographer taking macro shots uses techniques that could be used by a blind photographer.
Trey Ratcliff: HDR Photography | Daily Art Fixx with some interesting examples of this High Dynamic Range photographic enhancement.
Join us for the Vision 5K race this June!
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on May 11, 2010
Message from Kerri NNagle to the American Nystagmus Network mailing list:
Join Vision 5k for Nystagmus
Join us for the Vision 5K race this June!
Help raise money for Nystagmus with the American Nystagmus Network in Boston on June 20th through the Vision 5K race. My family and I participated in this all day event last year and had so much fun. The day includes fun for the kids, good food, and the gathering of great people!
This year I am putting together a team for Nystagmus. It would be great to have as many people as possible support Team Nystagmus. Funds raised will go to continued research for Nystagmus and to the American Nystagmus Network (ANN). Run, walk, or just support our cause. It is a great way to get our families with Nystagmus together and share our experiences.
Here is how you can get involved
Join Team Nystagmus: Visit
http://www.vision5k.org
and sign up to join Team Nystagmus, print the attached fundraiser form (from this email) and start getting pledges. Bring the form and donations with you to the race or mail them to the address on the form. If you join our team please email me at kerri.simplysmile@yahoo.com your t-shirt size as we will have our own team shirts. This will also allow me to fill you in on details of the race and our team.** When you
register you will have to pick a cause for the Vision 5K race, I put “all” this will allow your registration fee to support the agencies associated with the Vision 5K. You will be doing your fundraising for ANN.
Not comfortable with running, but want to be part of the day: Come down during the race, support the racers and meet other families with Nystagmus. You can also download the fundraiser form and send in a donation.
Can’t make the race: Get pledges and send them in…help support Nystagmus!
The goals are to bring awareness to Nystagmus, fundraise to support ANN and Nystagmus research, and to bring families with Nystagmus together. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
Hope to see you in June,Kerri Nagle mom of Brooke (with Nystagmus) Brandon (no Nystagmus) and new baby Ellasyn 4 days old!
MDJunction – online support for your health challenges
Posted by nystagmite in Uncategorized on May 8, 2010
Online Support Groups for your Health Challenges – MDJunction
MDJunction is an active center for Online Support Groups, a place where thousands meet every day to discuss their feelings, questions and hopes with like minded friends.
Online support Groups
An Online Support Group is the place to share your experiences, your feelings and wisdom.
A comfort zone for people dealing with the same health challenges.
You won’t get medical advice, but there is plenty of caring and sharing.
