In the late 80s, Sonia Soberats, a single immigrant mother in Queens, had one of the worst stretches anyone could imagine. In 1986, her daughter was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. In 1988, her son was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease. He passed away in ‘91, and Soberats’ daughter died three years later. As if things couldn’t get worse, Soberats’ went blind from glaucoma in between those two deaths. Now 77, Soberats has turned that pain into some of the most stunning photographs that I’ve ever seen.In 2001, Soberats took her first photography class to help her cope with her losses. There have been other blind photographers before her (Pete Eckert even shot for Playboy), but Soberats had never worked with the medium before going blind. That has led her to work with light painting, in which very long exposure times allow the photographer to use flashlights, sparklers, or any other light source to ‘draw’ on the image. It’s made for a rather intense shoot process, as the New York Times highlighted:Back in the studio, she works in complete darkness, always with the help of a seeing assistant. She arranges her models, using her hands to feel every aspect of the image, instructing her assistant where to place the edges of the frame.
“I feel your face, your hair, then I’ll ask you: ‘Are you light-colored? Or dark? Is your hair blonde or brown or black?’ ” she said. “So with asking and touching, then I’ll get an idea of what I have to work with.”The end result are photos that are extremely haunting. They have the aesthetic and feel of early photographs, with a hint of a dark, 1920s sideshow vibe to them. They’re incredible. Soberats is now working with the visually-impaired photo collective Seeing With Photography, where more of her work can be seen.Follow Derek Mead on Twitter: @derektmead.
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