New Delhi: Touch, listen, judge – that is Bhavesh’s step-by-step guide to photography.

Born blind, the 34-year-old explains, “While conventional photography is based on one’s visual abilities, blind photography is based on the tactile senses, auditory perception, and emotional connection to the subject.”

When Bhavesh has to click a photo of a human, he reaches out for their shoulder. This helps him determine their height. Then he walks away from his subject and strikes up a conversation while doing so. This helps him understand the distance. Based on this, he creates a shot.

“Landscape photography, where we click objects that are out of reach such as a bird or a building, I require sound cues or another person to narrate the details to me,” he explains elaborating on the formats he uses.

Bhavesh asks people around him how far and high the object is. Since he usually clicks from his iPhone, the in-built auditory description system also helps him know what’s on the screen.

Photography is more than just a hobby for Bhavesh Patel, a software engineer by profession. He has shot a commercial campaign with Indian actress Katrina Kaif. The campaign was rated ‘Best in Class’ by Google and won the prestigious ABBY Gold award.

Mumbai-based Bhavesh’s introduction to visual art came through his uncle, who often accompanied him to art galleries, describing the paintings to him. Bhavesh recalls,

“The explanations were so vivid and realistic!”

Later, during his first year of college, Bhavesh was introduced to blind photography by Professor Partho Bhowmick, Founder of Blind With Camera, an organisation that imparts photography lessons to the visually impaired. Bhavesh enrolled for a month-long course as he wanted to learn something new.

“I want to break the barrier and convey to the world that unless you try, you won’t know where you’ll land.”

Also Read: Once Ashamed Of His Blindness, He Provides Livelihood To People With Disabilities