Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ted Tahquechi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Ted, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a legally blind photographer, photo educator and disabled travel influencer. I fell in love with photography when my parents gifted me a polaroid one step camera as a graduation present. I studied photography in college, shooting and developing black and white images. I have always had a love of visual art. Before I lost my sight in a car accident, I managed the development of entertainment titles (videogames) for Atari, Accolade and Mattel Toys. I was responsible for all aspects of a games development and embraced a love of creating products that brought joy to others. The car accident left me with no sight in one eye and 5% blurry sight in the other. I had to relearn to navigate the world and used my camera to capture family events so I could see them magnified on my computer screen. Eventually, snapshots turned to more artistic imagery, which led me to return to school and complete degrees in art and studio art photography. My work focuses primarily on landscape, and portraiture imagery.

I’m best known for my Landscapes of the Body project, which is an abstract exploration of the human form that celebrates inclusivity and diversity in age, race, gender, body type and physical ability. Images in the collection are of the human form, but framed to omit recognizable parts of the body, and composed to resemble the look of a landscape. The black and white photos in the collection are not explicit and have been exhibited all over the U.S. and abroad. I’m proud of the accessibility of this collection of images. When my work is shown, the traditionally framed prints are presented alongside tactile (touchable) versions with audio descriptions for each piece. Early on, I made accessibility a focus for my work. I advocate for accessibility in the visual arts and help other artists to understand that describing their images, paintings etc. online and in exhibitions allows those with limited sight to enjoy the work and opens it up to a whole new audience.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Choosing to pursue the visual arts in the medium of photography as a person who is almost completely blind is perhaps one of the toughest things for people to get their heads around. When I exhibit my work, the most common question I get is how can a blind person be a photographer. I can see blurry shapes and color, so I leverage my study of composition and rely on the camera to capture the details for viewers of my work. My work is often presented with the artist’s biography at the end of the walk the patron’s will take, allowing them to form opinions about the work before they discover that it was created by someone who cannot see. The intention of this is to take steps toward changing perceptions of what visually impaired artists can create. I want my work to stand on its own as a good image, not just a good image for a blind person.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

NFT’s are an interesting and multifaceted discussion. I believe that they were originally created to allow artists another method to sell their work and offer a platform that would allow the creators to make something that could increase in value like a physical print. The resulting process lacked proper copyright, and ownership management, with buyers potentially spending thousands of dollars and ending up with no rights to use the images, and the only thing they owned was a URL link on the blockchain. The entire platform quickly devolved into a cash grab with celebrities, and corporations jumping on the bandwagon selling unsuspecting buyers’ assets with limited or no rights. I didn’t personally take part in selling NFT’s, but I know a lot of artists who did. Some made money at first, then when the currency they sold their product in bottomed out, they ended up losing money on the venture. Other artist colleagues jumped on too late and never sold anything, or didn’t understand the necessity of marketing their work, thinking the NFT auction houses would do it all and they could sit back and let the crypto roll in. I hope the industry revisits the technology, because it would be great to find a way to offer a system of purchasing limited edition digital prints, with clearly noted rights. The technology is there, someone just needs to perfect it, then they will have to fight the inherent negativity toward purchasing digital assets.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tahquechi.com/
• Instagram: @nedskee
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blindtravels
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tahquechi/
• Twitter: @nedskee

Image Credits
Images are (C) Ted Tahquechi