Insight without sight

'My world was intensely transformed once my daughter, age 6 years, became my eyes," said Tara Lee of Raleigh in an e-mail message.

Noting that she is almost 6 feet tall, she wrote, "Once the blindfold was tied and she took hold of my hand and arm, I felt my body stoop and the whole world seemed to close in around me."

Lee took part -- with the help of her daughter Annabelle -- in the Blind Photo Challenge at last weekend's Artsplosure festival in Raleigh's Moore Square.

The event challenged members of the public to blindfold themselves and take photos, with the aid of a guide, using any of their senses except sight. The participants could look at their results back at the booth and upload their favorites to a live online feed of the event and for possible inclusion in a gallery exhibit.

Tony Deifell headed the event; he spent five years at Raleigh's Governor Morehead School teaching blind students how to photograph their world, and recently released "Seeing Beyond Sight: Photographs by Blind Teenagers," a collection of their photos. He has been doing the Blind Photo challenges across the country since March, in places such as Brooklyn, Boston and Los Angeles.

"This experience isn't about blindness, it is about seeing, noticing and paying attention with more than your eyes," he says.

To learn more about "Seeing Beyond Sight" or the Blind Photo Challenges visit www.seeingbeyondsight.org. The events are in cooperation with www.sfzero.org.