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Norwich blind photographer discovered hobby after losing sight

Rachael Andrews Rachael Andrews taking a selfie of herself in a mirrorRachael Andrews
Rachael Andrews took up photography after she started to experience sight-loss

A visually impaired woman who took up photography after losing her sight said she first started the hobby to keep an eye on her rats.

Rachael Andrews, 49, from Norwich, said she started to experience sight-loss in her 20s when she had the pet rodents.

She said she could no longer see them with the naked eye so she acquired a digital camera to help her.

She developed a love of photography and joined the Vision Norfolk group which helped her feel "not so alone".

Mrs Andrews said she progressed from the basic digital camera she started with to a digital SLR and now uses a mirrorless camera.

Rachael Andrews A ratRachael Andrews
Rachael's earliest photos were of her pet rats, such as this one of Blueboy, taken in about 2000
Rachael Andrews A red roseRachael Andrews
She said Vision Norfolk helped her "feel not so alone, because I thought 'am I the only visually impaired photographer in the universe?' and plainly I'm not"

After taking her photos, she blows them up big on the computer screen so she can see what she has taken.

"I take great pleasure in putting them on the computer and will put them on Facebook and hope people like them," she said.

"I think sometimes people think I've got more eyesight than I do because of my photos, but that's quite a compliment.

"People think if you are visually impaired you can't be artistic, but you can."

Rachael Andrews A water drop on crocosmia leafRachael Andrews
Mrs Andrews said all of her shots, including this one of a water drop on crocosmia leaf, were taken with manual lenses using a feature called "focus peaking"
Rachael Andrews Rain damaged roseRachael Andrews
"Focus peaking outlines the areas in focus in a bright colour when the focus is true, I wait for that flash of colour and press the shutter multiple times and hope I get a good shot at some point," she said
Rachael Andrews A bee on grape hyacinthRachael Andrews
Mrs Andrews also has fibromyalgia, which is a long-term condition that causes pain all over the body
Rachael Andrews Rachael Andrews's guide dog AjayRachael Andrews
She said as her eyesight works "very, very close up", she enjoys taking photos of one thing, such a flower, a bee or a dog, including her guide dog Ajay
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