english deutsch KILIAN FOERSTER
54 years of age, total blindness from the age of 20. Initially worked as an electrical engineer, later retrained as a masseur:
»A footpath with cobblestones. The path turns right after 200m. Both sides of the path are lined with numerous trees and bushes, on the right hand side are two double storey houses, on the left hand side are high rise blocks. Cars are parked on the road, which is usually quiet and easy to cross. Grass has grown in between and next to pavement stones, one can smell the trees and the sun is shining.«
Cevdet Hincal
34 years old, turned blind at the age of seven, studied political science and works in PR:
»We are on a small pier at the Goldbekkanal, in front of me is the water, the canal and a weeping willow. On the opposite side of the canal are houses. I can hear birds, for example ducks and the sun is shining. This is a relatively quiet place in the town, I like to be here, because I like its sounds, the geese often splash about and chatter and the birds sing.«
Heiko Kunert
aged 80, onset of partial blindness at the age of 15. Total blindness from the age of 65. Worked as a secretary. Mrs Wunsch took four photos and wrote four descriptions:
»I am standing in my living room in front of my comfortable arm chair and I am taking a photo looking towards the living room table, where I keep a lot of personal memorabilia. Close to me on the table are a crystal heart with a red heart shaped lamp and a white marble heart. Further left lies a miniature boomerang from Australia, behind the boomerang is a crystal glass candle holder with white candles, additionally decorated with a blue reed of flowers. Further to the right is a painted box for sweets and even further to the right stands a metal holder with an inserted sphere, suspended on a ribbon. In front of the holder stands a piece of art from Franz Poppe from Mürnitz, that shows a volcano with a red ball in the centre representing the lava. In front of it is a small container with my name stamp - a present from China. On top of the stamp container is another polished box with tiny souvenirs. Further back stands a colourful tray with metal things, which holds a crystal glass basket with decorative pumpkins and a large crystal glass sweet jar, a standing Easter bunny with a sitting Easter bunny wife. Both Easter bunnies are presents, bought on a craft market and given to me by a girlfriend, no longer alive. Behind the living room table is the sofa, covered with sea green leather, and three cushions. Towards the left and right lie two dolls, the one babydoll from my childhood called ›Pummelchen‹ and the other doll, dressed in a peasant outfit, towards the left. It was given to me by a girlfriend. Above the sofa hangs an original Persian painting, painted in subtle summery colours and showing young people, as I was told once. Two Panama hats, made from linen or bast, lie on the left armrest of the sofa.«
»We are in the square in front of the church, the churchbell tolls twelve o´clock and sounds very loud as we are sitting at the foot of the tower. We are sitting on a wire bench without a back rest. On top of the tower is a cross that is illuminated at night time. The church is called Philippus Kirche (Evangelical - Lutheran) and was built in the early 1960s, before the construction of the surrounding houses. There are a few trees around. I can hear the wind in the trees and the square is paved with stones. This location is relatively quiet with a particular atmosphere, birds twitter, there is a distant background sound of car traffic. One can not hear human voices but a distant sound of a blackbird.«
»Today it's the 15th of October – the day of the white stick – a beautiful, autumnal morning. I am standing opposite to a bus stop, the stop of the bus line number 161 and number 163, both towards Horner Rennbahn. The bus stop has been built from unbreakable material and offers space for adverts. This bus stop is a busy one and many people live close by who mainly use the stop to travel towards the Horner Rennbahn, where one can change into a subway towards the centre of town. There is a waste basket to the left of the bus stop, which doesn't get properly used, often rubbish is just been thrown on the ground. There are seats inside the bus stop, which face the busy Manshardtstrasse. There is a lawn behind the bus stop and a hedge with so called ›four dots houses‹. A group of people is standing at the bus stop, I estimate four to six. Now, exactly at 11.08 am is a good time to take a picture of the bus stop, as many of the people are taking the bus to go shopping in the centre of town.«
»Here we are on the Öjendorf- Süd cemetery. It smells of autumn. The area where my husband has been buried is called Quartier, an area where there are no regulations how the graves have to look. I did decide to have a cross made. The cross is made out of indian black granite with a glimmer of green. It is inscribed with my husbands name, without dates, and a phrase taken from the old testament: ›I have called you with your name and you are mine‹. In front of the cross stands a willow basket with ivy and, depending on the season, flowers. The basket sits on two bricks to prevent it rotting. Close the grave there is a large oak tree and the spot is surrounded by a rhododendron hedge. Also close to the grave there is a bench where I like to sit. The birds are very active during the summer and squirrels run around too. These sounds are something I like as there is no solemn deadly silence and I can also hear the sounds of the city.«
Ruth Wunsch
53 years old, blind since the age of 30. Worked first as an educator and later as an office employee. Mrs Koopmann took two photos and wrote two descriptions:
»I am standing on top of the grass covered dyke close to the pier of the Oldenburger Rowing Club. I then go down to the pier. The pier is made of metal with wooden planks at intervals to stop you slipping into the water. The pier leads to another wooden pier from where one can directly enter the boats. The pier is approximately 10m long. I can hear the water, the water is calm as it is not very windy today. On the opposite side of the river is also a grass covered dyke, which must be covered by trees too, as I can hear the sound of leaves moving. The light sunlight, which I can sense on my skin, must also fall through the leaves and onto the water. I can hear birds and also the sound of a cuckoo, which might also appear in the photo. I like to spend time at the pier, as the water calms me down and at the same time provides a certain sense of liveliness. I am excited when entering the boat and when we start rowing together, which I enjoy very much. I experience a sense of the security provided by the well thought through construction of the pier. The atmosphere here is beautiful.«
»I am standing in front of one of the three boat sheds of the rowing club. The floor is made of concrete. A guidance system for the blind, consisting of two strips of hard plastic and a attention sign with nobs at the end, is fixed to the ground. This guidance system provides is us visually impaired people with a safe way of walking. Towards the left and the right are the boat racks (four on top of each other). The sculls as well as the rudders are located at the side of each boat. The boats lie upside down on the racks and the outriggers are protected by a hard rubber ball. On the opposite right hand side is a door.«
Anna Koopmann
35 years old, blind since birth, studies sociology and works at »Dialogue in the Dark«:
»We are in front of my regular pub, called ›Joy‹. We are looking at the entrance and the sign above. The ›Joy‹ is a comfortable pub with a lot of wood and the atmosphere of an Irish Pub. In the evening there is a tasty smell of fried food and one can already hear the decent rock music before entering. At the moment, I can only hear the traffic noise and people passing.«
Jan Twesten
aged 21, blind since birth, works in a workshop for the disabled:
»My little table with a metal bucket, my sofa is even closer, next to the sofa is my fridge. The sofa is covered with cushions, a fabric dog and a woollen blanket. I can hear the bird clock and the sound of birds and cars coming from the outside.«
Kenya Kühl
aged 22, totally blind in one eye, severe loss of sight in the other eye, works in an office:
»The window and my sofa with red cushions. The window has curtains and the window is bigger than me. Towards the right of the window is my desk with my telephone and the swivel chair. Towards the left of the sofa is the white door towards my bathroom. Behind the window is the school.«
Sara Nows
24 years old, blind since early childhood, works in a workshop for the disabled:
»We are at the kiosk where Cen works. We are at the till, where we can put down the money and which is covered with newspapers, cigarettes and things. The kiosk isn´t big, here are glass panes. Normally not much happens here.«
Clarissa Kruse
19 years old, blind from birth, works in workshop for the disabled:
»Sascha is on the bed, in front of a wall and a shelf. Sascha´s head has ears and eyes and a mouth and a nose and a beard and legs and shoulders. He is more or less my size.«
Tjark Jessen
19 years of age, totally blind in one eye, severly limited vision in the other, works in a workshop for the disabled:
»In front of me is the bed, above the bed are a lot of Sarah Engels posters. At the top of the bed is my night table, on it are my new phone and a photo. The bed is a little higher than the floor and is covered with pillows, a blanket and a backrest. The blanket is yellow and the thermal duvet above is blue and the pillow is yellow.«
Sascha Kollin
38 years old, blind since birth, works as a masseuse. Mrs Friese took two photos and wrote two descriptions:
»I took a foto of my guitar, as music is very important to me. I like to hold the guitar in my hands, I like the feeling of the wood and that the guitar has served me so well. The guitar has a neck with six strings and the neck widens towards the beautiful, well sounding guitar belly made out of warm wood. The guitar is momentarily standing on the balcony, a little forlorn, she reminds me of garden parties. However my voice is really my main instrument, as I am a singer and not a guitarist.«
»This picture was taken on a bridge, which crosses a small creek. This place accompanies me throughout the whole year; I often take a break here on my walks to hear the sound of the water. The flowing water sounds stronger after a heavy rain. I listen to the water flowing over the pebbles and the sounds allow my soul to float.«
Katharina Friese
11 years old, blind since birth, pupil:
»I am in my room and i took a photo of my drums. Right at the top, to the left and right, are the two cymbals, in between is the control unit, further down are the drums and the TomToms. Further down to the right is the Stand-Tom. The stick and headphones are lying closer to me on the middle drum. Further up is the cymbal and to the left of the Tom Toms is the Hi-Hat. Right at the bottom are the two pedals. The right one is for the base drum and the left one for the Hi-Hat. I have been playing drums for one and a half years, mainly in my school orchestra. I like the diversity of drums and it has always been my dream to play drums.«
Michel Behrends
42 years old, blind since the age of ten, Law Graduate, he also music (guitar) at the Hamburg Conservatory. Mr Voigt took two photos and wrote two descriptions:
»The ashtray holds pure brown pleasure. I very much like the ashtray because of its curving form, which is so pleasing to hold. I did not know how it looked before I bought it, hence it was a surprise to feel it with my own hands, once it arrived in the post. The cigar tastes delicious, I like its scaly form and how it feels. The lighter feels heavy when I hold it. I bought the lighter because of its golden color (which I read about in the product description in the internet). When I was still able to see I liked the color gold. Shiny pipes and a subtle deep gold tone are something beautiful to imagine. There is no pleasure without first cutting the cigar and I am surprised how sharp the blade is. I like the smell and taste of the cigar and how both increase and can still be experienced hours after smoking the cigar. A pity that the wind blows away the entire smell, I have to stay content with the taste in my mouth: very creamy, very aromatic — a mixture of coffee, nut and chocolate from Cuba. I have known this brand of cigar for years, it however takes years until one savours its full taste. But it was certainly worth the wait!«
»The guitar is positioned as if I would play it. On the left side one can see its beautiful thin neck, where one can easily press down the strings. The necks of many other concert guitars are thicker. The strings are very close to each other, despite of this the instrument has a beautiful loud sound. I have been looking for such a guitar for a long time, a guitar that sounds warm and naturally, but also keeps its sound when one connects it to the amplifier. Folk music guitars often have this sound, but its rare for concert guitars. I especially travelled to Wuppertal to buy this guitar. I tested the sound not in the shop, but in a Cafe, which is sometimes used for concerts — in a beautiful room with a lot of wood paneling and atmosphere. The musician, who sold me the guitar, and his girlfriend both gave me a lot of time to get to know the instrument and even came to my home in Hamburg. It feels beautiful to hold such a valuable and loved instrument with ones own hands. I can't feel the type of wood from which it is made, but I was told that it is decorated with flowers — that's something I like.«
Jens Uwe Voigt
(and her guide dog Spike), 58 years old and with diminishing eyesight since the age of eight, part time educator. Inge took two photos and wrote two descriptions:
»I and my guide dog Spike are in the forest in Sasel, Hainesch-Iland. The photo shows Spike and the fence in the foreground, the background shows the old oak tree, fallen into the water of the upper level mill-pond. The oak tree has been lying there for the last four to five years and its top is by now probably covered with moss. Ducks are meeting up at the oak tree, and other walkers told me, that they also have sometimes seen a turtle sunbathing there. I love this place, as I can hear the distant waterfall, that connects the upper and lower level mill-ponds. I do not normally let my dog run around on days like today, a Sunday with beautiful weather (›Nature Reserve!‹), because other walkers comment, that the dog should be on the leash. However I make sure that Spike can compensate his guide duties through running around freely at a different time.«
»We are just arriving in the stairwell back home and Spike – my guide dog – carries the keys. The photo shows a balustrade in front of glass bricks. On the right side of the balustrade is a flower. Spikies plays his favourite game in the stairwell; when descending the stairs he needs to take the end of his leash into his mouth, so he can take me, holding the other end, for once also on the leash. When ascending the stairs he insist to carry our key! Spike is a black labrador with a very broad face and a also broad and short snout. His head feels quite round, a bit like a child face. People ask frequently if they can stroke him, however when he wears his harness, he shouldn't be stroked as this distracts him. We – Spike and I – are very good team, he is my big Snoopy–Bear.«
Inge
46 years old, blind since the age of 12, works as a kindergarten nurse and has a family. Mrs Korn took two photos and wrote two descriptions:
»I met my husband 24 years ago on the platform of the underground station Mehringdamm, which was more sombre then, as it was only lit by a few lamps and the benches were made from wood. On that day it was 24.30 when I was on the station and it was very quiet. It was the opposite to now. Now there are many people around me and I can also hear the tiring noise from the building works above. I am also smelling that someone just smoked. We stood about one or two meters apart when I met my future husband here. I had the feeling that he focused his sight on me and he then approached me, asking if I were blind. I answered ›yes‹. He asked if I had tried dropping Schwedenkräuter into my eyes and I said ›no‹. The train arrived then and he asked, if we could see each other again and he gave me his phone number. Three weeks later we telephoned each other for the first time and two month later we were a couple. In the past the station felt more spacious, now they are building an internal partition wall and the station appears more cramped narrower, like a narrow room.«
»I am standing on the central area of the Hasenheide road in Berlin Neukoelln and take photos of the approaching traffic. It is currently busy and loud here and some people are crossing the road towards Karstadt, others don't. I chose this location for the photo, because it was here where I was hit by a car 34 years ago. It turned right despite of the red traffic light and hit me. I was 12 years old and was just on the way to the pet department at Karstadt to get water-flees for my fishes. As a result of this accident I became blind. I remember that day as cold and dark. When I am here I always think back at the accident and that I grew up close to the Hermann Platz.«
Silja Korn