The photo series titled ‘Thinka’ by Jonathan May depicts the daily struggles that blind and visually impaired children experience on a daily basis. More importantly, it brings to light one way this disadvantaged youth receive help. The Thinka Primary School in Kenya, a non-profit organization funded by the Salvation Army, provides a safe haven for visually impaired children while also catering to their special needs.
Thinka by Jonathan May is a simple portrait project that illustrates the different levels of sight these children have. May creates a sight gradient beginning with a child who has 60% vision to a child with zero vision. He contrasts the vivid portraits of his subjects with the exact same one blurred out to show what it is like to see through their eyes.
Blind Children Portraits
‘Thinka' by Jonathan May Captures Different Levels of Sight
Trend Themes
1. Visual-impaired Empathy - Creating products and services that cater to the unique needs of the visually-impaired community.
2. Charitable Photography - Expanding the impact of charitable photography beyond awareness raising to revenue generation for non-profits.
3. Accessible Education - Incorporating special needs education and accessibility features for visually-impaired students in mainstream schools.
Industry Implications
1. Photography - Developing specialized photography services for charitable causes.
2. Education - Creating educational programs and technology that cater to students with special needs.
3. Non-profit - Analyzing non-profit strategies for funding and scaling while continuing to provide helpful services.