cindypaulding
Cindy Paulding has been blind since birth, so it surprises people that one of her greatest passions is photography. Her studio is full of images she has captured, and a fan of her work would find it hard to believe these are the images of someone with any visual impairment at all. But there’s vision, and then there is vision. Paulding “sees” an image with an intuition that is fueled by her creative spirit.
In a quest to interpret her surroundings better, Paulding bought a camera and began to snap away. Thanks to the advancement of digital photography the images can be blown up very large on her computer monitor, and getting close to the screen, she can make out some of the results of her work. Although considered legally blind, Paulding has a small amount of vision that allows her to see large shapes and some color. As she explores her neighborhood or hikes in nature, she senses certain shapes and colors that she then explores with her lens. In many ways, her camera has become her eyes.
“I wanted to see what was out there. I can blow up images, and it really tickles me to see for the first time things like zinnias,” explained Paulding.
After seeing a blow up of her photo of a zinnia, Paulding said she will never be the same. “The multiple layers of petals is amazing. I am endlessly amazed at what I get to see. Now it’s not just a spot that is different than what’s around it. Now it’s a cow with a face and eyelashes. Without digital photography, I couldn’t do this,” Paulding added.
When she shared several of her early photographs, family and friends would often pay her compliments, saying she had a natural knack for photography — a “good eye.”
“I liked that people responded positively to the work, and that was encouraging to continue and do some more,” explained Paulding. As her interest grew, so did her confidence, and she developed a wide variety of subject matter for her photographs and was willing to explore to find new subjects.
“It’s a challenge sometimes, but I really do love working with a camera. In all art, a bit of magic happens,” said Paulding.
Originally from Pittsburgh, Paulding has been in Lexington for nine years.
“I love that Lexington is a good-sized town, but in 15 minutes, you can be out of the town and in the country, “she added.
When she was very young, she began attending the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children and stayed at the school all the way through 12th grade. Although as a child she longed to be in mainstream school, Paulding credits the school with teaching her many of the skills she uses now.
Paulding’s work came to the attention of Daniel Gray of Dean Dorton Allen and Ford, an accounting and business consultation firm in Lexington, and he made a donation of a computer and projector to help Paulding achieve the level of enlargement she needs to be able to see the images she takes and to produce the final work.
“His generosity has been fantastic,” said Paulding.
When she is photographing, sometimes Paulding will have a person with her, making suggestions and helping describe the environment. For instance, when exploring and photographing one day, she sensed a large shape to her side as she walked, and her companion explained it was a large tree. Paulding was able to get some great shots that she later examined on the computer, realizing only then that the photographs revealed an extraordinary tree growing over rock.
While photographing a horse, it was only when she blew up the images that she realized the unique, velvety texture of a horse’s muzzle, complete with big whiskers. While photographing a giraffe, she learned about their unusual black tongues.
“It’s an interesting dilemma to have some small amount of useable vision,” said Paulding. “You have to be prepared to be very wrong about what you think you see. When I first started to take a lot of pictures, I’d blow them up on the computer and I would be surprised at what images really looked like, and I said ‘oh, my gosh’ a lot. It seemed a good name for what I am doing, so I named my business that.”
At times while she is out and about with her camera, it’s just Paulding and her guide dog, Noki. “She has really opened my eyes to how to get around,” explained Paulding. Noki is always nearby as Paulding tends to the business of Omagosh Studio, where she creates her photographic prints to sell as framed or unframed prints and as note cards.
Paulding recently sold 18 of her pieces to be used as part of the UK/Good Samaritan Hospital’s Healing Arts program. Jackie Hamilton, director of UK Arts in Healthcare, was taken with Paulding’s work immediately.
“When I saw her work and realized that she can only see contrast, I was amazed at her ability to frame her shots so beautifully,” Hamilton said. “She is the perfect artist to hang in a hospital as inspiration to our patients.”
The images will be hung in the main area of the hospital, bringing some of the same joy and sense of discovery to patients, visitors and hospital staff that they bring to the photographer — along with perhaps the occasional, “Oh, my gosh.”
To learn more about Cindy Paulding and her photography, visit omagosh.com.