Most, if not all, of your images are rendered in black and white. Why have you chosen not to work in color photography? How do you make your conversions?

I just like the grittiness and rawness of black and white. I love the way it heightens the contrast between light and shadow. All the images are photographed in the raw mode and then the selected images are converted to black and white in Photoshop.

Since black and white photography removes hue and focuses the viewer’s attention on luminance, how do you select those points of contrast for the viewer’s eye? Do you “see” the picture in black and white before you make the exposure (which is what Ansel Adams did, among other photographers)?

I do see the scene in black and white. Instead of looking for color, I am looking at the lights and darks for highlights, shadows, textures etc. Capturing the light is what photography is all about.

Your use of natural light connects you with past medium- and large-format photographers, who captured images from the same regions, and whose work included blurred subjects because of shutter speed having to be so slow. Yet, with modern digital photography and high ISOs available, the implication is that this shutter speed is an artistic choice. Please comment on this choice, which is reminiscent of photographers such as Linda Connor.

I feel the digital technology has provided the photographer with greater latitude. Yes, it is now an artistic choice and the power of a blurred image or selective focus can be very powerful. The choice of blurred subjects gives the image a sense of energy or chaos such as some of my images taken in a busy market in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Please tell us about your work with Seva. What exactly is preventable blindness? What is it like, reaching out to people in remote areas in terms of optometry and working to help them see?

Seva Canada is an international non-governmental organization whose mission is the elimination of preventable and treatable blindness around the world. As an optometrist and documentary photographer, I am very much aware and concerned about the problem of blindness in the world.

The need for effective global blindness prevention and treatment programs will become increasingly urgent as the number of people in need is rapidly outstripping the eye care services available to them. About 285 million people are visually impaired worldwide: 39 million are blind and 246 million have low vision. 80% of all visual impairment can be prevented, treated or cured, and about 90% of the world’s visually impaired people live in developing countries. Even more disturbing is the fact that two out of three blind people in the world are women and young girls, with most of them living in areas of developing countries where they have limited access to sight-restoring services.

Larry Louie
BY Joanna Wong

The majority of blindness in the world is either preventable or curable. The leading cause of blindness is cataract, the clouding of the eye’s lens. A 10-minute eye surgery to remove the cataract and insert a man-made plastic lens will restore a person’s sight and transform the lives of his or her family and even community. It’s a quick fix that costs just $50 Cdn in the countries where Seva works, including pre- and post-operative care, and has a ripple effect for generations. When you give someone back their sight through eye care such as prescription glasses, the treatment of an eye injury or infection, or a cataract surgery, you free that person’s caregivers from the burden of caring for a blind person. You also enable the person to return to work or school, to care for his or her family and to reach their full potential. Restoring vision is one of the most cost-effective health interventions to reduce poverty.

I work as an optometrist and photographer at Seva projects around the world. And, as a photographer, I use my photographs to promote their work and bring awareness to eye care issues around the world.

It is very gratifying, being able to reach these people in far-off rural areas and provide them with the eye care treatments they need. The gratification is almost instantaneous. After a ten-minute cataract surgery and a maximum of three days recuperation, a blind person can see again and we are usually there to witness the miracle. Most of the time, we really believe we are making a significant difference in the lives of the people we touch and helping them to become an active and useful part of their family and community.