About Louise Simpson:
Louise Simpson is a long-distance runner from Leeds. With retinopathyof prematurity (ROP) – a sight loss condition which has caused totalblindness – Louise has run 126 marathons and 488 park runs withthe help of guide runners. When she isn’t running, Louise works forJobcentre Plus, where she has been employed since 2008.

Louise’s reflections on Seen :
“I was feeling happy when Joshua took the photo, as I was outside in fresh air enjoying company and nature. I was also feeling relieved as I completed my one hundredth marathon on Thursday 21 December 2023 in Slough – shortly before my fortieth birthday, and 10 years to the day since I ran my first marathon, organised by Sikhs In The City.
I hope that visitors will dismiss any negative views of blind people and what we can achieve – sometimes with the help of others.”

For more information about the exhibition and to view more portraits by Joshua Bratt please visit www.rnib.org.uk/seen

Image shows: A portrait of Louise Simpson by Joshua Bratt.

Joshua Bratt is a Welsh photojournalist and portrait photographer. Based in London, Joshua works as a freelance photographer for a range of clients, including The Times, and has captured everything from campaigns and advertisements to sporting events, celebrity portraits and beyond.

Seen was born from a moment of quiet reflection during Joshua’s daily commute. After repeatedly noticing a man using a cane, Joshua realised he had been unconsciously seeing the man only through the lens of his sight loss – rather than as a person with a life, a career, and a story of his own. Determined to challenge public perceptions of sight loss, Joshua set out to photograph blind or partially sighted individuals, capture their remarkable stories and shift the focus toward the person behind the sight loss, encouraging viewers to look beyond their assumptions. Joshua encountered a wide range of experiences and conditions, learning just how diverse the spectrum of sight loss truly is and discovering how often the public underestimates what blind and partially sighted people can do.

These portraits reveal the extraordinary lives of blind and partially sighted people: individuals thriving in their careers, pursuing their passions and overcoming barriers. Each portrait is a reminder that life isn’t measured by sight – and that sight loss need not be an obstacle to achievement.

Seen places the resilience, achievements and individuality of blind and partially sighted people front and centre – asking its audience to see the person, not the sight loss. As you explore the exhibition, we invite you to take your time, reflect and absorb each of the portraits and the stories they tell. These are stories of resilience, ambition, the everyday – and of the people behind the sight loss.

Image shows: A picture of Joshua Bratt by Ian Treherne.

“Seeing Our History” was an RNIB Scotland project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
It explored the lives of people with sight loss in Edinburgh, the Lothians, and the Borders of Scotland one hundred years ago.
Here you can discover the findings of our volunteer researchers. They explored the lives of visually impaired people who lived in the wider community. They were sometimes known as the 'outdoor blind' because they didn’t live in the blind institutions, or 'asylums' as they were known at the time.
Our research was based on The Register of the Outdoor Blind for the region from around 1903 to 1911. We matched entries against the census and birth, marriage, and death records to build up life stories, tracing the lives of individual blind people.
"If poor people were on the margins of society, those with sight loss were on the margins of the margins. How they survived in an era before the welfare state or technological aids is a story of great hardship, but also of resilience, isolation and sometimes tremendous family solidarity. It’s a story that deserves to be told." - Dr Iain Hutchison, project historian

“Seeing Our History” was an RNIB Scotland project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
It explored the lives of people with sight loss in Edinburgh, the Lothians, and the Borders of Scotland one hundred years ago.
Here you can discover the findings of our volunteer researchers. They explored the lives of visually impaired people who lived in the wider community. They were sometimes known as the 'outdoor blind' because they didn’t live in the blind institutions, or 'asylums' as they were known at the time.
Our research was based on The Register of the Outdoor Blind for the region from around 1903 to 1911. We matched entries against the census and birth, marriage, and death records to build up life stories, tracing the lives of individual blind people.
"If poor people were on the margins of society, those with sight loss were on the margins of the margins. How they survived in an era before the welfare state or technological aids is a story of great hardship, but also of resilience, isolation and sometimes tremendous family solidarity. It’s a story that deserves to be told." - Dr Iain Hutchison, project historian

“Seeing Our History” was an RNIB Scotland project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

It explored the lives of people with sight loss in Edinburgh, the Lothians, and the Borders of Scotland one hundred years ago.

Here you can discover the findings of our volunteer researchers. They explored the lives of visually impaired people who lived in the wider community. They were sometimes known as the 'outdoor blind' because they didn’t live in the blind institutions, or 'asylums' as they were known at the time.

Our research was based on The Register of the Outdoor Blind for the region from around 1903 to 1911. We matched entries against the census and birth, marriage, and death records to build up life stories, tracing the lives of individual blind people.

"If poor people were on the margins of society, those with sight loss were on the margins of the margins. How they survived in an era before the welfare state or technological aids is a story of great hardship, but also of resilience, isolation and sometimes tremendous family solidarity. It’s a story that deserves to be told." - Dr Iain Hutchison, project historian

“Seeing Our History” was an RNIB Scotland project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
It explored the lives of people with sight loss in Edinburgh, the Lothians, and the Borders of Scotland one hundred years ago.
Here you can discover the findings of our volunteer researchers. They explored the lives of visually impaired people who lived in the wider community. They were sometimes known as the 'outdoor blind' because they didn’t live in the blind institutions, or 'asylums' as they were known at the time.
Our research was based on The Register of the Outdoor Blind for the region from around 1903 to 1911. We matched entries against the census and birth, marriage, and death records to build up life stories, tracing the lives of individual blind people.
"If poor people were on the margins of society, those with sight loss were on the margins of the margins. How they survived in an era before the welfare state or technological aids is a story of great hardship, but also of resilience, isolation and sometimes tremendous family solidarity. It’s a story that deserves to be told." - Dr Iain Hutchison, project historian

“Seeing Our History” was an RNIB Scotland project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
It explored the lives of people with sight loss in Edinburgh, the Lothians, and the Borders of Scotland one hundred years ago.
Here you can discover the findings of our volunteer researchers. They explored the lives of visually impaired people who lived in the wider community. They were sometimes known as the 'outdoor blind' because they didn’t live in the blind institutions, or 'asylums' as they were known at the time.
Our research was based on The Register of the Outdoor Blind for the region from around 1903 to 1911. We matched entries against the census and birth, marriage, and death records to build up life stories, tracing the lives of individual blind people.
"If poor people were on the margins of society, those with sight loss were on the margins of the margins. How they survived in an era before the welfare state or technological aids is a story of great hardship, but also of resilience, isolation and sometimes tremendous family solidarity. It’s a story that deserves to be told." - Dr Iain Hutchison, project historian

“Seeing Our History” was an RNIB Scotland project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

It explored the lives of people with sight loss in Edinburgh, the Lothians, and the Borders of Scotland one hundred years ago.

Here you can discover the findings of our volunteer researchers. They explored the lives of visually impaired people who lived in the wider community. They were sometimes known as the 'outdoor blind' because they didn’t live in the blind institutions, or 'asylums' as they were known at the time.

Our research was based on The Register of the Outdoor Blind for the region from around 1903 to 1911. We matched entries against the census and birth, marriage, and death records to build up life stories, tracing the lives of individual blind people.

"If poor people were on the margins of society, those with sight loss were on the margins of the margins. How they survived in an era before the welfare state or technological aids is a story of great hardship, but also of resilience, isolation and sometimes tremendous family solidarity. It’s a story that deserves to be told." - Dr Iain Hutchison, project historian

RNIB's Dave Williams and Robin Spinks visited Sony to hear more about accessibility features available in their latest line up of televisions.

Image: Dave Williams and Gavin McCarron stand in front of the Sony Bravia 8, Gavin holds a remote control as the 'TV Guide' appears on the large screen.