Nature photographer doesn’t let blindness affect her craft

A photographer’s passion is apparent in her nature photos, and there’s a special motivator for her beloved craft.

Photographer Liz Bossoli, an Audubon Magazine contributor, works through blindness each day to get the job done.

“It brings me joy and fulfillment, even though there are definitely some additional hurdles in the process,” Bossoli said.

Bossoli explained the steps she takes that have become part of her process to get the shots she wants and needs out in the field.

“I will have a lot of clicks of the shutter button and a lot, a high percentage of them of the photos are not going to be usable, but I have an idea of what I want to capture, and I tend to stick with it until I can get it,” Bossoli said.

She does not waver in her commitment to capturing the beauty in animals and nature in the face of a rare condition.

“I was born almost completely blind in my left eye. I’m legally blind in my right eye, so I have functional vision in my right eye, but it’s definitely not what the average person needs to be able to navigate the world completely independently,”” Bossoli said.

Bossoli lives in Connecticut but enjoys visiting family in Florida while honing her craft in both places. Some of her go-to nature spots include Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium and Myakka River State park.

“I knew it was going to be difficult, but I didn’t really see it as a challenge to overcome as much as just something that I was going to do, and it may be more difficult for me than others who pursue it, but I just followed where my heart was going,” Bossoli said.

By making her own rules, photography is Bossoli’s window to the world around her.

“The photography is actually the most valuable tool I have to be able to engage with the things I love in the environment because I can’t necessarily see it well while it’s happening, so the photography gives me the opportunity to slow things down and be able to hold onto what I experienced in the moment,” she said.