My name is Ted Tahquechi, Denver based blind photographer, travel blogger and guide dog user.
I have traveled all over the world for more than 35 years. I am a photography educator using my art to make a difference. I lost my sight in 1999 and now travel and blog with my guide Fauna.
I created blindtravels.com to be a resource for visually impaired travelers (with and without a guide dog) where I review travel destinations and travel related technology from a unique perspective for the visually impaired traveler.
My passion is landscape and travel photography, but I am also well known for my abstract portraiture. My work has been featured in photography magazines, travel brochures and I regularly exhibit my work nationwide.
Learn more about me at www.blindtravels.com/about-me/
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Comments
Greetings all!
Thank you to the amazing folks at Travel Massive for the shout out! I love travel and photography, and helping others understand what it is like to be visually impaired. I created blindtravels.com to be a helpful place for those who are blind, but there are also a lot of great articles in our education section about how to interact with visually impaired clients. I am often told travel industry members find these of of interest. If you are a blogger looking to increase your traffic from an unexpected source, check out my article on how to make your social media content more accessible for blind and low vision users. There is lots more to see, including tips and tricks for low vision travelers and stories about traveling the world with a guide dog.
I travel everywhere with my guide dog Fauna, and we have worked with a multitude of travel and hospitality industry leaders to make their properties and destinations more accessible and friendly to blind and low vision clients. I often find staff and operators of vacation and leisure destinations have lots of questions about blind travelers and service animals that they are embarrassed to ask. I love to offer a safe forum for those questions and firmly believe that any work I do with a property or brand helps make things easier for the next blind traveler to visit that location. If you have questions, feel free to post them here or DM me and lets start a dialog.
Lastly, yes, I am a professional photographer, and yes I am almost completely blind. I have no detail in my sight, I can see colorful blurs. When I returned to school and completed degrees in fine art and studio art photography I had to create a different way to capture images, and often lecture on and teach others a new way to see the world.
Thanks for taking the time to read about my site, and listen to my ramblings. I look forward to hearing any questions or comments!
You're really rocking it, Ted, and I'm so happy for you! We spoke what seems eons ago, and we exchanged contact information. My husband, who takes all the photos for my freelance articles and blog, wondered if you would be willing to give him some pointers on how he can teach me how to take some of my own photos on solo press trips. No would be a perfectly acceptable answer if you are not interested or super busy. Either way, I hope you keep rocking it!
The photography looks fantastic. Where are your favorite places to travel for photography?
Thank you so much! I love mountains and beaches, so I tend to spend a lot of time in California and Florida when I can for my beaches. I am based in Colorado an hour and a half from Rocky Mountain National Park, and I love to shoot there any chance I get. Of course I do take the opportunity to shoot anywhere I land.
I am so excited to learn about your work Ted. I have a number of followers on my FB group (easy walks, Massachusetts, RI and beyond) who are visually impaired and have already taught our members a lot about what makes a difference for those with low vision in being able to get outdoors safely. I look forward to learning more from you. I have mobility challenges, so my focus is on tools to increase access for others with the same challenges, but I am always excited to learn about others' "lessons learned" and am glad to pass on whatever information I can. I am located in New England, USA, but have traveled as far as Utah (with our camper), enjoyed biking on our tandem on the amazing rail trails in the Glen Canyon area as well as Canon City, CO. We have also biked up and down the east coast and as far as Newfoundland. Other travel where we have found Easy Walks (my brand) has been to County Clare, Ireland.