Sonia Soberats is a 77-year-old photographer who specializes in light painting, a method in which exposures are made by moving a hand-held light source or the camera. You may be wondering what's so special about Ms. Soberats, well, she's been blind since the early 90s.
A life filled with hardship, Sonia nurtured her two children by working two jobs as a single parent. Unfortunately, Sonia's life began to crumble when her only daughter was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and then two years later, her son discovered he had Hodgkin's disease. In 1991 Sonia's son passed away, and then three years later, so did her daughter. To top it all off, Ms. Soberats, who has a history of glaucoma, lost her eyesight in between the death of her children.
Despite all this, Ms. Soberats persevered. She thought of her children's suffering to cope with her own and in 2001 began taking photography classes as means of therapy. Working in complete darkness and with the help of her assistant, Sonia arranges models using her hands to feel every aspect of the photograph. Asking her assistant to open the shutter, Ms. Soberats then dances around with everything from flashlights to Christmas lights to illuminate details in the image. What you see is a beautiful illustration in a photograph, but more importantly you gaze into the strength and tenacity of an individual who didn't let her crutches handicap her.
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