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Access Hound — Writings From the Field

Accessible Media is Better, More-Inclusive Media

Four sculptural busts on display at the Portland Art Museum in Portland, OR, not boxed in by plexiglass. Describing: A horizontal color photograph. Synopsis: A long white display pedestal in a gallery setting is topped with four sculptural busts, showing head-and-shoulder representations of four different people in different styles with different materials, from white marble to nearly black bronze. The second one to the viewer's left is Pablo Picasso's dark bronze "Tête de femme (Fernande)," recognizable at this distance by its fractional but interconnected pieces, creating the whole of the head. The labels for the other busts cannot be read in this image from this distance. IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: The white pedestal crosses the frame of the photo diagonally, from about mid-frame on the left side to nearly the bottom right corner, so the bust on the far left appears smaller, and the one of the right appears larger. The front edge of the pedestal has a long rectangular strip of signage at the top, labeling and describing each piece of artwork. Near the front-right corner of the pedestal, a small round sign on the top indicates a gallery rule: No touching. On the pedestal, four busts are spaced roughly a foot apart. From the viewer's left to right, 1. A small beige bust of a person with curled hair and a high-collared, buttoned coat on a short gray stand; 2. A dark, rough-textured, modern-looking bust with angular planes and ridges (the Picasso); 3. A white, smooth bust, larger than the others, with short wavy hair and neutral expression, set on a square base; and, 4. A dark metal bust of a bearded man with a furrowed brow on a rounded plinth. Behind them, the gallery's walls are violet, and several framed paintings are displayed, including, at center, a tall, ornate, gold-framed portrait of a standing figure wearing a red sash; to its right, a smaller, gold-framed portrait of a man shown from the shoulders up, with gray hair and a military jacket; to its left, smaller works also are present, including at least one with geometric shapes rather than traditional naturalistic portraiture. A half-dozen visitors in casual clothes stand near the wall and pedestal, reading labels or chatting.

Courtesy of Brett Oppegaard

Audio Description

Just say "NO" to plexiglass, especially around bronze sculptures

Sculptural bronzes have been produced for thousands of years and have lasted for millennia, under all sorts of harsh conditions. In other words, bronze is a material built to last. That's why I'm always so surprised to encounter bronze sculptures in museums or in galleries (or elsewhere) behind an obstructive barrier, like plexiglass. This mostly unnecessary protective shielding is especially detrimental to the engagement and experiences of people who cannot see or cannot see well, who would benefit greatly from permissions...

Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D.'s profile image Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D.
An Access Hound collaborator who is blind is stopped cold by overgrown vegetation on an entry ramp at a public place. DESCRIBING: A vertical color photograph. SYNOPSIS: A man with a white cane stands on a sunlit sidewalk, which is bordered by railings and thick vegetation that crosses over the railings, blocking the path. Long grass stems droop across the walkway at face height. The person faces downward and pauses, trying to decide how to approach the obstacle. IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: The photo centers on a white man with short dark hair, sunglasses, a black T-shirt, black shorts, and black sandals. He is facing the camera, in the center of a narrow and smooth concrete path that curves gently into the distance to the viewerʻs right and is lined on both sides by a waist-high metal handrail. The person holds a white cane in both hands; the cane tip points to the pavement near his right foot. Long, seed-tipped grasses arch from both sides of the path and brush the person’s head and chest, creating a face-level barrier. A midday sun casts a shadow of the person and cane onto the path in front of him.

Photo by Brett Oppegaard

Accessibility

Accessibility obstacles can include unkempt vegetation

One of the most challenging aspects of accessibility work is the constantly changing environment around us, including media, history, and ... vegetation. What I mean by that is that we are constantly getting new media created about our public places (all of which needs Audio Description, but if a place's media production workflow is broken and doesn't include AD, then it just keeps making the problems worse by adding more inaccessible media to the world in a constant flow). In addition,...

Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D.'s profile image Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D.
Describing: A vertical screenshot of Access Hound as a company being featured in a "Corporate Patron Spotlight" by the Western Museums Association, with the full text available on this WMA website page: https://mailchi.mp/westmuse/cps-access-hound?e=f8f4d3cc06. Description: The logos of the Western Museums Association and Access Hound, LLC, are the only visual elements on this page. They are both positioned to the left of the texts that introduce the WMA, in the top banner, and Access Hound, in the headline below it. The WMA logo features geometric lines that under a closer examination read "W / M / A" with the letters stacked on each other, one atop the other, inside a vertical box. The Access Hound logo features a portrait illustration of a debonair and anthromophosized dog, in a pinstriped suit, tie, and glasses, looking at the viewer. Its ears are pointy and sticking up.

WMA

Accessibility

Western Museums Association members: Free audit available for your website

Access Hound, LLC, recently became a Corporate Patron of the Western Museums Association. We will be offering an Audio Description "activity station" at the WMA's annual conference in the afternoon of Sept. 25 in Salt Lake City, Utah (more coming about that soon!). But in the meantime, as a way, to introduce ourselves to this regional museum community, we're offering WMA-affiliated museums a complementary website accessibility audit that includes a detailed report that outlines accessibility opportunities and gaps in your specific museum...

Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D.'s profile image Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D.
KOMO's caption (no AD provided) A photo of visually impaired runners in Green Lake who are a part of a guided running club. Access Hound's quick description: Describing: A screenshot of the KOMO News website, which shows the headline of the story above a large horizontal photograph. A stack of three much-smaller horizontal photographs are to the right of the main image. All four color images are about this same "Free 2 Fly" story. Description: In the larger image, a woman's back is to the camera, and she faces a crowd of people, addressing them about the run they are about to do. This woman — Free 2 Fly founder Ixchel Lemus-Bromley — has her brown hair pulled into a ponytail. She is wearing a dark green hoodie and is shown from the waist up, from behind, making the crowd of runners the focal point. More than a dozen people face her and the camera. They mostly are wearing shorts or athletic leggings as well as t-shirts, with some also having light coats. They are outside with sun in their faces and grass and trees behind them. One person is raising an arm to shield the sun from her eyes. Another person is raising a hand to ask a question. In the three smaller images, stacked on top of each other, the top one shows two women running side-by-side, tethered at the waist to each other, on a paved path. The middle image shows a close-up portrait of Lemus-Bromley, from the shoulders up. She is wearing a baseball hat this time, with a smile on her face. The third of the three images is a muted version of a close-up photograph of a Free 2 Fly t-shirt, showing only the text on the red t-shirt and the person's arms. That image is covered by a text that reads "View All Photos" and is linked to a gallery with more images.

KOMO News.

Accessibility

KOMO News in Seattle features 'Free 2 Fly' running club, pairing blind runners with sighted guides, such as Access Hound's CEO McCullough

Access Hound actively supports making public places more accessible, including behind the scenes, wherever those opportunities might emerge and exist. We love to roll up our sleeves (or, in the case of this story, we put on a pair of shorts and running shoes) and engage with those production processes directly. CEO Stewart McCullough, for example, on most Sunday mornings can be found running around Green Lake in Seattle with the Free 2 Fly club, which is a running and walking...

Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D.'s profile image Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D.
No caption was provided on the brochure. Our Audio Description, with the related text, helps to contextualize and describe the image.

NPS

Audio Description

Audio Description in Action: Vietnam Veterans Memorial

One of our regular collaborators — Jane-Charlotte Manley of the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) in London — recently wrote to me a reminiscence of a description she recalled from our Descriptathon 6 ... in 2020. That was a hackathon-like event (sponsored by the National Park Service, the National Endowment for the Humanities, Google, and others) that mostly focused on describing the visitor brochures around the National Mall in Washington, D.C., including many other memorials listed below. The detail that...

Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D.'s profile image Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D.
Western Union Telegraphs, June 1937

Western Union

Audio Description

Audio Description in Action: Western Union Telegraphs, June 1937

What are people missing when they can't see or see in detail a museum's ephemera, like these three telegrams? An enormous amount of information is contained in the paper, the standard headings, the telegram codes, and the details of the transmission.DESCRIBING: Three Western Union telegrams from June 1937. These nearly square pieces of paper, mounted horizontally and hung on a wall of the Pearson Air Museum, are stacked on top of each other, in a column, with a couple of...

Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D.'s profile image Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D.
Map image on the Self-Guided Walking Tour brochure of the Springfield Armory National Historic Site. Audio Description of the map is included in the text of the accompanying blog post.

Springfield Armory National Historic Site

Audio Description

Audio Description in Action: Springfield Armory National Historic Site's Walking Tour Map

Maps have become one of the Audio Description specialties of Access Hound. We have described hundreds and hundreds of maps of all shapes, sizes, and kinds. Just when we think we have seen it all, though, we get a map like the one we were asked to describe recently as a part of the Self-Guided Walking Tour brochure at Springfield Armory National Historic Site in Springfield, Mass.This black-and-white map showed only the architectural outlines of several similar-looking buildings in a...

Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D.'s profile image Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D.
Title (English): A water carrier (Saqqa) in the courtyard of an Arab house. Title (Arabic): حاملة مياه (السقا) في فناء منزل عربي. Site (English): Saqqa Arab House Maison arabe. Site (Arabic): بيت السقا العربي. Collector: Creswell, K. A. C. (Keppel Archibald Cameron), 1879-1974. Date Created: ca. late 19th century or early 20th century.

American University in Cairo

Audio Description

Audio Description in Action: A water carrier (Saqqa) in the courtyard of an Arab house

Access Hound is working on a new Audio Description (AD) project with The American University in Cairo, describing a collection of Nubian photographs, such as this one attached, called "A water carrier (Saqqa) in the courtyard of an Arab house." For this process discussion, we'll share the description first, followed by an account of some of the complexities of making that description, including some that still are unresolved:_______DESCRIBING: A vertical black-and-white photograph taken in the late-19th or early-20th century in...

Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D.'s profile image Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D.
Centered on the paved hiking trail, dressed in all black, is Access Hound founder Joe Oppegaard during a recent visit to Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri National Park and Ynys Mon in Wales. His field visit was a part of much recent collaborative work between Access Hound, See Cymru Differently – Hiraeth, the Royal National Institute of Blind People, and Wales National Parks. Also pictured in this photo of a group of five people (and a smiling golden retriever in the foreground) is Gareth Davies, See Cymru Differently Project Lead, on the far right. Describing: A horizontal color photograph. Synopsis: Five adults stand together in a group on a wide, tree-lined path in a wooded area. The group's members face one another, engaged in conversation near a wayside sign that shares information about the setting. A golden retriever sits on the path near them, in the foreground, facing away from the camera and toward the people. In-depth Description: The trail is flanked by dense, leafy greenery and tall trees, creating a tranquil, shaded setting. On the left, Huw Ifor Huws wears a khaki jacket and gestures with his smartphone. He is standing beside a large wayside sign that shows text, unreadable at this angle, about the setting. Near the center, Joe Oppegaard, in black attire, stands relaxed, feet apart, and listens intently. To the right, three more people, two men and one woman, form a closely grouped semicircle. The woman wears a navy jacket and crosses her arms, while the two men beside her wear dark jackets. One of those men, Gareth Davies, also wears a large and stuffed dark-green backpack. In the foreground, a golden retriever dog sits on the pavement, head turned slightly to the side, with mostly its back visible. The group appears focused on and attentive to the conversation, surrounded by lush vegetation and dappled sunlight.

Courtesy of Gareth Davies.

Audio Description

Access Hound Debuts Fast, High-Quality AD Training for Staff at Wales National Parks

Access Hound recently was presented with both an opportunity and a challenge: Could we design a productive online training for employees at a public attraction who might be hearing about Audio Description (AD) for the first time? Sure!In this session, though, we also would need to teach the functionality of two online tools to people who had never used them before, our open-access UniDescription software and our GenAI writing-support tool called the Access Hound Guidedogs. In addition, we needed to define...

Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D.'s profile image Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D.
CAPTION: Descriptathon 11 (Feb. 25-27, 2025): When we passed the 10-year mark, and moved on to our 11th, we decided to commemorate the occasion by making the D11 trophy a departure from the painted coconuts of years past but with a "coconut" tribute, too. Sculptor and Designer Tia Oppegaard aimed to make a symbol of resilience and permanence that reflected the long-term impacts of coming together for an event such as a Descriptathon. Everyone is open to their own interpretation of the piece, but when I look at it, I imagine a low tide, and coming across something unusual sticking out of the water. It's the Descriptathon logo, embedded in a coconut seed, embedded in a sea urchin, like something that at times is underwater and at other times surfaces. I hope that this trophy symbolizes the depth, indestructibility, and long-term power of our Descriptathon. That you don't just spend a few days Descriptathoning and then go onto the next thing and never use what you learned. Our hope is that once you do a Descriptathon, you become a carrier of its messages about media accessibility. Universal Design becomes a part of who you are as a media creator, and all of your future messages can be read by all.

CREDIT: Photo by Brett Oppegaard. Sculpture by Tia Oppegaard.

Audio Description

Descriptathon 11 is a wrap!

Descriptathon 11 definitely will go down in UniDescription lore as the most-resilient of all Descriptathons.Despite wild political turmoil, mass layoffs in the National Park Service during the event, nearly 200 people participating online across at least five time zones, in 10 countries, on three continents, we still did it anyway. Every single team finished its project. Several incorporated human voice. Some even did extra projects, expanding accessibility at their sites even more than we originally had planned. We had about...

Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D.'s profile image Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D.
CAPTION: This new GenAI tool for Audio Description production is available at: www.accesshound.com (image AD at bottom of text).

CREDIT: Access Hound, LLC.

Audio Description

Family members, friends, neighbors, passersby. It's all about the people. What is your "why?" for making (or not making) accessible media?

"What is your 'why?' for making (or not making) accessible media?" was the simple but profound question that prompted me to write this series of posts about what I consider to be the 10 primary motivating factors provoking research, development, and use of Audio Description.My initial answer to the person posing it was not a technical one, an economic one, or even a philosophical one. It was grounded in lived experience. I said at the time, and I come back...

Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D.'s profile image Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D.
Caption: This new GenAI tool for Audio Description production is available at: www.accesshound.com (image AD at bottom of text).

Credit: Access Hound, LLC. Audio Description of banner image

Audio Description

Do you want to make more money, as your main motivator? Then make it accessible. What is your "why?" for making (or not making) accessible media?

Despite all of the talk of a purely capitalistic state, the American government (and American culture in reflection) actually is a hybrid of capitalism and socialism. We love the lone-wolf capitalistic narratives more, and build most of our stories around those, many founded on the Horatio Alger myth of being able to work hard and pull ourselves up in society by our bootstraps. Yet some of the greatest benefits of being an American are a near-guarantee of Social Security, plus healthcare...

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