Faced with the potential loss of sight in one eye, Garry Hee picked up his camera again to raise funds for charity.
"Back in August, I unsuspectingly had hemorrhaging in the back of my [left] eye, which was losing some of my vision," Hee told the Langley Advance Times.
"So I started getting involved and serious about photography because I wanted to do photography projects before I went blind," said Hee, a long-time Langley community activist who lives on the Surrey-Langley border.
He is an avid amateur photographer who bought his first single lens reflex camera back in the 1970s, but had drifted away from it while he ran his computer business and campaigned on a range of public interest issues.
Causes included the FightHST petition campaign in 2009, a petition against bridge tolls in 2017, one for crosswalks at the corner of 72 Avenue and 196 Street on the Surrey-Langley border in 2014, as well as a petition for ER parking at LMH and other hospitals in 2019 that collected 4,200 signatures.
He's holding photo exhibits, for free, of his favourite pictures, asking people who attend to donate to whatever worthy charity they favour.
"It would be nice if these charitable groups had some financial support," Hee said.
Hee is booking exhibitions through his website, https://garybhee.ca/ which supports Doctors Without Borders in the Ukraine, and he also backs charities that help people with cancer and agencies that support people with autism and Down syndrome.
He's also creating videos.
His first exhibition, which he described as a "pop-up show and tell" raised about $200.
Since he started his monthly treatments, Hee said his vision has improved.
"It's recovered, yes," he explained.
"[I'm] still getting shots in the eye. It's a treatment I have to do monthly."
At 80, he admits to slowing down, slightly, but has no intention of giving up campaigning for causes he believes in.
"Life is not a dream, it's a journey," Hee said.
