It is surprising, but our eyes actually have a remarkable ability to see in the dark. They are simply not used to having to do so as in this modern world, with electricity and artificial light we rarely need to.  With regards to the Titanic, Mr Anthony believes the naked eye is best for spotting hazards on a dark night. What’s important is to keep ones eye’s still allowing them to focus, something the watchmen failed to do . At the inquest one said ‘We were looking all over the place, all around.’ This would have enabled their peripheral vision to recognise at least the outline of the iceberg.

Kanti and the staff at eyeform hope that all our valued customers have enjoyed their holiday break. In particular that they have been able to share a joyous Christmas with their loved ones.

In addition we would also like to extend to all the best wishes for the New Year ahead & hope that 2012 will bring with it much happiness and success. We would remind you that eyeform is open throughout the holiday period for all your eyecare needs so we can be reached by phone, online or in the shop itself under our normal working hours. In addition regular updates are available on our twitter and facebook pages

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The good news is that she remains positive and is making good progress, surrounded by friends and family who have so far raised $15,000 for her medical bills. We here at Eyeform wish her all the best with her recovery.

Kanti with Erica Groet and fellow ocularist Axel Franken

The high fliers that we are, we then flew to Paris for the Silmo exhibition where we were introduced to the latest ranges in optical frames and sunglasses. We are due to meet with a few brand representatives over the coming weeks so watch this space…

Generally many of us will settle down to quieter nights in before the mad rush of December and Christmas / New Years parties amongst other things. I find that this is a great time in which to look into getting an eye test or to purchase new glasses. Often reading or viewing TV in the dimmer light puts quite a strain on your eyes as much as anything but sometimes just the acquisition of new glasses can give you just that little bit of a lift. It is often the case that we get in patients to the practice that leave in complete satisifaction with new eyewear as it allows them almost a change of image much as a suit or new dress will do for them.

Over the next few weeks I am going to write about some of the key features in choosing a new pair of glasses. Often I am asked how do you choose the colour of frames that are right for you so today I thought I would focus on that element. Firstly I would say it comes down to the patient themselves. If they are happy with their choice in the first place then that to me is paramount. Most people will have an idea of what they want already whether it be to stick to the tried and trusted, a subtle change of image or to go out on a limb to the completely different from a previous pair of glasses, in terms of colour. There is necessarily no hard and fast rules out there. In actual fact if you pay heed to the style advisors you may end up more confused than ever. However I though I would pass on some generally good tips in choosing that I have found.

Generally is the most important basis in choosing a colour that works for you is as follows

*Skin tone
*Eye colour
*Hair colour

Using this guide should help you determine what is the best for you, the wearer. You will want to match your skin tone with your glasses. Ideally eyewear should compliment your personal colour not clash with it.

For those of a fair complexion be looking at colours such as lighter browns, golds, silvers, pastel shades and milder autumnal colours which will generally complement well. Some people with blond hair can go for a black frame and this can work well if you are looking at making a bolder statement with your glasses. Generally of course rimless and light frames will make for a better match and the subtlety of these will not overpower your face. Bright colours which can take away the attention from your face often will not suit your skin tone.

If you have a medium skin tone, then look at choosing rich, solid colored glasses. These will work very nicely with your complexion and add that spice of colour that will compliment your face and features. Dark purples, pinks, blues, reds and greens go really well.

If you have darker hair or complexion you can choose most colours and find that they will work for you. You may want to try a lighter coloured frame in order for them to stand out even further against your skin tone.

In addition with all complexions it can be a dramatic and exciting to idea to try coloured frames matching to your own eye colour. It does not always work, but when it does the effect is really striking to see.

Hair colours also are considered warm or cool. Strawberry blond, platinum, blue-black, white, salt-and-pepper and brown are cool. Warm hair colours include golden blond, flat black, brown-gold, “carrot” and “dirty” gray. And the effect of your frame colour with these should be taken into consideraion as well.

In the end though, as I have already stated it really comes down to what the wearer is happiest with. Keep an open mind in the opticans, be prepared to experiment and try what you like.You maybe surprised at what you discover The optician is there to assist you so don’t see the process of choosing as a chore, but as a fun exercise in which the end objective is something that will compliment and enhance your appearance. Always be prepared to ask for an opinion or suggestions. Whether you agree with it is of course another thing, but it is always worth asking just in case. In the practice we have taken to often photographing with the digital camera the patient with glasses so they can get ta different view or angle to a mirror and often found that this helps in the choices of frame made.

Of course colour is just one of the considerations to be made in choosing spectacles and over the weeks to come I will add to the blog with some further thoughts and advice with regards to shape and otherwise. At eyeform we have a wide and varied range of frames from renowned eye companies such as Rodenstock Carrera, Ray Ban, Prada, Mont Blanc & Roberto Cavalli amongst others. For more frequent updates from the staff at eyeform please view our facebook and twitter accounts and feel free to contact us directly through this website or on the phone at +44 207 4874267.

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What is also noticable is the technology that we use in order to achieve this. In particular how we can obtain an accurate match to the patient’ existing eye in order to create the best result. Just a little over 10 years ago the best and most advanced method available to me to begin the process was the trusty Polaroid instant camera. After initial examination and consultation with the patient the next step would be to take an a photograph using this camera as a starting point to making the artificial eye. Then as we made the eye, document any changes through the same method. Below is an old example dating from the 90’s of this type of photo, with a near complete ocular prosthesis, which I found in the lab recently.

With the advent of the new millenium came a broad range of new and exciting technology. And I guess along with the ipod the most significant of these was the digital camera becoming a more mainstream and affordable product. During the early part of the most recent decade I began experimenting with using digital photography as a way of getting an immediate and detailed image from which I could work from. I realised that this had much potential. As time has past I have come to see how much this has assisted me in creating a realistic prosthetic eye. Today in the practice we use a state of the art Canon EOS 550D which is able to take an excellent photo from which to work with.

What is of particular benefit is as we go through the process of creating the prosthesis we can share this very well with the patient. As soon as the photos are taken we place them onto the larger computer screen where myself, the staff and the patient, and in many cases their loved ones can discuss any particular concerns noticing what is good and what we need to work on. This follows through all the way until the final product. In other words these photos become a invaluable resource in making an ocular prosthesis. Just to contrast how far we have come in this area compare these photos below, again of near complete ocular prostheses, with the earlier polaroid from above. I can safely say the images speak for themselves in terms of improvement.

Of course we here at eyeform will continue to look for ways in which we can develop the use of technology to improve the quality of our work to an even higher level. This has also included using the video camera as well to show other aspects of the artificial eye such as movement of the eye and also how to both insert and remove a prosthesis. With the written agreement of some of our patients we have been able to use this particular video below on Youtube as well as others. As of this week it has had over 265,000 views!

As always if you have further queries these please contact us either direct on +442074874267 or via the form on the website. Also keep a lookout for regular updates via both the eyeform accounts on Facebook & Twitter.

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What might be less known is that Kanti here at eyeform specializes in unique or hard to make contact lenses as well. These hard or rigid gas permeable lenses are made specifically for a patient according to their unique needs. In addition haptic lenses can be made for those who have keratoconous or similar cases of complex corneas. These we will require appointments in consultation with Kanti where the patient and optician will work in conjunction to produce the best results. Often this will take a number of appointments, discussion and time itself in order to achieve the optimal results. If you feel that this is a service you could benefit from or use then please contact us via phone or through the website.

On a similar theme but of a lighter note Kanti also can create specialist contact lenses and shells for a variety of reasons. In the past this has been done for film, TV and music videos some quite unique lenses.

Many film companies employ the services of eye specialists in order to create these special effects. Perhaps my favoutite and the best known of these of course is Michael Jackson in his famous Thriller video where he used a range of different lenses to such spectacular effect.

Again if this is a service that perhaps could be of use either for personal or business purposes we would encourage you to get in contact with the staff at the practice to enquire further.

It seems as if the weather in London is back to a bit of late summer sunshine and it still gives a chance to get yourself a new pair of sunglasses. At the moment we are doing great deals on many of our range as the summer draws to a close so it would be a good time to cash in on this. As always keep a lookout for futher details and contact via Facebook and Twitter. To all of our valued patients and customers have a great weekend .

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