Breathtaking snaps by autistic photographer who took up hobby just nine months ago
A SERIES of breathtaking snaps have been released by an autistic photographer who took up the hobby just nine months ago. Joe James, 37, from Sussex, believes his eidetic memory, which stems from his autism, allows him to see details which others miss. He has always struggled to fit in, but when he was diagnosed […]
A SERIES of breathtaking snaps have been released by an autistic photographer who took up the hobby just nine months ago.
Joe James, 37, from Sussex, believes his eidetic memory, which stems from his autism, allows him to see details which others miss.
He has always struggled to fit in, but when he was diagnosed with autism and ADHD five years ago, he turned to photography to beat anxiety and depression.
His photos have gained him a huge following on social media, is using his photography to challenge preconceptions about autism, which he sees as a “superpower.”
He said: “I was going for long walks with my family and dog and spending lots of time in nature, trying to heal from anxiety and depression and started taking pictures of all the beautiful places we visited on my phone.
“My daughter encouraged me to post them on social media and people kept telling me how good they were, so I bought a camera and began to teach myself photography.
“I’m trying to show the world what people with autism can do. I look at it as a positive, but sometimes I think society looks at it as a negative.”
Liking the whole process to like mindfulness, he gets a lot of pleasure from both taking and editing the pictures.
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He added: “People come up to me and say, ‘Joe, you don’t look autistic’. They have a stereotype in their mind of what to expect and I want to break that.
“Autism isn’t a disability it’s just a different way of seeing and experiencing the world.
“Everybody in the world is different from one another, the problem is autistic people are put in a box, and this box is put in the attic because people find it difficult to deal with. I’m getting out of that box.”
Joe’s photos will be on display at Amberly Working Museum in Arundel, West Sussex, from May 25 to 27 and at Horsham Museum from July 18 to August 28.
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