Seeing life in another dimension

Josh Wikinson’s lifelong dream was always to be a photographer. Which is kind of strange when you consider the 19-year-old was born blind. But just like glasses helped him see better as a youngster, the camera these days acts as his eyes.

Get him behind a lens and he sees things from a whole new dimension.

His work has already won him a national competition and earned him his own exhibition at Hebden Bridge Arts Centre. Josh could not see anything as a baby, and for many years his parents, Nigel and Sue Wilkinson, of Mount Tabor, Halifax, had no idea how his sight would develop.

He’s amazed everyone over the years by firstly going to a mainstream high school, secondly, passing his driving test and thirdly, by pursuing his passion for photography and starting his own business.

Josh set up Atlas Photography in May and specialises in weddings, family portraits, model portfolios and fashion shows, and landscapes. Japanese photography company Fuji helped him to get his business off the ground after he entered a national competition for up-and-coming young photographers and was one of the winners. It awarded him a start up grant to help towards his printing costs.

He works from premises in Halifax town centre and on location, and in the last two months has been kept busy with portraits and weddings. He’s also got a steady flow of bookings for next year.

Josh’s parents realised not long after he was born that their only child had problems with his sight. “We took him to see an eye specialist in Leeds who told us he was blind and it was down to the nerves at the back of his eyes not being developed, says Sue.

“Surgeons at The Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, did an exploratory operation and confirmed his findings and said the only thing we could do was to stimulate his sight.

“Experts came to our home and showed us what we had to do, and for years we used light boxes, reflective paper and anything else we could to help develop the nerves. It wasn’t an easy time but we had a lot of help from our family.”

Josh started wearing glasses at 18 months and attended a local school for the visually impaired. His sight improved year upon year until he was about 10 when his parents were told it was as good as it would ever get. He has about 80-per-cent vision, but also suffers from nystagmus – uncontrolled movement of the eyes. He now wears strong prescription glasses.

He got into photography at Calder High School and says a two week photography placement at the Halifax Courier convinced him it was the career he wanted. After doing A levels, a mentoring course with award-winning Kyte Photography at Skircoat Green, Halifax, followed, which he says was invaluable and taught him not just about taking photographs but the pitfalls of running your own business.

“I reckon I learnt more in six months with them than I would have done in three years at university,” says Josh who has already developed his own style. One speciality is light painting where he mixes different shades of light in a photograph.

He also enjoys weddings because of the positive feedback he has had so far from couples. He believes he is one of the few photographers around specialising in custom-made wedding albums .

Josh says once he starts work he forgets about his eye problems and feels the camera actually helps him. “I really do see things differently through the lens.” Josh charges £35 for a portrait sitting.

For details visit www.atlasphotography.moonfruit.com or ring 0788 362 5200.