AMAZING: Meet The blind photographer of the Rio 2016 Paralympics

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• 'You don't need eyes to take photographs. My eyes are in my heart.'

Joao Maia with Brazilian athlete, Eric Oliveira

The incredible stories of human triumph over adversity might have not allowed many people notice this equally incredible one.

At the recently concluded Paralympic Games in Rio, Brazil, one photographer stood out among others. He’s 41-year-old Joao Maia, a visually impaired former postman who covered the event by taking beautiful images.

At 28, he lost most of his eyesight after contacting uveitis, an inflammation of the eyes that allows him only to see shapes and blurry colours now.

While he learnt how to use a walking stick and how to read the Braille, he also took interest in photography and used the warm-up events to the 2016 Games to enhance his skills.

‘You don’t need eyes to take photographs,’ he said to local press, ‘My eyes are in my heart.’

To capture the shots, he uses artistic intuition to time the moments in which to take a photo. ‘When I am close enough I feel the runners’ heartbeats, their steps, then I’m ready to take the picture,’ he says. ‘You feel the tremble and the shouts of the crowd.’

The only help he needs to do so is the editing and posting of the photographs on social media. As of now, his Instagram handle has over 8,000 followers.

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