Oliver Hellowell: He Doesn’t Just Take Pictures, He is a Professional Photographer By Wendy O’Carroll (UK, Mum of 2, retired SEN advocate, artist, author, and… Oliver’s mum)
Oliver Hellowell is an amazing and talented young man who has achieved his dream of being a published professional landscape and wildlife photographer with orders coming daily from all over the world!
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espite being born with a serious cardiac problem that necessitated open-heart surgery at three months old, Oliver has spent his life blasting all predictions and expectations into oblivion. He was so poorly after his birth that it was thought he might not survive long enough to reach his date for cardiac surgery. After sailing through that first challenge, though, Oliver then took on the numerous other conditions and issues he was assessed as having and continued to surprise medics and educational professionals with his progress despite the many barriers placed in his way. At the time of writing this article in March 2021, Oliver is twenty-four years old and lives with his family in the Blackdown Hills on the Somerset/Devon border. He enjoys an interesting, fulfilling, and enjoyable life and is extremely proud of all his achievements. Oliver’s biological father left when Oliver was six years old and chose to have no further contact with Oliver when he was seven years old. Fortunately for Oliver, he had a mum and big sister who were fierce in their encouragement and enjoyment of this wonderful little person and they were determined that nothing would ever stand in his way. A few years later, Mike O’Carroll appeared in their lives, and his connection with Oliver was instant and a joy to witness. He became a true father to Oliver in every sense of the word. Mike was a photographer, and Oliver began to want to “take pictures like Mike”. He started with his mum’s Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 bridge camera but was soon dissatisfied and wanted “a really big camera like Mike’s got!” He adopted Mike’s spare Canon 5D and used Mike’s lenses, which despite initial fears, he never dropped and always held and used in a most professional manner. It became obvious very early on that Oliver had an eye for a good picture.
His view of the world brings joy to so many people across the world.
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