The World-Class Photographer Who Was Born Legally Blind

What’s the power of the right mindset?

Life is a sacred gift, and there’s no telling what people are capable of if they internalize this simple point: You’re lucky to be alive, therefore you are special. This gets reinforced when I meet people like David Katz.

David was born with ocular albinism, a rare genetic disorder that reduces the pigmentation in the iris and retina. In his case, he is unable to focus with both eyes, which are frequently moving involuntarily. He has blurry vision at all distances. He is legally blind, in short.

His parents could have wallowed in despair. Instead they treated David with dignity. They kept his condition private and sent him to normal schools in London. They wanted him to live a normal life. 

No one was in denial either. Kids called David “goggle eyes” and “cats eyes.” One time David told his parents that there was nothing wrong with his vision. His mother asked him to sit next to her on the couch and watch television. After he scooted on the floor up to the screen, his mother asked him why he had moved. She already knew the answer, of course. 

She wasn’t out to tease him. It was simply a British “get on with it” attitude. You take stock of your imperfections, deal with them, and try your best. In David’s lowest moments, she would tell him “there’s no such thing as ‘can’t’.” 

So while too much light overstimulated his brain and made him dizzy, everything fell into place as soon as David looked through the viewfinder of his camera. He found a tool to capture the world as he saw it, and never stopped developing his skill. 

He was the class photographer. He worked for a national newspaper in his teenage years. At age 19, he started working on Fleet Street, the pinnacle of UK media. He moved to Israel in 2007 and became the official photographer for Benjamin Netanyahu during his successful bid for the prime minister’s office. He took roles for other Israeli senior politicians thereafter. 

It’s worth restating this because it’s so bonkers. David Katz was born legally blind, and became one of the world’s most decorated people in a profession that relies heavily on eyesight. 

That’s the power of the right attitude.

Check out this clip from our podcast episode. Who doesn’t think someone like this is a winner?

Before I sign off, I want to share one last thing I learned from David.

I noticed a defensiveness from him at different points in our conversation. Towards the end of our talk, I realized that I was making a mistake. I was projecting my weakness onto David. 

I can’t imagine what it would be like to live without my sight. How would I cope with the limits on my existence and the stigma that comes along with it? It would feel so tempting and justified to curse fate, and to seek out pity from others. I was treating David like a victim. 

But that isn’t David at all. He didn’t leverage his condition to gain any advantage. He found something he loved, worked very hard at his craft, and found innovative ways around his limitations to find success. 

So why was I speaking to him like he wasn’t capable of doing what he did? He’d already done it, and proved it. What the hell was with my fake compassion? 

David isn’t a victim. He learned a very valuable lesson when he was young and applied it to his life.

There’s no such thing as “can’t.”