When JP Henry started taking photos about 7 years ago, his mother, Jane Ward, watched as his art helped him blossom.

In those few short years, he’s had one-man shows, won awards - and even had his art displayed inside the Maryland State Capitol building.

Plus, there’s a full-length documentary in the works about him.

Henry has autism - and his story is helping to inspire others who have the diagnosis.

“That is front and center,” Ward said.

Folks are invited to see Henry’s photographs at the Tamaqua Arts Center, which will host an opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Admission to “JP Henry: The Things That I See” is free, and the exhibit will run through July.

Henry takes all his shots with his mother’s cellphone, and he’ll present photographs from around his home on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Shots of the bay. Shots of farms. Shots of watermen hauling bushels of fresh-caught blue crabs.

“Lines, order, texture and pattern catch his eye, as they speak to his extreme attention to detail resulting from his autism,” according to an announcement about his exhibit.

Henry often posts his work on Facebook, and his mom types the words that he says, making a new line for each pause he takes while speaking.

The words might describe a photo that he took, or the way he is feeling. Sometimes he’ll write a haiku poem. It is exactly the way he speaks, she said.

“We have a lot of people who follow us (on social media) that we were not aware of at the time that are parents with much younger children that have disabilities,” Ward said. “They look to his page as sort of a promise and a hope for the future for their child.”

In messages, they encourage Ward and Henry to keep posting.

“They say, ‘Oh, please. Always do this. We look forward to your pictures and what JP says’ and ‘I feel hopeful that as my child gets older they will find a passion,’” Ward said.

Before Henry took up photography, he was rather quiet, and spoke only one word at a time. Posting photos on social media, she said, has helped him blossom.

People have gotten to know him in his small community, and when they see him out walking, they’ll tell him how much they enjoy his photos.

“JP will talk back to them,” Ward said. “It is a breakthrough. It’s just been amazing that this is happening.”

Ward explained that Henry belongs to Facebook groups dedicated to cellphone photography. That’s how word of his work has been getting around, and earning him the show at the Tamaqua Arts Center.

In one of his posts, he mentioned he’d be having a one-man photography exhibit near his hometown in Maryland.

The post caught the eye of Tamaqua area resident Lorraine Zuckovich Blickley, who mentioned that she was familiar with the area and planned on attending.

Sure enough, Blickley arrived and purchased one of Henry’s shots. The art had to remain for the rest of the exhibit, so Ward offered to drive it to Blickley.

Henry, Ward and Blickley met at the Tamaqua Train Station restaurant, then visited the Tamaqua Arts Center.

“A number of people there wanted to see his work - and nine months later I get an email that said, ‘We have an opening in July and we’d love to give you a show,’” Ward explained.

Henry was game.

He’s also been praised by the Maryland State Arts Council, who chose a photograph he took of an old cemetery and church to hang in the capitol building in Annapolis.

“His recognition is getting wider,” Ward said.

A documentary film crew heard about him, too, and filmed a short on how photography has helped him learn and grow in the world.

WareTech Studio released “A Clear Lens,” which was a finalist in the New York International Film Awards Best Under 5 Minute Film category, and an official selection of the Argo Navis Studios Five Minute Film Festival 2024.

A feature-length documentary, “The Very Famous JP Henry,” will follow and the crew expects to be at the Tamaqua reception to capture footage.

Ward said that while her son tends to be “pulled into himself” because of autism, he enjoys getting dressed up.

“He is the most styling dude when it comes to going places,” she said.

Henry will be the one wearing a sequined and sparkly jacket and bow tie at the exhibit.