It doesn't take but a passing glance at the images contained in these pages to recognize that at their core rests a deep appreciation for the masterful works of Edward S. Curtis.
And it is not without cause, for not only did Curtis' images capture a time in the history of this country like no other in their chronicling of the Indian tribes of North America, but they accomplished an even more Herculean task when they captured the imagination of a young boy.
Growing up when I did, it wasn't hard to fall in love with the thought of being a cowboy, their images were everywhere...television, movies, toys...but that wasn't the case for the American Indian, at least they weren't portrayed as romantically."
"Yet many of my fondest and most vivid memories were staring endlessly at his (Edward Curtis') pictures..they took me to a far-off place I wanted to be."
THE EARLY YEARS...
Born in Los Angeles, but moving often, Jim's imagination
has played out in many ways over the years, from days as a
youngster playing in abandoned old west movies sets in the
hills not far from his home outside Los Angeles, to his work
as a photographer, journalist and screenwriter (a crap film
released in 2007).
But through it all his passion for the West; its people and
places; its cultures and history, has run strong.
My dad was a frustrated rancher...born and raised on a
beautiful sprawling farm in New York and graduated from
Oklahoma A & M.
The thing he most wanted to do was farm and ranch, but the
only thing he loved more than that was my mother and this
country. She and the Korean War forever derailed those
plans. So in some small way, I guess I'm trying to honor his
memory as much as I am that of Mr. Curtis."
Jim's first serious steps toward capturing the "vanishing west" were taken years ago when after a series of personal challenges he took an even more serious look at the realization, like everyone at some point, that "life is short" and why am I here?
A JOURNEY DISCOVERED...
The answer led to his moving to Arizona and undertaking a
documentary on the cowboys of Fort Apache. A move he is
forever grateful he made.
"My family's roots go back to the forty-niners of Sutter
Creek which probably explains why I like have always found
something so hugely powerful about the spirit of the West."
And whether it be fact or fiction, real or imagined, the
reality is that The West has always conjured images of
romance and independence, and in the process, luring more
than its fair share of heroes and dreamers, wanderers and
wayfarers.
"It's a magical combination and anyone who has spent any
amount of time here knows there is still some of that
left...and I'd like to help document that before it's gone
forever."
It is with that spirit in mind, that Jim hopes to capture yet a few more images of a vanishing land so that another young mind, on a far off day, might too imagine a very special long ago place, if only through his pictures.