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James Parker
ALLi Author Member
Location: United States of America (the)
James Parker was born in South Dakota. Growing up as a boy in the Black Hills of South Dakota, he was introduced to the creative pursuits early on, by his father, Dr. Watson Parker, who taught James to read and write at the young age of 5 years.
Both father and grandfather wrangled horses, tourists and children at Palmer Gulch Lodge, a guest ranch. His father gave him his first Brownie at 7, and showed him how to use it, gave him a roll of film, and told him to return it when he had exposed the negative. James went through a number of hand-me-down cameras before finally getting a decent SLR after college.
James's degree is in Visual Communication. Graduating from the University of Wisconsin, he went to work for a Hugh Lambert, who taught him the ropes in advertising. Hugh also taught James how to visualize and how to think about lighting. Much of the scientific method he takes for granted now was learned at Hugh's knee. Parker worked for several ad agencies over the next thirty years, moving up from junior art director, to Creative Director, to Managing Director at the Chicago office of a national interactive marketing services firm. In between, James met his wife, got married, and partnered up with some old friends in Chicago, all the while still shooting Out West.
Currently, Parker is publishing books of his own photography, as well as working with other authors through his publishing company, Palmer Creek Publishing, to realize their artistic visions.
James Parker's books
Southwestern Sojourn: A Photographer's Journal
An epic photographic journey through Colorado & Utah, then down the Green River, illustrated with over 100 images by the author.
Parker and his companion Jim Beasley brave hell and high water in a canoe for ten days in May. The two photographers manage to complete the journey, but not without mishap and adventure along the way. Parker documents the trip, from planning and preparation, to shooting locations and backpacking menus.
Prior to the canoe trip, Parker spent time exploring Ancient Puebloan ruins in Mesa Verde, Hovenweep, and along the Trail of the Ancients. Follow him as he photographs the fascinating masonry left by the Anasazi, stark desert landscapes and towering natural bridges. He meets Beasley in Moab midway through the adventure, and they pack a 17' Grumman canoe chock full of unnecessary paraphernalia. With an ambitious itinerary for hiking and photography, they set off from Mineral Basin on an adventurous mission. Ten days later, they emerge bedraggled from the river, none the worse for wear, but considerably wiser about the power of nature.
A Disappearing Agrarian Landscape
For a hundred years, the small family farm has slowly been replaced by conglomerates owned by large agribusinesses. All across the Great Plains, generations of independent farmers have been forced off the land, or passed away, leaving no one to carry on. The cost of farm machinery, changing climatic conditions, and encroaching urban expansion have all created an economic situation that has made it difficult for the small agronomist to survive. The gold and silver mines that brought thousands of fortune-hunters to towns with names like Mystic, Cripple Creek and Silver Queen have also been shut down and abandoned, mostly burned down, fallen down or torn down.
Exploring the backroads and byways, James Parker has spent ten years documenting our vanishing entrepreneurial past in these photographs. These images of days gone by remind us of a more peaceful prairie, one not encumbered by fracking and natural gas exploration, or towering farm cooperative silos. Two-lane gravel roads criss-cross our countryside, delineating the sections and homestead lines from another time. Ranch and farm, small town mills and elevators, and railroad spurs now silent save for the whistle of the wind dot the landscape.
There is a peacefulness inherent in these photographs. The wide open spaces that originally drew our ancestors draw us now, with their broad horizons and blue skies. Fencelines and homesteads still endure long after the families that built them have moved on. Standing on the edge of the prairie, one gets the sense that nothing much has changed, yet change is constant. These photographs help us to remember what we value most about our agrarian past, and perhaps can reclaim again.
Stories Told in Things Left Behind: A Photographic Journey
Interesting photographs are where you find them. Sometimes, the most mundane objects make the most interesting images. The combination of color, light and shape fall together in a naturally occuring masterpiece.
Thirty-six of Parker’s iconic photographs are shown as a collection in “Stories Told In Things Behind”.