Have been doing photography for more than forty years. Studied photography at Southwest Missouri State in Springfield, MO and continued with serious professional preparation at Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, CA. Worked as an assistant for J. H. Maddocks Photography in Los Angeles; owned and operated Kam-Ra-Hed Studios, a commercial photography business in Springfield; was employed by the Springfield News-Leader, a Gannett newspaper; as Features Photographer, and Staff Photographer for over ten years where he won a "Newspaper Editorial Illustration" award in "Pictures of the Year" competition. John L. Morris of Bass Pro Shops offered him the opportunity to live in a log cabin in Dogwood Canyon; a beautiful ten thousand acre wildlife/nature retreat where he spent two years working on an extensive photo essay documenting the seasonal changes of those pristine Ozarks hills. Jim currently teaches photography classes as an adjunct professor at Drury University.