There are people in our life who come in and go out without much notice, kind of like a leaf on a breezy autumn day; James Fee, in his nomadic journey, passed through in just such a way.

I probably met James sometime in our Sophmore homeroom.  I don’t remember much, as is the case as I grow older.  Pudgy and bangs, friendly but quiet. 

I ran for Student Council in 1967, only to lose to my longtime friend, Kathy Sweeny (Reilly).  So I had some time to explore.  I had always had an interest in photography, and my friend James was taking photos for the yearbook.  He became my mentor.

Photography, like many things is life, is both an art and a technical craft.  James brushed your life because he may have taken one of your yearbook photos, or captured an image in the yearbook that made you wonder.  James was perfecting his craft.

Sports photography was my interest.  Sometimes James would be with me; he would grab the camera from my hand, and snap a picture.  While I was focused on chronicling the event, James saw the solitary football player at the end of the bench in the rain, with the coach holding an umbrella over his head.  James was the artist.

James is listed in our all of our yearbooks, but not on the Commencement Program, and there is no photo of him in any yearbook except 1967.  In the various biographies he doesn’t say he graduated from Senior, only that he graduated in the Midwest and headed west, as so many of you did.

Flash forward, 1972.  I’m in the Air Force living in Germany, serving at a remote site on the Czech Border.  I make my weekly visit to the local grocery store.  Having recently acquired a fancy, new 35mm camera I’m drawn to the photography magazines.  There on the shelf was a fascinating new photo magazine, a nude on the cover with the headline, “JAMES FEE.”  No, it couldn’t be…  But it was.  The article talked about a young American who lived in the Midwest and moved to California after graduating.  It was definitely James!

Flash forward, sometime 2010ish.  I came across my notes about James; I had lost track of him and where he was with his career.  Thank you, Google.  James passed in 2006.  His story is fascinating, and I have provided several links below for those of you with interest.

The winds of time still blow, and some of the leaves have fallen.  Thank you, James, for being my mentor.

James Fee Web Site     Wikipedia Article

Photographers Speak Blog     Craig Krull Gallery

Seraphin Gallery     San Francisco State University

James Fee Book at Amazon.com     James Fee – The Peleliu Project