"My dog he's got three legs, but he can't run".
- Paul McCartney

Paris, France
2023
© James Rice, All Rights Reserved

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Paris, France
2023
© James Rice, All Rights Reserved

Tags:   Leica M11 28mm f/2 Summicron ASPH bw street photography Paris

© All Rights Reserved

During my engineering career, I designed physical bridges to connect what was once disconnected. In my career as a photographer and writer, I use photographs and words to hopefully connect what may have been disconnected in the lives of my viewers and readers. None of the physical bridges I designed have ever failed, but some of my attempts at using photographs and words to help heal the dysfunctions and traumas of life that people have experienced has failed. I've learned it is far easier to design a physical bridge than it is to help someone bridge an emotional gap. But that won't keep me from trying again and again.

Harmony Way Bridge
New Harmony, IN
2024
© James Rice, All Rights Reserved

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As I stood on a railroad tie and framed this photograph recently, my mind went back to my childhood days at this crossing. This is located in a part of my hometown of Brownstown known as "Ewing". Kieffer Paper Mill was located just on the right hand side of this photograph and not far away on the left hand side of this photograph was my Uncle Poky's tavern. The Robertson Feed Mill was just over my left shoulder, and further past my Uncle Poky's tavern was Butt's Drug Store. In the day, Ewing was a hopping little corner of town with lots of opportunity for fun and/or mischief for a little kid like me. At this railroad crossing, I watched the rail car carrying the body of President Eisenhower pass by in a solemn cross-country railroad procession. I watched Brownstown High School seniors board the train for their much-anticipated Senior Trip to the east coast. I watched a lot of employees of Kieffer Paper Mill get off work and head straight for my Uncle Poky's tavern. I watched souped-up American classic cars of the late 1950's bump over this crossing on their way out to "The Slab", a 1/4 mile stretch of flat concrete pavement used by testosterone laden high schoolers to drag race their prized cars. But most importantly, I remember parking my bicycle next to this crossing, waiting patiently for the sound of the whistle of an approaching train, reaching into my pocket, pulling out some coins, scampering up to the rails, and carefully placing those coins on the rail, often with the oncoming train in sight, its whistle blaring loudly. I cannot fathom how horrified I would have been as a parent to know my child was doing something so incredibly dangerous. But there I was, standing not far from the tracks, watching the train rumble by, and after it had passed by, scurrying back out to the tracks to pick up the smashed and elongated coins I had placed on the rails. Such was the life of a little boy in the 1950's, free to roam and discover to his heart's content.

Ewing, IN
2024
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Tags:   Leica M11 50mm f/2 Summicron bw rural Indiana

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A bookstore in Paris. So what is it about bookstores that draws me inside like a magnet? Smells are a big part of the attraction. Is it because I worked in a paper mill as a teenager that the smell of paper is so powerful? Possibly. The visual aspect is also part of the deal. My parents and grandparents had bookcases filled with books. Reading was a way of life and seeing all the books in a bookstore perhaps reminds me of my childhood. The newspaper and magazine racks are another attraction. I've been a newspaper and magazine addict my entire life. The smell, touch, and sound of a newspaper and magazine are intoxicating to me. And then there is the notebooks and pens. Throughout most of my professional career I kept my notes on Moleskine notebooks -- of all sizes and colors. And I am, to this day, always in search of the perfect pen. I have had many perfect pens, until, of course, a better perfect pen can be found. Just by writing these words I am smelling the paper and longing to browse a bookstore. Isn't it good?

Paris, France
2023
© James Rice, All Rights Reserved

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