James is an avid photographer of old airplanes, roses and other beautiful things.  He now works at Winstar Casino but has been a teacher, instructor trainer, retail store manager, emergency medical technician and volunteer fire chief among other things.  His life’s journey includes living on both coasts and even a two year sojourn in Puerto Rico.  He now lives at Falconhead in Southern Oklahoma, just a few miles from where he was born in his grandparent’s house near Leon.  As a boy growing up in the San Joaquin Valley in California he became interested in airplanes and aviation history.  In college he was introduced to photography.  It took several decades and a digital SLR camera to combine the two.  He now spends his free time searching for the perfect shot of classic old airplanes that are still flying – “history on the wing” and anything else that is pleasing to look at or tells a story.

 

James joined GAVA in 2016.  He is also a member of the Texas Antique Airplane Association and the Experimental Airplane Association.  In July of 2017, he attended the EAA fly-in at Oshkosh, the biggest gathering of airplanes and aviation enthusiasts in the world.