My name is James Bell. Born and raised in Indiana in 1977, then moved to Georgia in 1999. I have always had a camera. My mother took thousands of pictures with a Canon AE-1 as we grew up and I never understood why. Years to come, as I looked back at these old pictures, I understood. We all have memories locked up that we may never retrieve. It isn’t that we have forgotten them, but sometimes just need a reminder to access them again. As you look back on old pictures, your mind races off to that photo, that place, that time, and then the movie begins. You might have the smell, the sounds, the feelings, all sparked by that one yellowed photo from a cheap Kodak 110 that you used to play with as a kid. That is why I take photos. As I have traveled to different places, I take photos. When I go to events or family gatherings, I take photos. When I am sitting on the back porch watching the birds on the feeders with my wife on Saturday afternoon, I take photos. My family has dubbed me “The Documentarian”, if there is such a thing. Even more than just being photos, many of these will be memory indices for the years to come. That photo of the sunset off the stern of a cruise liner might spark that internal memory of the entire day spent touring the Costa Rican jungle. I don’t take pictures as a profession, I take pictures for me. There is no pressure and no one has to “approve” of my work. If someone likes it, that is great, and I do hope you appreciate my work. Who knows, maybe I will have a picture that sparks the memory movie for you, if so, I hope you enjoy it and if you ever get the chance, tell me about it. Due to why I take pictures, you will find most of my work is landscape and nature photography. My favorite subjects are waterfalls. Each one is unique. The hikes to see them usually generate a plethora of other photos to enjoy. I shoot people, sometimes, but not really portraits; usually in group settings or events.
That pretty well sums up PhotosByBELL, and me, James Bell.
Please enjoy the movie!