01/26/2022
Check out Jame Wales' story on Humans of Gainesville. Not only is James a very talented artist/photographer, he's also an Atlas employee who works in sales and customer service and he's also happens to be our son. Of course Atlas owners, Paul & Annie aka Dad & Mom are very proud of James and all of his accomplishments. :)
Concept to live by: “ ‘…the realization that nothing turned, say, a slightly talented musician, into a towering genius faster than the problem of encroaching deafness. …When all the programs on all the channels actually were made by actors with cleft-palettes, speaking lines by dyslexic writers, filmed by blind cameramen, instead of merely seeming like that, it somehow made the whole thing more worthwhile.’ (From the second radio show version of Douglas Addams’ Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) While not true for all, for some, like myself, the very obstacles in life that arise from having a disability can drive the urge to overcome them. For me that was wanting to create especially through writing, despite the ongoing challenges of dyslexia"
“I was born in Gainesville, grew up, went to school here, and to both Santa Fe College and University of Florida. I was formally trained in theatre which is how I got started in photography. Photographing performances of Theatre Strike Force, a UF improv group, taught me a lot about doing live action photography in a space I couldn’t control. I couldn’t control the lighting, couldn’t use flash, and there were a lot of experiments with actors. I also did some shots for the UF theatre department, so I learned about doing photography in yet a different space. My photography technique is light blur - I move the camera in front of the light source - and my subject is buildings, primarily either here in Gainesville or in New York City. So that’s how I’ve developed my technique and find images.”
“My day job is at Atlas Screen Printing. We print t-shirts and the like for different places, like museums. I get to work with artists from all over the country to create the images to go on the shirts. I also am also a writer – mostly science fiction and fantasy. I haven’t published yet but hope to do so soon.”
“I’ve also worked with the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at UF and interviewed a bunch of people for that, including Veterans, professors, and writers. I’ve gotten to work on editing interviews, as well. It’s interesting because rather than just a generic interview it is more about the person’s life history, so you go through childhood, talk about their education, their different experiences. It’s quite fun.”
“I’ve always thought Gainesville was pretty much the perfect size city for me. It’s not super huge and crowded like NYC, where I also have spent a lot of time for my photography, but it’s also not completely spread out. It’s a little college towny, more intimate in that way. So, I’ve always loved it here, especially being in Florida where most days it is warm.” (He said while standing outside in November while attempting to keep his art booth from blowing away in the chill wind.)
- James Wales, at the Thornebrook Art Festival (back in October) with his photo of Bryant Tower in NYC. See more of his work here: https://www.jameswalesphoto.com/ plus amazing photos of UF Theatre productions and other projects https://www.flickr.com/photos/eventhorizonphotography/albums
