Page 142 - Demo

140When it came time to enter the %u201creal world,%u201d I accepted an Industrial-Arts teaching position at the Kendallville Middle school in the northeast corner of Indiana. It was there that I met my future wife, Lynn, who was the new Crafts teacher, and also in the Industrial-Arts department. We got married over Thanksgiving break of that year and honeymooned in SouthCentral Indiana%u2014at the French Lick Springs Resort. We spent several days driving around the surrounding countryside, thoroughly enjoying the winding roads, hardwood forests, rolling hills, and quiet small towns. We thought about how nice it would be to live in the area, but it took over a decade before destiny finally allowed us to relocate in rural Monroe County.Over the years, I%u2019ve held jobs as a factory worker, draftsman, display designer, carpenter, and environmental engineer. I%u2019ve also built and restored furniture, my wife and I have completely remodeled two houses, and I%u2019ve constructed several houses from scratch. While I now use some power tools, I started out using hand tools, and I learned to appreciate the heft of a hammer, the sharp edge of a chisel, the smooth corners on a piece of steel left by a file. I%u2019ve also written technical books dealing with healthy-house construction%u2014houses designed and built to have good indoor air quality. My experiences have made me respectful of craftsmen of all sorts%u2014carpenters, upholsterers, cabinetmakers, masons, machinists, etc.As the years passed, and I became seriously interested in photography, it began to dawn on me that I had some artist in me after all. And, for me, photography has turned out to be the perfect medium, being a synthesis of the mechanical (f-stops, depth of field, film processing) and the intangible (composition, mood, emotion). I particularly enjoy photographing things that have been built with human hands. So, when I find a rusting farm truck, a dilapidated one-room school, or a sagging barn, I%u2019m drawn to it. And, if I know it may not be there in a few years (or even a few days), I feel compelled to capture it on film. John BowerTo learn more about John Bower and Studio Indiana, or to purchase John%u2019s photographs, please visit www.studioindiana.com