Since retiring from his job with the School District of Black River Falls, Jim Hornby has not only continued to pursue his photography interest, he’s made the hobby a small business.
Hornby will show his photographs at the Wednesday, Nov. 8 meeting of the Friends of the Black River. The meeting will be held in the Jackson County Bank community room beginning at 6:30 p.m. The meeting is free and the public is encouraged to attend.
While he does photograph other subjects, Hornby favors capturing nature scenes. His 2017 Jackson County Fair entry of a winter scene was selected as the grand champion in the FBR photography competition.
“Because I have always been in awe of bald eagles, I have made them a prime target of my photography,” said Hornby. “I will share photographs of eagles primarily from western Wisconsin including some located in the Black River watershed.”
A former physical education teacher at SDBRF for 26 years, Hornby was the head high school wrestling and men’s track and field coach; he also assisted several years with the school’s football program. Although he had retired from teaching and coaching, he returned to the district as its athletic director.
Hornby and his wife, Carol, have three children and eight grandchildren. His grandchildren inspired Hornby to share his photographs with youngsters by creating a children’s book titled, “Grandpa Likes to Take Pictures of Eagles.”
His interest in photography started during an overseas trip in his younger days.
“I became interested in photography after I went on a tour of Europe and borrowed my sister’s camera,” said Hornby. “I became hooked. My satisfaction in photography comes from usually capturing the moment or scene and then sharing the photo with family and friends. Occasionally selling a photo or a book is OK too.”
In his retirement, Hornby found time to travel around the country capturing scenes of the nation’s iconic landmarks.
“Besides the photos of eagles, I will also show some of my photographs from trips to the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Rocky Mountain national parks,” said Hornby.
He’s also found retirement has given him more time to take pictures of school events.