Close Enough #9

Chance Encounters

Hi friends,

Pulitzer-prize winning photojournalist Rick Rickman spent 38 years covering visual stories, everything from sports to war to the every day lives in cultures around the world. As with all excellent photojournalists, seeing some of his early work gets to the essence of how he views his craft.

The story of Jim & Bill was made while Rickman was working at the Des Moines Register and developed a relationship with the pair of men living rough.

All appearances to the contrary, they were not brothers, but shared whatever shelters they could find such as an abandoned switch house alongside the railroad tracks or the occasional motel room when funds permitted.

They came from very different backgrounds, were bonded by their alcohol addiction and remained companions for 14 years.

You can view the full story in the Photojournalism Archive here: Jim & Bill

You can also view some of his other stories here: Rickman Stories, with more to come soon.

In the archive you can see the work of the other photographers who have contributed stories to date. Our goal is to preserve and share these stories.

Photojournalism Archive

On other fronts, we would appreciate your support of the archive and its development. Fundamentally, this is a community archive project and we welcome your stories, support and ideas.

We continue to look for funding that will allow us to produce more stories, more efficiently. If you feel so moved, please contribute through our support portal or email me, Randa Cardwell, at photojournalismarchive@gmail.com. Thank you for any support you can offer.

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