James Lee Stanfield

remember the very friendly photographer James, whom we met in the oldest restaurant in Prague "U Fleku". He photographed our band Svejk music for an article about the velvet divorce of Czechoslovakia (September 1993).
Honor to his memory!!!!!Josef Jehlík,adres:Nemcice 345 06 Kdyne,Czech republik

Jim and I met almost sixty years ago aboard a Mississippi river boat. I was with the Toledo Blade and Jim was at the Milwaukee Journal. Soon we were both staff photographers at National Geographic.

During one summer of those early platinum years Jim was my diving partner on a 200 feet dive during an intensive two week underwater class. Later we flew together to China before it opened to westerners.

In the late 1960´s he lived near me in Arlington, Virginia. We always laughed recalling our memory of trying to split a gum tree log in his yard. We gave up with three wedges, two axes, and a sledge hammer stuck in the log.

Jim was fastidious and waxed his car weekly. He waxed his floors. He waxed anything that could be waxed. One day I caught him waxing the bricks on his fireplace. I laughed and he just told me, "When I die, I want you to put a can carnuba wax in my coffin."

I brought that can to him at his memorial.

Bruce Dale

Jim was such a great teacher and person. I did a National Geographic expedition with him in 2005. He was charming, patient, funny, and full of incredible stories! He will be very missed and I truly hope that National Geographic pays tribute to such a remarkable man. Jim not only recorded history but changed it when he was able to photograph Pope John Paul II due to his talent and persistence. May you rest in peace my friend.