Jim Mathis received his first camera in the fourth grade. He immediately began taking pictures of everything he saw, much to his parent’s consternation.

His Uncle Bud introduced him to the darkroom and he began to get serious about making photographs. In college he spent his spare time at art galleries and attending lectures by some of the great 20th century master photographers. After college he worked in a camera store and became a “Nikon Specialist.”

In 1973 he started Mathis Photo, a custom black and white photo lab. For the next 23 years Jim, and his wife Louise, became known as the masters of black and white photography in Kansas City and perhaps the whole Midwest. Their clients included professional photographers, advertising agencies, museums, corporations, and thousands of individuals.

Mathis Photo, Inc. received a special commendation from Eastman Kodak Company for outstanding business practices in 1991.

They sold their business in 1996 to go into vocational Christian ministry. But Jim soon realized that he was still a photographer, and always would be, whether or not he was doing it professionally. Digital cameras, computer processing, and ink jet printers opened a whole new horizon and Jim is once again pursuing photography with a passion.

He is also a musician, writer, and founder of Homer's Coffee House in Overland Park, Kansas.