James Alexander Fowler, a nature photographer whose orchid photos were featured on stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service in February 2020, died Friday, June 25.
He was 74 and died while taking photos of a purple fringed orchid near the summit of Mount Mitchell, his husband, Walter Ezell, told the Journal.
Fowler was a member of the Native Orchid Conference and he traveled throughout the United States and Canada photographing wild orchids in their habitat. He was also the author of two books, “Wild Orchids of South Carolina” and “Orchids, Carnivorous Plants, and Other Wildflowers of the Green Swamp, North Carolina.”
In 2013, Fowler published a blog at jfowlerphotography.com, which featured photographs and narratives of his photography expeditions.
Fowler was a native of Bennettsville, South Carolina, and a longtime Greenville resident. In addition to Ezell, he is survived by a son, Dylan Fowler, and a brother, John D. Fowler Jr. He was a son of John D. Fowler and Gwendolyn Matheson Fowler.
A celebration of life will be held on July 11 at 2 p.m. at the Greenville Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at 1135 State Park Road. The service will have COVID-19 precautions in place, including masks. It will also be streamed live on the fellowship’s Facebook page.
Memorials may be made to The Nature Conservancy, 4245 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22203.
