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2nd Stories: A Hoosier photographer explores what's upstairs, on top, and overhead

PHOTOGRAPHY by John Bower, FOREWORD by Michael Atwood

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Read Michael Atwood's Foreword
Read John Bower's Introduction
Read John Bower's Afterword
Look at sample images

Get ready to look up—with Hoosier photographer, John Bower. Victorian gingerbread, ornate cornices, limestone creatures, soaring towers, unexpected attics, and much more await your exploration. While many people fail to notice these overhead treasures, Bower has focused all his creative attention on them. The result is 200 fascinating images of what’s upstairs, on top, and overhead. There are also captivating stories of discovery, and an insightful Foreword by Michael Atwood, host of “Across Indiana.” 2nd Stories is an unforgettable journey into the higher, hidden realms of the Hoosier heartland.

In short, 2nd Stories is about coming upon the unexpected that is, remarkably, always present. Because we tend to look straight ahead, we inevitably miss the "higher" dimensions of our daily reality. And there is so much to perceive up there—as 2nd Stories demonstrates. As you turn its pages, you'll discover images of ornate Victorian storefronts, soaring steeples, advertisements, clock towers, and other high-up outdoor wonders. Plus, there are rarely visited attics and upper-level interior spaces at an abbey, a monastery, a Civil War era children's home, an 1860's college building, and more. 2nd Stories will continue to intrigue and fascinate every time you flip through its pages.

Motivation and inspiration for creating 2nd Stories

As a boy growing up in Fowler and Lafayette, I was interested in what I could see by looking up. For it was overhead that I noticed interesting details made of wood, brick, iron, stone, or terra-cotta on downtown buildings and neighborhood homes. I was equally captivated, from an early age, with what lay behind those street-side facades, in upper floors and attics that were probably empty, but just might contain something unexpected.

As I grew older, I realized how much upper-level building details, and rarely entered upper-level spaces (my Grandfather's attic, for example), not only captured my imagination, but significantly enriched my life. They sparked an appreciation for the unusual and well-made—especially if created by talented artisans and craftsmen—and they fed a curiosity to explore enticing places that, while relatively near at hand, had been totally dismissed as irrelevant by others.

It was precisely because things are often unnoticed on, and in, second (or third, or fourth) stories, that I felt I needed to photograph what I could find in such lofty unsung places. I know the resulting images will make viewers realize how much they’ve missed, by having their visual world limited to ground level. Perhaps, it will even inspire them to start looking up, and expand their horizons in ways they could never have predicted.

2nd Stories - $22.00.
8.5" x 10" trade paperback, 144 pages, ISBN 0-9745186-2-X

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