James Mead Maya, or Capt. Jim to many SJI visitors is a retired public school teacher who spent 35 years in the classroom and life-long naturalist. Spending all his summers on a small lake in Michigan had fostered a love of the out of doors. He soon developed a keen appreciation of the Pacific Ocean, and it’s vistas and wildlife.
In 1996 he became Capt. Jim, opening Maya’s West Side Whale Watch Charters. On the water day after day, he was able to hone his photographic skills, and through the lens, captures inhabitants of the local waters. His boat, the Peregrine, became his new classroom. Jim is still captaining whale watch trips and is now the dean of the San Juan Whale Watching Fleet. Maya Images offers stunning Orca and other wildlife and scenic images to the public through art Galleries in Friday Harbor and through personal sales.
