James Bourdier (died in 1987, aged 58) started his career as a photojournalist at the Opelousas Daily World. In 1961, he joined the Associated Press (AP) in New Orleans. Later, he served as a photo editor in Miami, and he was stationed in Rome, Saigon and Bangkok before moved to the Chicago AP office. He also worked extensively in South America and the Caribbean as well as the Far East.
