When US attorney Stan Morse closed his law practice three years ago to concentrate on creative writing and photography, he found it was not as easy to abandon law as he had thought.
     So he decided to combine his two loves, and begin taking photos of rural courthouses.
     A self-taught photographer, Mr. Morse's first portfolio consisted of rural courthouses in his home state of Washington.
     Most of those courthouses were built between 1889, when Washington became a state, and 1919.
     Titling his portfolio "Centennial Courthouses", Mr. Morse took it on the road in 1989 as Washington celebrated its centenary of statehood, and spent months traveling around the state showing it.
     "The emphasis was not on courthouses as such, but on rural courthouses and the rural tradition," he said.
     "I wanted to catch the magnificence of the courthouses."
     Mr. Morse has now put his camera to use in Australia and spent a recent trip journeying around Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania recording images of Australian courthouses.
     Arriving in Australia in November last year, he traveled to places such as Goulburn, Gundagai, Beechworth, Bairnsdale, Omeo, Chiltern, Lilydale and the Mornington Peninsula, recording their graceful courthouses, many of which are no longer used.
     "The courthouses here are unique.  The one difference between the [United] States and here is that a lot of your courthouses are no longer used but are preserved.  Most of the rural courthouses in the States are still in use and if they're not, they get pulled down.
     Mr. Morse, admitted to the Washington Bar in 1979 and a sole practitioner in Seattle before he closed his practice in 1996, said he enjoyed law but preferred being an artist.
     "I would rather write and take photos because of the degree of creativity and unlimited scope and fascinating adventures that open up.
     "Law was wonderful and a great challenge.  I became very proficient at it but as a trial lawyer there is huge pressure on you.
     "The pressures and obligations incumbent upon practising lawyers are enormous and my guess is that, like many attorneys in the US, many Australian lawyers would like to travel around and pursue their hobby, their heart's desire, and make a living out of it.
     "I think many would trade a significant portion of their income to achieve that desire."
     Since leaving his practice, Mr. Morse has traveled to Australia (three times) and around Europe.
     A paraplegic since a skiing accident in 1971, Mr. Morse plans to publish a book about his European trip titled Safe Away: Circling the earth in a wheelchair, complete with his own travel photographs.
     He has had courthouse photos published in American law journals and has plans to produce a calendar featuring his photos.
     Mr. Morse can be contacted by e-mail at stanmorse@hotmail.com. [Webmaster's note: address changed to: <stan@courthousephotos.com>]