stateside.

Changes.

This is a picture of three couples on various planes of St. Pete Beach, shot while relaxing and reading a book before my first day of training for a new gig.

Over coffee one morning in China, I saw a rather interesting job opportunity on the wonderful threads of APAD. A few weeks later, after a 36 hour block of traveling, I drove my newly purchased car to the beautiful town of St. Petersburg, Florida.

I'll be a Photojournalist in Residence with Pinellas County Schools, teaching photojournalism, multimedia and newsroom skills at Lakewood High School. I'm part of a program called Journeys in Journalism, a specialized education initiative in partnership with the St. Petersburg Times and the Poynter Institute. It's a change in pace for me, but I think it will be a rewarding and unique job. It's the first year for the program at the high school level...so lots of room to develop and shape the program. Not to mention the two months of vacation a year...more traveling? Certainly. Also, I'm living in St. Petes in the midst of a wonderful photo community. Can't afford a hotel for Geekfest 2009? You can crash on my floor. Funny, I've been a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan since I was ten despite never being to the area before. That's what growing up in New Mexico without a local team will do for you...

I'm planning to do some freelance work in the area, keep working on projects, etc. So hopefully no more month long lapses in illtown...