Last Thanksgiving I photographed Alexander Shatravka and his wife, Irina, in northern Maine for a story about Soviet dissidents for the February 11th, 2010 issue of Apu, an old finnish all family weekly magazine founded in 1933. Marrku, the creative I worked with on this story, told me that “apu” means “help” in English and that when the magazine was founded it was sold in the streets by poor people.

I’m very pleased with the layout and the way the photographs ran. Thanks for a pleasureable experience, Markku and Apu!

I photographed my friends Tom and Mark in New York. Together they form the band Centennial. They’re working on interesting music and soon-to-be-released visuals. Give a listen.

Tom and Mark, Brooklyn, New York, 2009

Last night I returned from a great week seeing friends in the Adirondacks. I had no cell phone or internet; it was welcomed and peaceful.

I am elated to be 1 of 3 selected winners for Joerg Colberg’s Conscienttious Portfolio Competition 2009 from an applicant pool of over 575 submitted portfolios. Joerg will introduce, interview, and publish Lydia Panas, Bradley Peters, and myself during the coming weeks. I applied with my “Alebtong, Uganda, 2009″ series. Stay tuned for all the details.

A River Blue, Alebtong, Uganda, 2009

It’s important to take a break from a major body of work.  I’ve been doing this regularly with the work I made in Alebtong, Uganda.  Below is a good example of why it’s important.

I have been struggling with making the photograph of these 3 girls the way I want it to look.  A few weeks ago I knew it didn’t look the way I wanted it to.  It seemed lifeless and the toning was keeping the photograph from living on the level it wants to live on. This afternoon I decided to reapproach the photograph and am happy with where I began and where I finished.

I like when things fall into place after taking time away.

Before

After

Still editing my work from Africa…

Eunice, A River Blue Student, 2009

The photographs I made for the Wall Street Journal ran today.  Check out the article here and pictures here.   Thank you’s to my editor Matt Craig at the WSJ, Matt Eich, Jim Mains, and Paul Lackey for the opportunity to be a part of this unfortunate story in need of being told.

UPDATE: audio slideshow here.  Listen!

Jim Mains, General Manager, Forest Industries, Fryeburg, Maine