Jesi Cason
Digital Photography 101
Lance Rothstein
Street Photography and Photography 101
Lance Rothstein is a photojournalist with more than 20 years experience and he has worked for numerous publications including The New York Times, the Miami Herald, and the Tampa Tribune. He was also a staff photographer for the Tampa Bay Times for nine years. After six years working as a freelance photographer in Europe, Lance is back in Florida, and specializes in teaching film & darkroom photography locally.
Simone Leal
Cellphone Photography
Simone Leal is a native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Her teaching career started in her teens, assisting her aunts. First graders taught her more than she could ever have imagined. She decided to never leave that space, where ideas are freely discussed. While pursuing her Ph.D., she taught Genetics to college students. In Tampa, she joined a very special body of educators: Museum educators. By learning to give tours about art history, movements and their main characteristics and artists, she learned how to teach Photography, and where its artistic value resides.
Michelle Cornejo
Cellphone Photography
Michelle is an Ecuadorian American artist, photographer, producer, instructor, and adventurer. She has a BA from Loyola University New Orleans and an MFA from Savannah College of Art and Design. She has over 2 decades of experience in the field, including roles as university professor, National Geographic expeditions leader, photo and video producer, photo editor, freelance photographer, video production manager, photo assistant, and exhibiting artist. She has traveled to 27 countries (and counting), is an avid gardener, and loves the outdoors. She lives in Florida with her husband and fur babies.
Scott Bolendz
Travel Photography
Scott Bolendz is an award-winning photographic artist and educator based in Bradenton, Florida. His expressive, concept-based images of physical environments explore timeless themes of human vulnerability, resilience and mortality. His work has been widely exhibited in museum, gallery and juried exhibitions throughout the United States and Europe.
Karen Schuenemann
Wildlife Photography
Karen Schuenemann is an award-winning wildlife photographer and educator based in Lakeland, Florida. Her internationally recognized work, spanning from urban red foxes in Los Angeles to global conservation stories, has been exhibited in institutions including the London Natural History Museum and published in outlets such as Audubon Magazine and Nature’s Best. Through her company, Wilderness At Heart Photography, she leads workshops worldwide and inspires audiences to connect with and protect the natural world.
Gianna Russo
Ekphrastic Workshop
Gianna is a lifelong educator. She co-created the creative writing program at Blake School of the Arts in Tampa, where she taught for 10 years. Currently, Gianna is Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing at Saint Leo University and serves as Editor-in-Chief of the university’s literary magazine, Sandhill Review. A third-generation Tampa native, a mother and grandmother, Gianna lives in an almost 100-year-old bungalow with her husband Jeff Karon and their cat Gingko.
Hector Sotomayor
The Art of Analysis
Hector Sotomayor is a full time Professor of Film Studies & Art History at Ringling College of Art & Design and served as an adjunct at the University of Tampa. He’s taught courses on World Cinema, American Cinema, Film History, Narrative, and Visual Literacy. Outside of academia, he conducted public “film talks” at the historic Tampa Theatre, discussing and analyzing the cultural history of classic Hollywood films. At FMOPA, he wishes to explore the kinship between photographic art and cinematography with his upcoming courses on “The Art of Analysis” and “The Aesthetics of Akira Kurosawa”
