Jim Pearson has been a professional photographer since 1971 when he joined the United States Air Force. In 1978 he attended Advanced Military Photojournalism training at S. I. Newhouse School of Communication at Syracuse University in New York. Completing his graduate course of studies there he returned to the Air Force working as a Photojournalist for Combat Camera till his retirement from service in 1995. In early 1996 he went to work as a photojournalist for The Messenger newspaper in Madisonville, Ky until 2013 when he retired. Currently he photographs railroads and his family!