Greetings, friends of Bloom Photo! We welcome the new year after a rough few months and a memorable 2001. In this month's edition, we bring you a new Image in Focus with a special offer, an account of some of our journeys from the past few months, and a photo tip on fill flash. We hope you enjoy the web site and this newsletter. If you have any suggestions for things you would like to see in these newsletters, email us at tips@bloomphoto.com and we'll try to accomodate!

IMAGE IN FOCUS
by Rebecca Bloom

This issue's Image in Focus is a unique photograph entitled "Fountain Lightning". This image was taken in our home town of Fountain Hills, Arizona at the Fountain Park, home of the largest manmade fountain coming in at 550 feet! This picture was taken on July 4, 2001 during the summer monsoon storms. The Fountain was lit by large spotlights which gave it a nice deep blue glow on the sky-rocketing water. Then the strike hit just on the other side of the lake. It makes for quite a dramatic and unique photograph. It is this month's image in focus in honor of the Fountain Hills Great Fair taking place on February 22 - 24. We will be attending the fair this year and are looking forward to a great time at the booth. If you are in the Phoenix area, this is a short drive into the McDowell Mountains... stop by and say hello! We highly recommend stopping into "The Krazy Greek" - one of the finest restaurants in Fountain Hills after the fair. We are "regulars" there! In fact, they now sport a few of Rebecca's images on the walls of their fine establishment including this month's Image in Focus. They'll treat you right.

Click here to view a larger version of this issue's Image in Focus at the www.bloomphoto.com site. This image is located in the "Lightning II" category.

SPECIAL OFFER:
If you wish to order this issue's Image in Focus, mention "IF#6" when ordering before February 15, 2002 to receive 10% off any size.

EUROART 2001 - Barcelona, Spain

In October 2001, Bloom Photography packed up some of our finest prints and headed off to Spain to show them off with every intent of coming back empty handed. Well the trip turned out to be interesting to say the least especially so soon after the September 11 attacks. We arrived in Barcelona a day early because our original flight was cancelled. No real problems on the trip out, but the taxi drivers made me a bit nervous! We had an extra day in Barcelona, so I was actually able to explore a bit. The next day was spent setting up for what was supposed to be a premier art show. Unfortunately that was not the case. I sat in my booth for 4 days and watched the entrance for people. I have to say that not more than 1,000 people showed up and not too much in the way of art left the exhibit hall. The promoters blamed the September 11 attacks for the lack of response, but whatever the reason, I was very disappointed in the turn out. I did get to meet some very interesting people and made some good friends. I now have contacts in Sweden, Bolivia, Spain, France and in the Caribbean. To see the artists' work that presented in Barcelona and to see Rebecca's presence, visit this link. You will see that I was a fish out of water so to speak (which can sometimes be quite good) as I was the only landscape photographer there.

We also got to spend a couple of days in Madrid and I had the opportunity to shoot a castle in Segovia and a beautiful cathedral. Those images should be up soon. All in all it was a fun trip. Some of my family and friends came along and we all had a great time despite the poor attendance at the gallery.

Fountain Hills Great Fair - February 2002

I have the pleasure of announcing that I will be participating in the Fountain Hills Great Fair in February 2002. The fair is held the last weekend in February, and for anyone who has been to Arizona in February, you know that is our very best weather. I am looking forward to having some people show up to this one. I have gone to every fair in Fountain Hills since we have lived in this town and there is always a great turnout. As long as the weather holds out (there does tend to be some rain in February, especially if it is an "El Nino" year) but it should be great. If you find yourself in the Phoenix area February 22-24, drop on by and say hello. I am putting together some collages of lightning images and if they sell well, I may offer them on the site. Stay tuned. I am also planning on attending arts and crafts fairs and possibly showing at some fine art galleries in the Arizona area as well as some in California and Nevada. We will keep you posted.

New Galleries

I have been going through my images and have decided there is enough to add a new gallery. "Panoramics" will be the next gallery and, if space and time allows, it will be up by the beginning of next month. I will also be going through some of my black and whites to determine if they will go up as well. If there are images you would like to see on our site, let us know. We are always looking for new areas to explore.

So, the whole family is finally together again and you decide that a great family portrait should be taken. You bring everyone outside and get them nicely posed under that great big oak tree in the front yard. You compose the image with all that great light and take the picture. Everyone goes home and you get the film developed only to find the background is exposed perfectly, but the family is completely dark. If this sounds familiar, this photo tips is for you! Back-lit subjects are the perfect candidates for fill flash because the camera sees plenty of light coming in and sets the exposure to properly expose the highlights, but unfortunately your subject is in the shade. Fill flash is meant to add extra light to the subject allowing both the subject and the background to have proper lighting. Most cameras allow fill flash (even some of the point and shoot models). If you are using a standard SLR with a detachable or built in flash, simply turn on the flash and look for a button that has a little lightning bolt on it. That is generally the button to turn the fill flash on. If you still have the manual for the camera, there will be a section on how to turn on the fill flash. Back lighting is also a problem when you are taking a picture of someone or something in front of a window in your house. The camera exposes for the light coming in the window and the subject is left completely in the dark.

Fill Flash is also used when photographing subjects outside when there is bright light on most of the subject, but one area is in shadow. This can leave disturbing shadows in your finished image. This happens a lot when photographing flowers. The fill flash is used in the same manner as with back lighting, but the camera will adjust for the added light in the image. Trial and error is the best way to learn how your camera handles fill flash, because all cameras are different.

I hope this has been helpful for you hobbyists out there! We want to continually improve our tips so if you have a suggestion or request, please email us at tips@bloomphoto.com and we'll do our best to meet your needs! Happy shooting and keep it fun!
 

EBAY AUCTIONS

We offer selected images for auction on eBay.com starting at discounted bid prices. To see what we are currently offering in our auctions, click here. From time to time, we place other items we come across in our travels or items from our spring cleaning! So, all items may not be photographic images.
 

HOW TO ORDER

Bloom Photography takes orders in any of the following methods:

• Email order@bloomphoto.com with your print selection including print name, print size, framing option, payment method, and shipping address.
• Send the same information via US mail to:
Bloom Photography
PO Box 19527
Fountain Hills, AZ 85269
• Order online at www.bloomphoto.com

PAYMENT METHODS

Credit Cards:
Bloom Photography is now able to take secured payments via credit card through our website.

Personal Checks:
Payment can be mailed to Bloom Photography and must be cleared before the item is shipped.

Money Orders, Cashier Checks:
Payment can be mailed to Bloom Photography. Item is shipped upon receipt of payment as long as it is in stock. Otherwise it will be custom printed and shipped within 7-10 days.