photo courtesy of Corrie of Little Bud Photography

· A cookie a health nut can get behind? You betcha: the Banana Breakfast Cookie for the win.

· Did you all see this awesome pin from last week? Get the poster here.

· Created Equal: a compelling photo project that dives deeply into the contrast of people and the world we live. It’s so intriguing, I’ve looked it over at least half a dozen times!

· A great story to remind us that there are so many things that are right with our world.

· It’s no secret we Bloomies love our Moleskines but did you ever even think you could goldfoil a Moleskine? UPGRADE!

· I know, I know. I’m adding yet another photo project to your list  but this photo memorabilia tray is so perfect for summer entertaining.

· The grass is not greener on the other side, its greener where you water it.

· 4 Great Books for Personal + Business Growth

· I havent laughed at anything this hard in so long. Things get pretty awesome at 3:51 and 4:27 so hold tight. HAPPY WEEKEND Y’ALL!

Jules Trandem did just that for a senior this month.  I’m always in awe of the beautiful way Jules finds and uses light in her sessions.  She has a way of evoking warmth and peace and beauty in her art.

Here’s what Jules had to say about this session:

As much as I love sessions with families, my heart always skips a beat for the opportunity to work with a high school senior.  Ms. M was no exception. She was a little nervous before the session and mentioned she didn’t like taking pictures. Um … right!  Throughout the session I would show her the back of my camera to prove what a natural she was in front of my lens. Also, we had postponed this session twice due to a cloudy overcast sky. I’m a light junky and didn’t want to do her session without beautiful light. We were all so glad we waited. The gorgeous light was so important to the feel of these. Totally worth the wait! I shot this session with my Canon 5D Mk III and my 85L 1.2 with my aperture set between 1.2-2.0.

You can find more of Jules’ work here: BLOGSITE and FB

Never be a slave to the sun again! Join Nichole Van and learn how to harness light and get amazing images at any time of day in any location. Best of all, add to your skill set and differentiate yourself from photographers who have to rely on natural light alone. Join us for an in-depth discussion of off-camera, on-location lighting. This workshop will cover understanding the properties of light, setting up and using off-camera lights, getting amazing images even in the harshest, brightest light, shooting outside on location, and creative lighting tricks. This workshop will focus on both wedding and family photography, showing you ways to incorporate lighting into most shooting situations. Take your skills to the next level!

1. This workshop is for forum members only, therefore, you must be a member of the forum to take the workshop. To become a member, simply head here to sign up.
2. Registration takes place inside the forum in the Bloom News section under Mini Workshop Information.
3. The workshop will run from Tuesday, May 28th – Tuesday, June 11th.
4. 25 active seats are available at $200.00 per seat.
5. 25 silent seats are available at $150.00 per seat. Silent seats will be able to view all the workshop material but cannot post inside the private forum, email Nichole and get cc on their homework.
6. The private workshop information will be available for one month after the workshop ends.
7. All students will receive access to the After The Workshop Ends private forum to continue discussing the workshop with their peers.
8. This is an online workshop and students work at their own pace within the allotted workshop dates.
9. Registration is now open on a first come first serve basis.

If you have any questions regarding the content of the workshop, please email Nichole directly at nichole@nicholev.com. For all other emails, please feel free to send us an email at everythingbloom@gmail.com.
Thanks all!
The Bloom Team

The Nostalgia set is described as being inspired by nostalgic colors and classic imagery while giving a vintage look without sacrificing simplicity. I couldn’t have summed it up better myself! Our Bloom contributors were really quite impressed with the overall versatility and ease of use throughout this set packed with 70 actions that range from color pops, muted tones, gorgeous b + w’s, old film effects and even skin smoothing and backlight enhancers. Did someone say backlight enhancers? Oh yes I did, just in time for the brilliant colors and light of S-U-M-M-E-R…

Check out the feedback and gorgeous images using only Nostagia actions straight from our moderator and contributer team and then follow down below to find out how you can score yourself a set!

I love the ease of use of the new From the Treetop actions. They are easy to use and subtle actions but leave a strong impact on your photo. There are so many great actions in the sets, I loved using several actions on one photo! -Stephanie Moore

actions utilized: Bring Out Details, Realistic Skin Smooth, Eye Sparkle, Soft Retro Color, Sharpen

actions utilized: Dark Lashes, Eye Sparkle, Realistic Skin Smooth, Classic color, Chalk, Sharpen

photos courtesy of Stephanie Moore | Stephanie Moore Studios

The FTT Nostalgia actions are awesome! I am so impressed with how natural the two beauty actions turned out. I love shooting backlit images so the reflector light action is going to come in so handy for me. There is such a huge variety of wonderful actions in this set and I can not wait to play with all of them!! -Heather Robinson

actions utilized: Flaw Fix, Realistic Skin Smoother, Reflector Light, Gazette B&W

photo courtesy of Heather Robinson | Heather Robinson Photography

The Nostalgia actions add such a fun pop of color to the images! I love how you can go for a clean edit or add in an old film effect like “Sunfade” for a unique look. These actions are really great stand alone or mixed together to form your own little recipe of brilliant color. -Rachel May

actions utilized left to right: Original image, Paper Dolls + Pop & Contrast, Classic B&W, Dick & Jane, Bees Knees + Outdoor Green Grass, Milkglass + Expired Film 2, Sunfade + Pastel with Red Cast Removed, White Wash + Outdoor Green Grass

 photos courtesy of Rachel May | Rachel May Photography

I tend to shy away from using a lot of actions because they are usually too strong or not useful to my images but I was truly blown away by the how wonderfully the Nostalgia actions fit into my workflow. She has thought of everything with this set and I had no problem editing an entire image using actions from this set alone. I loved being able to quickly fix an issue like fly-away hairs or neon yellow grass with a few clicks. The finishes in this collection are so versatile I see myself using them a lot in the future! -Aubri Graybeal

actions utilized: Rich Color and Pearl

actions utilized: Dreamy Color, Expired Film, and Sunfade

photos courtesy of Aubri Graybeal | Pink Sky Photography

And today, one of our lucky readers will be the winner of the From The Treetop’s Nostalgia action set! All you have to do to enter to win is to head over to From The Treetop, check out all the wonderful actions and then come back here and tell us below in the comments which action you’ll be using first from the set if you’re chosen by Random Number Generator as the lucky winner! Leave your comment by Tuesday, May 14th noon PST and the winning comment number will be announced shortly after so don’t wait…time is of the essence my friends!

***CONTEST CLOSED***

Congrats to Comment #29, Andrea Bloomfield! Andrea, please email shannon@everythingbloom.com by Friday, May 17th to collect your new Nostalgia Actions Set!

via Summer Murdock | Summer Murdock Photography

· For 4 days only everything in the Crave Design Shoppe will be 40% off as well as a huge savings of 50% off with online Photoshop mentoring with Andee Tate!

· Have you caught the divine series Letters To Our Daughters yet featuring our own Sara Tegman, Amy Grace and Val Spring? And this is why Mother’s Day is a holiday…

· I just adore the mamas + babies roundup from 100 Cakelet. That pillow fight shot is oh so fantastico!

· Summer or not, this Blueberry Muffin Ice Cream sounds like the jam. So does this Coconut Mint Ice Cream…

· These DIY wooden flag garden markers are too cute to pass up!

· The cutest pencil set I ever did see.

· I know you would never forget to get a Mother’s Day card but if you know “someone” who did, download this gorgeous one.

· It still amazes me what the human brain can do with interpreting light + shadows…

The Bloom family wishes all of you and the mothers dear to you a happy weekend and a very splendid Mother’s Day !

BTM: ‘Continuing the Journey’ with Deb Schwedhelm is back for those of you looking for an advanced imagery workshop. This workshop will be a small, intimate group with intensive discussions and a number of exercises. Seats are very limited.

TOPICS THAT ARE COVERED:
Purpose of photography
Passion & vision
Advancement of style & inspiration
Fine art photography
Meaningful shooting
Previsualization & storytelling
Developing your portfolio
Showing and promoting your work
Conclusion

EXERCISES & PHOTO CHALLENGES:
Accompanying exercise with almost every topic
Minimum of three photo challenges

Here’s what past Continuing The Journey students said about the workshop:

It’s hard to write down what CTJ does for you. It is full of thought-provoking content; each lesson has you delving deeper into yourself. It’s not about the technicals of photography, like exposure, lighting, etc. It’s about inspiration- asking yourself why, answering your questions, creating more questions. It has you searching for answers; it has you stopping to take time for serious thoughts. It takes you on a journey through so many different levels, not only in photography, but also life. These journeys that are a part of us, that contribute to the images we are creating. I honestly am sitting here trying to put into words what the workshop did for me, & I’m not sure I can adequately do so. It is an incredible class, & one I would certainly take if you’re looking to get to know yourself better, as a person & as a photographer. Thank you Deb for all of your amazing insight, inspiration, help & knowledge; you so willingly shared so much with all of us!

First of all, I am so very thankful for this workshop, for your spirit and openness. This workshop is for anyone who wants to be challenged and move forward in their journey as an artist. The topics and exercises were just awesome. Each one really served to take me outside my norm and forced me to think a little differently, to dig a little deeper. I feel that both of the workshops I’ve taken with you have helped me to find more clarity and confidence within myself.

As with BTM, I found this workshop to be thought provoking, moving, and so productive for me. I have never participated in a workshop in which the instructor invested as much of herself in the daily conversations as you do. Thank you so much for that.

I loved both these workshops over the last month and feel sad that they have come to an end. I’ve felt inspired and empowered by your honestly, clarity and positivity. Your message of focusing in on ourselves seems so simple yet, before BTM and CTJ it was the furthest thing from my mind. I feel like I had lost the point of what it was that photography meant to me.And you cut through all the ‘outside crap’ to remind me that ultimately it all came down to me. CTJ seems very much the bigger sister to BTM. I feel very much like my head is buzzing with everything you’ve shared and I can’t wait to revisit all the material and digest it all again.

1. This workshop is for forum members only, therefore, you must be a member of the forum to take the workshop. To become a member, simply head here to sign up.
2. Registration takes place inside the forum in the Bloom News section under Mini Workshop Information.
3. The workshop will run from Monday, May 20th – Monday, June 3rd.
4. 15 active seats are available at $325.00 per seat.
5. No silent seats are offered for this workshop.
6. The private workshop information will be available for one month after the workshop ends.
7. All students will receive access to the After The Workshop Ends private forum to continue discussing the workshop with their peers.
8. This is an online workshop and students work at their own pace within the allotted workshop dates.
9. Registration is now open on a first come first serve basis.

If you have any questions regarding the content of the workshop, please email Deb directly at deb@debsphotographs.com. For all other emails, please feel free to send us an email at everythingbloom@gmail.com.
Thanks all!
The Bloom Team

Now on to the show…

Music: “Tiny Dancer” by Sir Elton John

· So Google Reeder is slated to die on July 1. Change can be scary folks but bite the bullet and replace it with one of these up and coming 6 Feed Readers. I went for Feedly and so far, so good.

· Our gal pal, Ketti has just released her new Penny Mum bag! We just love the product shots of the bag in action from none other than our fellow Bloomie, Val Spring. And just for forum members, here’s a super-duper discount just because!

· Because it’s never too late to bust out a DIY May Pole.

· If you simply must work from bed: 5 Comfortable Solutions. Frankly, its never the first or the last time…

· Cinco de Mayo is Sunday and what other reason could you be waiting for to whip up the Ultimate Guacamole Trifecta?

· Katrina from Pugly Pixel’s 12 Favorite WordPress Plugins.

· Folks, before summer let’s make one thing clear: there are lemonade stands and then there are Lemonade Stands.

· Oh boy! Do I have the perfect DIY just-had-a-baby gift for that friend or client! Leave it on the doorstep and you can trust it will be appreciated time and time again!

Happy Weekend all! I dont know about you, but Im ready for an ice cream cone…