for the last workshop of the year to begin! Monday, September 13th is the day! Kristy and I will be sending out an email to all of you that have signed up. Within the email, you will get the link to the forum and directions on how to register and get yourself all set up on the board. It will be sent out around 11:00 a.m. CST on Monday, so be on the lookout for it. And no worries for all of our overseas students, you do not have to be on the board at any certain time to register…just jump on when you can and have free time!

Thanks everyone and we are looking forward to Monday!
Bren and Kristy

We are just about to open up the Bloom Forum to the public but just tweaking a couple things here and there! Be the first to find out when the Grand Opening is by subcribing to the newsletter! In the meantime you can read a little more about it HERE!

Here we are shining the spotlight on yet another wonderful, generous, kind and super-talented former bloomie! Who are we talking about….Maureen Wilson of course! Come and sit down, settle in with a nice cup of coffee and meet Maureen!

Tell us a little something about yourself? Where are you from, kids, hobbies, etc?
I am a wife to Wendell. We met in college at Mississippi State. I am momma to Tanner, 5, and Maggie, 4 and shocked everyday by how 2 children can be so different! I live and work in South Mississippi (the hubs hometown). I love it because I can wear flip-flops 80% of the year and I can shoot outdoors year around. I was born in North Dakota. I moved from Bismark, ND to Jackson, MS when I was in the fifth grade and although i have been told that I have a very southern accent… it really is a mixture of both regions which cancels each other out and I sound “normal”. lol. I am a super messy person and very forgetful. I always have to have a to do list and if I don’t write it down I will forget. I spend way too much money on purses, jewelry, clothes and eating out (we won’t even get into the photo related stuff). I love to scrapbook and hate that never have time to do it anymore.

How long have you been in business?
I have been in business since late 2006. I worked at my local scrapbook store. So I always had my photos displayed on my scrapbook pages all over the walls. I had people asking me to take pics of their kids and the business just snowballed from there. After Maggie was born I purchased an 85mm lens and decided that if I was going to “do” this I needed to learn my way around my camera. I spent many, many hours reading and practicing… growing my business along the way.

What equipment do you use? What’s your favorite lens?
I am Team Nikon!! I shoot with a D700. I am a bit of a Lens Junkie and have a bag full of lenses including a 50mm1.4, 85mm1.8, 28mm2.8, 60mm2.8 Micro, 16mm2.8 Fisheye, Lensbaby Composer, 14-24mm2.8 and 70-200mm2.8. My VERY fave by far is the 70-200mm. I LOVE the creaminess of it.

So what made you fall in love with photography?
This is such a hard one for me… because I have always been in love with photography. I can remember being 5 on vacation in San Diego with my own camera. And I am grateful to my mother for always providing me with the opportunity to shoot. But as a big girl what I love is shooting new things, new people, new locations, new light, new interactions… love it.

Do you like portrait photography or lifestyle photography? Or do you do a dabble in a little of both?
I feel like I am some where in between… I do some posing and the subject is usually looking at the camera (and I have been known to say smile every once in a while. lol) I do throw a couple lifestyle shots in there every once in a while.

Who or what inspires you?
My photog friends probably inspire me the most. I love that I have some of the most amazing photographers that I call friends. That we daily challenge and inspire each other to become better photographers!! I am so greatful that Brenda and Kristy have brought together some of the most amazing women through Bloom.

Post Processing! You have such beautiful processing on your photos…you’re colors are so vivid yet you maintain such perfect skintones. Do you have certain actions that you continually use or any tips for achieving this?
I work 95% of the time in Lightroom. I have my workflow down to a few presets that I have created through trial and error and what I prefer for my images. I love, love, love Kristy’s presets. They were the very first presets that i purchased and learned a lot from breaking them down and seeing what different things in lightroom could do for my images. And my very fave set of actions are Haberdashery from Wynona.

What is your favorite subject to shoot? Newborns, toodlers, kids, seniors or families?
I love shooting newborns, babies and toddlers! I love seeing them get bigger from session to session and being able to document that forever. But my *very* fave to shoot is high school seniors especially the girls. I know they think that I am crazy for making them go to some of the locations that I choose for them but we always have fun. Senior Site: www.maureenwilson.com

You have a wonderful studio space…how long have you had it? Can you share some photos? And do you prefer to shoot in studio or outside?
I have been in my studio for right at a year now. I shoot only natural light so my space is perfect with amazing light from a ton of windows. It is my go to spot for newborns and babies. I like having all of my props and blankets in one spot (with a washing machine)… my prop closet is pretty offensive. Even with my studio I *lurve* shooting on location. Living in south Mississippi, I can pretty much shoot outside year around.

When did you take the BLOOM WORKSHOP and what was your “AHA MOMENT” when you took it? I took the very first Create and it was amazing. It was exactly what I was needing at the time. I was challenged to step up and THINK about more than just shooting, whether it was for clients or just my personal images.

If you weren’t a photographer, what would you be doing today?
I was an elementary eduation major at Mississippi State. I don’t know that I would be doing that right now though. Like I said above… I have worked at and owned a local scrapbook store for the last 7 years. ooooo but I loved (had a BLAST) waiting tables in college. But maybe that was because it was in a college town…

And now some fun not so serious questions!

Favorite color: Black. its all I wear. I picked up a dress in a local shop the other day and the owner asked me if I ever wear any “colors”
Favorite food: total foodie so it hard to pick one fave. i love to eat out!! I love cheese pizza from Fox’s. I love fired popcorn shrimp from Penn’s. I love gumbo from Broadway deli.
Favorite song: Right now… The Billionaire Song Of all Times… Solitude from Edwin McCain
Favorite place to shop: Definitely Debec’s (local store in McComb) and i like that I can pick out the purse that I want and Rebecca orders it special for me!! I got a compliment on mine in the Quiznos parking lot today!!
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be: ON THE BEACH for sure!!
What is your all-time favorite quote or saying: I have to share 2!!
“You never see the hard days in a photo album… but those are the ones that get you from one happy snapshot to the next.” -Just Married
“It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard… is what makes it great.” -A League of Their Own
If you could have dinner with any two people, who would they be and why: Well I have already had lunch with the super fab Brenda & Kristy!! I desprately want to have dinner with Jules Trandem. Its a tragedy to have such an amazing friend that you cannot just get together with whenever!! And I would probably have to invite Sara Tegman to join us!! She is a bit closer to Mississippi so I know that she is fixing to jump in the vehicle and head down here any day!!

Isn’t she the sweetest person? I hope all of our blog readers will fall in love with Maureen and her work just like we did! You can check out more of her work over at her Blog, her Website and her Senior Website! And become a fan (because we know you are now) of her Facebook Page!

XOXO Maureen! Thanks for the interview!
Bren and Kristy

A BIG congrats Gretchen! Email us at Bloomworkshops@gmail.com and we will get you all set up to receive your beautiful new bag!

Thank you to everyone that played…stayed tuned for more wonderful giveaways! And a special thank you to Ketti for donating one of her bags for our awesome blog readers!

ETA: Thanks everyone for playing….the contest has closed! Check back tomorrow to see who the lucky winner is!

Ketti is one of our Bloom Workshop sponser and we just love her designs! She is graciously giving one lucky blog reader her Summer Swirl bag!!

All you have to do is 3 things:
1. Go and LIKE Ketti Handbags facebook page!
2. Post this message on your facebook account “Enter to win a the Summer Swirl Handbag from Ketti Handbags over at http://www.bloomworkshops.com this week!”
3. Come back to this post, leave a comment with your facebook link and tell us why you LOVE Ketti Bags so much!

The rules:
Only one post per person please. Post are moderated and will not show up immediately. The giveaway ends Thursday, September 2nd at 5:00 CST and the winner will be announced Friday, September 3rd.

Believe us when we say, her bags are the HOTTEST camerabags around so don’t miss your chance to win one!!

Good luck everyone!
Bren and Kristy

P.S. For those of you that signed up for the September 2010 Workshop, Ketti is giving you all a sweet discount but you have to wait until the workshop begins!

OK folks, the only spots we have left for the online workshop are the silent member and former bloomie spots and we only have a few of those left. To sign up, hit the sign up tab at the top of the page or if you want a little more info about the workshop, hit the workshop info tab at the top. For those of you that signed up after the final invoice were sent out, your invoices will be sent out September 1st. Any questions? You know were to find us (bloomworkshops@gmail.com).

We’ve mentioned this extraordinary foundation headed by Lidia Boicu before on the blog. They are a non-profit organization dedicated to providing lasting memories through the beautiful art of photography to the families with children who are facing life threatening illnesses. With the help of photographers worldwide, they are able to give a beautiful album that will carry the love, joy and everlasting memory of each individual family. They are hosting an upcoming True Rumors Auction on September 30th with LOADS of wonderful donations from various vendors from all over for you to bid on with the proceeds going towards the foundation. If you can make it…please do…Kristy and I may see you there! If you can’t make it please consider a small donation…any little bit helps. Just head over to the blog and click on the donate link at the top.

* In fact…let’s run a special…anyone that donates $25.00 to the foundation today, gets ALL my (Brenda’s) actions/presets/textures for free! Hurry because this special will end today at 5:00 p.m. CST! When you make your donation, just forward your receipt to Brendaleann@gmail.com and I’ll get your goodies sent to you.

Thanks so much,
Bren

YES, you read it right…Kristy and I are about to open up the BLOOM forum soon! It will be open to everyone but have a little something extra for all of our wonderful BLOOM students. Make sure you watch here for details!

And I had to share this shot too….I LOVE it! I’m thinking a LARGE gallery wrap! I took these right before the skies opened up and poured! If you guys know me and my processing, both of these are a bit different than what I normally do, but when I opened them up, I sat and looked at them for a bit before diving into photoshop as I wanted the photos to tell me what they needed. We encourage our students that take the workshop to do the same…let the photos tell you what it wants.

the final invoices were sent out today! If you didn’t receive yours, check the email address you have set up through your Paypal account. If you still don’t have one, shoot us a quick email at bloomworkshops@gmail.com and let us know and we’ll get it out to you ASAP.

Thanks everyone!
Bren and Kristy

the utterly, fabulous, creative, genius, one-of-a-kind, I want to raid her closet (and her kid’s too) Angela (Angie) Monson from Simplicity Photography! She is truely a whole lot of talented rolled into one sweet and giving person!!

For those of you already signed up….aren’t you EXCITED because I’m SUPER EXCITED! Angie does it all: Seniors, Weddings, Kids, Babies, Studio, OCF….the list goes on on and so having her as the guest speaker is going to be so awesome and a wealth of information!

I have to admit…I was at her blog today and I honestly spent the better half of the day just browsing through her posts. She has such a style about her photos that draws you in and makes you look at every detail. Her colors are so vibrant and fun and her b/w are strong and defining.

And if the photos above isn’t enough eyecandy (and believe me when I say they aren’t), head on over to her WEBSITE and her BLOG. And did you know that she is a designer too? Check out her DESIGN BLOG too.