A Photographer in Full Bloom

For their first exhibit of 2011 the is showcasing the photography of photographic artist Robert T. Bloom.

Entitled "Visions of Long Island," the exhibition running through Jan. 26 features 70 scenic color photos, taken in and around Long Island that according to Bloom attempt to capture “the charm and elegance of Long Island’s scenic landscapes in a comprehensive body of work.”

The artistic quality of Bloom’s photographic exhibits has gained him international attention, with more than 50,000 fans worldwide.

Bloom's fanbase now spans from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Haifa, Isreal and sprouts up in many countries in between and his work has been featured in over 30 libraries.

His works have also been featured in banks, in shopping centers, on college campuses and even in governmental offices.

Perhaps the greatest feature of Bloom's work is that it clearly showcases his appreciation and interpretation of Long Island's scenic lakes, trees, parks and home properties, highly appropriate given his surname.

Instead of simply capturing the image the camera picks up, Bloom takes great efforts to edit the images he captures according to what he feels. In fact, Bloom went on to say that his works “resemble paintings more than photographs.”

The vivid colors and perfect symmetry of the images hanging along the walls of the downstairs gallery, the photographs appear to be more like oil paintings to the innocent observer.

Deep interest in the color and landscapes found within nature stem from Bloom’s deep interest in the beautiful creations (from plants to lakes to houses) in nature.

Bloom’s interest in creation was both excited by and reinforced his love of gardening, which ties into his hands-on style of persona.

This same hands on approach to gardening plays a large part in the creation of the images which clearly showcase Bloom’s take of creation.

Both are creative feats, one of molding the earth, the other of molding the image.

Both fields have an individual become accustomed to arranging the display, tools and accessories according to their liking, asserting their control over either a canvas of dirt or one in the digital realm.

And both are clearly on display.