The theme of his show is "Redlands and Beyond". He is fascinated by the fact that our town has so many beautiful places and activities of interest. The great architecture, the many orange and palm trees, snow-capped mountains and amazing community events. Bruce is aware of the uniqueness of Redlands, that we are surrounded by mountains, oceans, and deserts, each reflecting their own beauty.
"I love photography because you have to "be there" in order to take the picture. It's a chicken and egg thing with me. Events get me out to take pictures and I go to events to take pictures." Bruce enjoys spending time outside in nature, so landscape photography is a natural fit for him.
"For me, getting home after a photo shoot and loading the pictures into the computer has the anticipation of Christmas. While you know what you shot (subject matter), you don't know what you got (captured with your camera). Sometimes you get the shot you wanted, sometimes you don't and you have to do your best to creatively edit."
Bruce's photographer friend says "It's not the pictures you take, it the pictures you make" and he totally agrees. He "makes" a picture by going, planning, shooting, composition and trial and error. He also believes you "make" a picture by what you do with software in order to draw out of a photograph what you want to see. "I'm not a purist in that I don't believe the ultimate goal of photography is capturing a duplicate of what you can see with your eyes. My photographs tend to be a more "hyper-reality" if what I see with deeper, richer textures and more vibrant colors."
In addition to photography, Bruce will be showcasing his coloring books. Since his Color Me Redlands came out last year, he has created 4 new coloring books that will be available for purchase His new coloring books feature Ninjas, Dragons, Fidget Spinners and his latest one, Crazy Critters, an A-Z coloring book featuring fun and unique animals.
Bruce's show "Redlands and Beyond" will run at the gallery from October 7-28. His opening gallery reception is Saturday, October 7 from 3-5 pm. The public is welcome and will have a chance to take home a free coloring page from one if Bruce's coloring books.