Greetings!

We have been enjoying a delightful fall here in the grasslands of southeastern Arizona: crisp mornings, warm days, and for the most part, deep blue desert skies, reminiscent of a time when man-made aerosols were far less common and widespread. We hope that all of you enjoyed (and survived!) Thanksgiving, and had a chance to connect with family and friends.

Readers of this newsletter will recall that we spent our pre-Thanksgiving days in Guatemala and Belize, both participating in GuatePhoto (where Steve's portfolio, Illusions of Intimacy, was exhibited), and traveling to Antigua and a variety of Mayan archaeological sites (Tikal, Yaxha, Caracol, Iximche). Among the many highlights of the trip was a one day workshop we held in Guatemala City for twenty, mostly young photographers. We were impressed both with the quality of much of the work as well as the enthusiasm and energy of the workshop participants. Also of note was the incredible effort put forth by the organizers of GuatePhoto, who transformed multiple buildings Zona 4 in Guatemala City into galleries which displayed a variety of beautiful and visually challenging work by photographers throughout the world.

Before summarizing this month's noteworthy dates, we thought we'd engage in a bit of shameless self promotion (just in time for the Holidays): for those of you who would like to gift a friend or family member with a book, how about considering Sand Mirrors (www.sandmirrors.com) or Earth Forms (www.earthforms.info).

Steve's work is featured in a two person show entitled Landings with Stu Jenks at ArtsEye Gallery in Tucson with an opening on Saturday, December 1 (6 - 9 pm). This show will include new images from the portfolio "Illusions of Intimacy," as well as 8 three-dimensional pieces in Japanese/Chinese screen format.

Art Intersection in Gilbert, AZ will hold a fund raising auction of pieces donated by local artists. Both Karen and Steve have work available in this auction. The work has been up since November 17; the auction will culminate with a silent auction reception on December 1, 7 - 10 pm.

Steve will be giving a talk, A Fusion of Art and Astronomy, at the Arizona Senior Academy, 13715 E. Langtry Lane, Tucson, AZ 85747, on December 6 at 3:30 pm. The talk will be followed by a book signing for Sand Mirrors. An article in the Arizona Daily Star previews the talk.

Sand Mirrors, a new book by Steve with poet Richard B. Clarke, has been juried into the PHOTOBOOK 2012 exhibit at the Davis Orton Gallery in Hudson, NY. The exhibition dates are Friday, November 16 to Sunday, December 23. (Hours noon to 6 pm, Friday to Sunday). Sand Mirrors will remain listed in their online Photobook Catalog. Information on purchasing the print book is available on the book's website. The iBook edition of Sand mirrors is now available through either iTunes or the book's website. The print book may also be "paged through" using "Look inside the Book" on Amazon. Steve has written a post for the Terrain.org blog about the creation of the book.

Steve and Karen also have 2 pieces each accepted in to the Member's Juried Exhibit at Tubac Center for the Arts. The show runs from November 16, 2012 - January 7, 2013. Steve has two of his architectural interpretations from our trip to Spain and Karen has two from her Islamic Tile Study series in the show.

The online photography magazine F-Stop will include some of Steve's images in their landscape group show in the December issue. Look for it online after December 1.

A overview of Steve's retrospective exhibition at Verve Gallery has been added to his website. You can follow the arc of his photographic vision and view a sample of the images to be shown in the show and in the catalog discussed below.

A catalog for the retrospective is available. The 162 page, 8x8" catalog includes images spanning his 40 year photographic career, and is graced by an introduction written by Rebecca A. Senf, Norton Family Curator at the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson and the Phoenix Art Museum. A print copy and/or digital (PDF) version of the catalog can be ordered at this link.

Retrospective

A Photographic Search for Harmony: 1978-2012

Throughout Stephen Strom’s photographic career there have been constant threads, ideas that have sustained his work through many varied projects, and bind 34 years of photography into a cohesive body. Among these is his attitude toward experimentation…

An e-book for the iPad is also available at the Blurb online store.

Five of Steve's images will be included in the Desert Grasslands exhibit at the Tucson Museum of Art, January 26 - July 7, 2013.

There is now an author page including all of Steve's books at Amazon.com. Both Steve and Karen have created Facebook pages devoted solely to photography. We have each populated a 'timeline' where you can trace the development of our very different visions. For Steve, we invite you to visit: http://www.Facebook.com/StephenStromPhoto/ and for Karen, http://www.Facebook.com/KarenStromPhoto/). You can also follow our progress and view larger portfolios of images by visiting our websites: http://www.karenstrom.com/ and http://www.stephenstrom.com/.

The complete archive of our newsletters is now available on both of our websites.

To order Steve's books through Amazon, click on the book cover.