Brilliance

Rating:
Summary: Stunning Floral Closeups-Bold Color, Vivid Texture, Insight
Review: From unexpected viewpoints and using an unusally gifted talent for lighting his subjects, you could say Philippe's work is "Extreme Garden Photography". For what extreme sports have done to staid, traditional games, Philippe has done to the world of Garden Photography. The colors and textures are in-your-face bold: these are not your Grandmother's pale flowers!
*
While it is the color and the boldness of scope that first grabs your attention, once you study them you see it is the composition, the lighting, and the contrast of focus that bring you back time and again to each photo. The knife-edged sharpness of a forefront flower leaps out at you from the softened background. Make no mistake: these photos are Art. In fact, some of the photos even cross over into the 'abstract' realm, perhaps even "Extreme Closeups".
*
I don't pretend to be an expert on professional photography but as they say, "I know what I like." So if you love color, contrast, textures and a unique insight to your art - even if you don't particularly care for flowers in general - you really should get your hands on a copy of 'Brilliance'.
*
Be aware though: many of the photos are small in size, almost overwhelmed by the surrounding white of the pages. This is the only negative commment I have. But I think I understand why they did this: doing full pages of each might be overwhelming when comprised together, not to mention the punch you get when you do come across a full page photo. I just wish they were a bit bigger so I could enjoy them all equally. Otherwise this is a brilliant piece of work.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty pictures, little impact
Review: The book is nice, but not impressive. The photos are bright and brilliant, as the title implies, but did not strike me as awesome for several reasons. For starters, the book is small (8x8 inches) and many of the photos are about 2x2 inches on a white page which is a waste of paper and gives even LESS impact. But again, the pictures are bright and beautiful.