Customer Reviews

Flower Portraits: The Life Cycle of Beauty

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Not just pretty pictures in this terrific book, but a deep insight and understanding of flowers and photos. I saw several of these photos in an exhibition at a gallery in Bethesd, MD and fell in love with the work by this master photographer. I bought the book and am now saving my pennies to buy a photo!

What makes a great photographer? In the case of Tenneson, it has always been her own unique style, which translates so well across the many books and works that she has done over the years - ending in last year's best selling "Wise Women." So when Tenneson focused her considerable skills on the world of flowers, it's no surprise that she discovers that the beauty of a dying or dead flower, in its own unique decay, often delivers beautiful new insights - a Tennesonian insight - into the world of flowers. This is a photography book for people who not only like flowers, but a great photography book - period.

I saw this book excerpted in the May issue of Oprah magazine and was delighted by the rich, colorful close-ups of flowers in full bloom. Right away, I ordered one book for myself and one for my mother-in-law (should have read the Amazon editorial review that notes the flowers are in the later stages of life). We were surprised and dismayed to find that every one of the photos is a dull brown flower on a black background--and nearly all of the flowers are dead or dying. We could still appreciate the beautiful photography and the theme of death & dying, but with the subtitle "The Life Cycle of Beauty" it would have been nice to see more of the full life cycle--as in colorful buds and full-blooms in rich hues. All of the bright, colorful photos that were in the magazine excerpt were instead rendered in dull browns. We're both sending our books back. Totally depressing.

I absolutely love this book! Joyce Tenneson has captured the ephemeral and exquisite cycle of life in these sepia-toned photos. Each photograph is on a black background, bringing the "subjects" into sharp relief, allowing the viewer to examine in delicate detail the life cycle of flowers, from young bud to mature blossom, and on to dried yet beautiful perfection... and often, once again on to new life in the form of seed... a poignant analogy to the cycle of human existence. I bought this book because of its beauty, because it made me feel inspired to create beauty myself, and because it is simply very sensual and life-affirming.