Sante D'Orazio A Private View: Photographs and Diary [Hardcover]

Sante D'Orazio (Author), David Fahey (Editor), Francesco Clemente (Foreword), Isabelle Salmon (Designer)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1998

Photographer Sante d'Orazio's work graces the covers and interiors of the world's leading fashion magazines. He's an insider in that elite group of rich, famous, and beautiful jet-setters whose celebrity and pulchritude have become an almost obsessive fascination for a public that can't get enough of them. Now this dazzling collection of over 600 color and black-and white-photographs--both intimate and revealing--provides a window into the exciting life of the man whose portfolio resembles a "who's who" of entertainment and fashion. The faces and bodies--including many nudes--of supermodels, movie stars, musicians, and artists grace the pages of this lush volume in images from magazine and celebrity shoots as well as in candid photos which capture private moments with delicious spontaneity. And throughout, a collage of travel souvenirs and personal notes--written in d'Orazio's own hand--about his work, travels, and fascinating photographic encounters provide a startling window into the life of this remarkable artist. More than a mere photographic collection or celebrity journal, A Private View offers a voyeuristic vision of a lifestyle watched by many, but lived by few.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 296 pages
• Publisher: Melcher Media / Penguin Studio (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670882518
• ISBN-13: 978-0670882519
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #309,722 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Spontaneous, fun glamour photography; creative presentation, June 19, 2000

By 

J. Lizzi (Costa Mesa, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sante D'Orazio A Private View: Photographs and Diary (Hardcover)

Actors, artists, models, musicians and athletes. Sante d'Orazio shot them all, and presents them here in a very clever collage of a photo diary spanning from 1985 to 1997. Mixed among the shots which made it to publication in the world's top fashion magazines is a wide array of attitude poses, candid moments, playful outtakes, and perhaps even a couple of photographic bloopers. What draws me to this book is the imagery of whirlwind travel, all-night parties, and romping photo sessions, contained in a just-thrown-together scrapbook fashion augmented by airplane tickets, foreign currency, watercolor painting and cryptic hand-written notes by the photographer himself. This guy leads a fun life, and has the pictures to prove it.

If you like models, you'll love this book, and d'Orazio's nude photos--some raw, some refined--are excellent. Sometimes it's hard to tell whether he snuck up on somebody, or if the setting was planned; nevertheless, it's all a blast. I'm intrigued by the picture of Kate Moss sitting sideways in an empty tub, smoking a cigarette and reading a book entitled "Help Your Husband Get Ahead."

The presentation of randomly-ordered contrasting moods--prim versus toussled, serene versus crazy, color versus black & white, staged versus candid--gives this book a variety that, to me, stays fresh and interesting. The b/w's outnumber the color shots, and are far better, in my opinion. I always appreciate a subject/date/locale photo index, which can be found in the back, although one must hunt through the thumbnail pix to find a specific shot because there are no page numbers anywhere. This book would be perfect if the format was slightly larger, and if the photos (i.e., events) were in chronological order, so as to catch the natural flow of a diary; however, these are only minor detractions. Keep flipping the pages . . . and enjoy.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it he is second to none in fashion photography, May 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sante D'Orazio A Private View: Photographs and Diary (Hardcover)

when I first opened the book I was surprised to see that it was almost all photos not much text. I had purchased the book to gain insight into the world of fashion and I was not disapointed, instead of reading words I read the images and boy did they speak volumes. As a professional photographer myself,I have always been in awe of the power of an image.Without question Sante D`orazio is in a class by himself,He has the very rare innate ability to put the soul of his subjects on film.Anyone who is thinking about going into the field of fashion photography should spend time with this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully arranged view into a photographer's world, May 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sante D'Orazio A Private View: Photographs and Diary (Hardcover)

If you've ever admired D'Orazio's work, you must have this book. After I read this, I felt as though I'd travelled into D'Orazio's glamorous world of fashion photography. His photographs have a sense of mood, each page has a "feel", I got lost for a couple of hours with it. A work of art, each photograph is like a painting. BUY THIS.