Customer Reviews

Weeds

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
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I plan to give this book to lots and lots of people for Christmas this year. Yes, it's exquisite art, yes, it enriches the reader by connecting her or him to the Earth beneath us, but it's also simply a GORGEOUS book to look through over and over again. The photos here on Amazon, as pretty as they are, simply don't do the book justice. The photographs in the book have a depth and richness that evoke such a mood... A really nice mood. I've given coffee table art books as gifts before, but this'll be the first art book I've given as a gift when I actually have it on my coffee table.

When is Mr. Bjornson going to do another book? Very soon, I hope.

Boy do I like this book! From the front cover with its striking portrait of nodding wild onion (Allium cernuum) to the alien looking bur sedge (Carex grayi var. hispidula) on the back cover and everything in between its luxurious vellum pages. Yes ma’am, yes sir, I like this book. Weeds is a superb collection of some very common weeds cast in an uncommonly flattering light. Sure, it’s apparent that Bjornson occasionally utilizes some special effects magic to enhance their beauty. So what? Even super models need a little touch up treatment from the ole airbrush now and then. These sixty-four outstanding photographs make a clear aesthetic statement: weeds can be beautiful. We all know weeds can be downright ugly. But through the appreciative eye of Bjornson their hidden beauty is revealed. He has made a silk purse out of a sows-thistle, so to speak.

But weeds are not just another pretty face to him. Learning about weeds revealed a cosmic truth to Bjornson. The truth that “one needn’t travel the world to find untamed natural beauty.” These enchanting photographic portraits are gently interspersed with some thought provoking ‘weed’ haiku such as, “Wherever weeds won’t grow let man beware to go” and “Weeds are the strong and persistent creatures who live in weak circumstances”. Bjornson also cheerily refers to these “persistent creatures” as the “free spirits of the natural world”. Free spirits! This is great stuff. Who in their right mind would ever refer to velvet leaf (Abutilon theophrasti), as a free spirit? I dare say not a single Weed Science professor in recent memory.

And speaking of velvet leaf, Bjornson’s picture of this oh so common character is dazzling. One can almost feel the densely hairy stems. The detail is remarkable. This attention to detail is true of each and every picture. I don’t know how Bjornson achieves his effects but the realism of the photos is gently juxtaposed against his artistic interpretation in a way which conveys their beauty without distortion. His technique lovingly captures their color, form, and texture. Truly, these dramatic and beautiful portraits are almost mystical. But as he says in the intro, “It is a matter of perspective”. Do I rave? Yes, because I really like this book and I would suggest you peruse it with a glass of your favorite beverage, some Bach and a big cushy chair.

Those of you looking for an ID challenge won’t be disappointed. None of the pictures in the main portion of the book are labeled. They are identified in the back of the book by a smaller version of the same picture. The scientific name does accompany the picture. Since Bjornson gathered all of his plants within a few miles of his Chicago studio there are a few that may be unfamiliar to those living in Central Ohio.

This is a unique art book of extraordinary caliber. It is marvelously conceived and executed. Production values are high. It is a first class piece of work in every sense of the word. Brjonson demonstrates that he knows his subject thoroughly and personally. A subject of which he says, “One man sees a weed the same weed to another may be a flower.” You can preview this book by logging on to Bjornson’s website .... I know you won’t be disappointed. By the way, did I say how much like this book?

I have lived my whole life in the area where Bjornson collected the ignoble subjects of his book and have walked right over there beauty.

In this book Bjornson has transformed the lowly weed to the hight of zen-like visual beauty. He makes it look so simple...so simple that only hard work and great talent could produce such a work.

Many years ago when I was taking botany in college the professor told us that a weed was only a plant that nobody wanted...Well that may be true but it dose not apply to this beautiful book which I am sure you will want.

Howard Bjornson's photographs brought me to a full stop on a very busy day. He has taken the most common and overlooked plants in our environment and revealed the tremendous beauty they contain. The simplicity and directness of these photographs made me re-realize that we are surrounded by millions of miraculous things in this world- we just forget how to see them. Spending a few minutes with "Weeds" is rejuvenating- like a good meal or a captivating story. A wonderful gift for a society that seems to be constantly accelerating. Don't miss it.

Good art always makes me see the world in a different way. Great art has stopped me dead in my tracks by making the ususal unusual...Chuck Close and Ansel Adams to name a few photographers. Mr. Bjornson has photographically brought what was deeply discounted and made it into something ethereal and precious. This is a great life lesson as well as true art (all for (...)

The pictures in this book are astounding. I read in the book that the pictures were taken within a few miles of Chicago; I so wish he had gone further to get more pictures. These may be weeds, but they are beautiful photographs of them. I recommend it for anyone interested in photography and flowers.