by Kate Jonuska
striking floral photos make the perfect coffee table book
PREPARE TO BE STUNNED speechless at the depth of color, texture and detail captured by flower photographer Debi Shapiro in “Beauty in Bloom: Floral Portraits.” Using simple black backgrounds and angelic lighting, Shapiro’s approach honors the individuality and ephemeral nature of every bloom, often capturing the same flowers from different angles or at different stages of their development.
One of the most stunning bouquets in the collection, in fact, is a spread showing a bunch of Iceland poppies curled in their fetal buds and then bursting to messy life, their petals thin as tissue and a riot of colors. While she sources flowers from many places, Shapiro admits that she most enjoys capturing those she grows in her own garden, including poppies, dahlias, hydrangeas, hellebores, tuberoses and more.
Some featured flower varietals are so gorgeous and their photos so bright and clear—sharp down to the texture of each stem and even grains of pollen—they appear manmade. For instance, tulips “Tinted Blue” and double tulips “Tinted Violet” have petals covered in blue lines as thin as any from an ultra-fine-tip pen. Other petals are vivid enough to resemble wet oil paint, and a passionflower is almost certainly a jellyfish in disguise.
However, Shapiro’s flowers are not all delicate blooms. She gives ranunculus flowers that resemble cabbages and artichokes the same star treatment that she does for delicate roses and peonies. While certain to be a favorite of any gardener of flowers, “Beauty in Bloom” will also likely appeal to artists and people who love art. Prepare to meander in and revisit the book’s beautiful pages as you would an art museum, savoring the short, sweet lives of flowers captured in exquisite bloom.
