Frank Horvat: Very Similar

Rating:
Summary: Photographic Meditations on Timeless Beauty
Review: I saw one of this book's 70 photos of women on the cover of Zoom. It's been several years since a "mere" photograph struck me as stunning. The photos are "very similar" to classic portraits by Rembrant, Vermeer and other master artists. The lighting and color look like digital retouching at its most artistic. Some of the models seen to be aware that they are modern women in costume. But most are simply floating outside of time. A small gem.

Rating:
Summary: Good and bad
Review: In his enlightening introduction, Horvat says, "The faces which attract me rarely resemble those I am asked to photograph for fashion magazines."

The pages that follow contain photographs of interesting faces he has selected himself. But Horvat's approach is flawed and the really excellent photographs number only a precious few.

Horvat's pictures look best when he keeps it simple and he allows those faces he loves to shine through. Too often, however, he seems unable to escape the influences of fashion photography, overwhelming and encumbering his subjects with distracting gawdy period costumes.

Horvat's use of color and light results in truly luscious photographs, and the reproductions in this volume are quite good. In my opinion, the book is worth buying just for what is good here.

Rating:
Summary: Good and bad
Review: In his enlightening introduction, Horvat says, "The faces which attract me rarely resemble those I am asked to photograph for fashion magazines."

The pages that follow contain photographs of interesting faces he has selected himself. But Horvat's approach is flawed and the really excellent photographs number only a precious few.

Horvat's pictures look best when he keeps it simple and he allows those faces he loves to shine through. Too often, however, he seems unable to escape the influences of fashion photography, overwhelming and encumbering his subjects with distracting gawdy period costumes.

Horvat's use of color and light results in truly luscious photographs, and the reproductions in this volume are quite good. In my opinion, the book is worth buying just for what is good here.