Reviews

Some reviews and comments of David Scharf’s S.E.M. Photography and first book, “Magnifications — Photography with the Scanning Electron Microscope”

“Absolutely wonderful.” - Ansel Adams

“A stunning breakthrough in technological art.” - The Los Angeles Times

“With this book we now have an Ansel Adams of inner space.” - Time

“The photographs are stunning, haunting, endlessly absorbing. They introduce a new era in photography, in art, and perhaps even in the minds of those who contemplate them.” -Harvard Post

“These pictures may provoke a metaphysical shudder-all that beauty that no one saw until now.” - Newsweek

“Focuses [on]…aspects of the unseen world on which our lives depend. The result is pure fascination, a trip to a world that is as real as our own, yet completely inaccessible to us without complex instruments.” -Organic Gardening

“This book is a genuine revelation.” - John Barkham Reviews

“New techniques making it possible to see living, unaltered creatures with the scanning electron microscope are now providing images so faithful to nature that anyone can look at one of the pictures and know that what he sees is the way it really is. A developer of such methods is David Scharf, who combined an interest in photography with a career in electronics and electron microscopes to refine techniques that push the sharpness and depth of field of S.E.M. imaging to what m,ay be its technical limit.” - The New York Times

“One of the most exciting photography books of the year.” -PhotoGraphic

“There are echoes of the adventures of Stanley and St. Exupéry (in Wind, Sand and Stars) and the Apollo moon journeys into these ‘flights’ downward into microspace…. In picture after picture and on page after page of the exquisitely produced book, Scharf accomplishes the hardest thing in scientific photography: keeping the astonishing information conveyed by his pictures secondary to their sheer beauty…. His pictures are almost consistently wonderful, as well as fascinating, to look at…. David Scharf’s magnificent magnifications fill the eye and the mind.” -Saturday Review

***** 5 Stars Exquisite photography using the scanning electron microscope. September 29, 1998 Reviewer: A reader from Traverse City, Michigan, USA “David Scharf is not only a master of the scanning electron microscope, a discipline that requires at least as much skill in sample preparation as it does in manipulating the instrument, but also an excellent photographer. His images are composed and executed as cleanly as any of the greats of photography. “

“Scharf goes beyond the commonly seen "monster bug from outer space" pictures to bring us images that are true photographs. His "Crane Fly" is more reminiscent of a ballet dancer than an insect. "Aphids Grazing on a Lemon Tree Leaf" has the peaceful, pastoral quality that the title suggests. “

“The pictures of plant life are my favorites. Some are beautiful patterns found in flower parts ("Candytuft Flower Petal" and "Untitled" Helxine, Baby's tears). "Hibiscus Pistils" reminds me of exploding fireworks. And "Fertilization," a picture of a bean flower, looks like something you'd see from Edward Weston. “

“Throughout the book you get little glimpses of his sense of humor as well. “

“This is a book for people who enjoy photography more than it is for scientists, though if you have ever worked with electron microscopy, your appreciation for the quality of the photos is that much greater. When I give presentations on the subject of "Excellence" this book is one of my examples. “ - Review on Amazon.com