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List Price: $55.00 | | Publisher: powerHouse Books
Salesrank: 568522
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| Our Price: $15.72 |
| Used Price: $5.77 |
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| Media: Hardcover |
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Editorial Review:
The high-profile magazines call prestigious portrait photographer Nigel Parry for only the most illustrious assignments: President Bill Clinton for The New York Times Magazine; Martin Scorsese for Vanity Fair; Dennis Quaid for Entertainment Weekly; Susan Sarandon for Premier; Tommy Lee Jones for W; John Cusak for GQ; Jake Lamotta for Esquire; and Liam Neeson for The London Sunday Times; and so on. With such distinguished occasions to encounter the powers that be, Parry has used these opportunities to create his own portfolio of private images of today's top movie stars, film directors, musicians, politicians, and sundry entertainment celebrities. The result is Sharp, a collection the likes of which have never been seen before. Parry's exacting precision, most spectacularly distilled in his disquieting close-ups of the most powerful people in the public eye, places the viewer face-to-face with pop culture movers and shakers on a level unprecedented in contemporary celebrity portraiture: Giorgio Armani's steely-eyed determination; Sir Anthony Hopkin's spine-chilling intensity; Meryl Streep's delicate grace; Placido Domingo's actor-like transparency under opera makeup; Asia Argento's sexy demureness; Nicolas Cage's "will kill you" attitude; Michael Caine's serene distance; Tommy Lee Jones' plaintiveness; and Christopher Walken's evilness, and many, many others. All are framed tightly within Parry's brilliant lenswork, allowing one repeated viewings that never tire or bore.
Sharp Reviews:
Film Noir look! 
2005-03-25 - This book is indeed a bargain if you are a fan of dark moody B&W portraiture. Along the likes of Corbjin, some of Rolston, Matt Mahurin, Albest Watson,Parry manages to do more with less light.
As for the criticism of monotony this is suppose to be a monograph which is a collection if images that are part of a theme.
If you think his lighting is simple and boring, set it up and see if you can get the same results. Now add into the mix a limited time with a famous ego and see how you do. The fact that he gets what he does in this age of restrictive celebrity photography is amazing. The "real life" lighting doesn't always flatter the subject in a way that would drive most publicists over the edge.
It is BARGAIN PRICE for a reason 
2005-02-12 - Shallow photographic wanking without flavor or soul. I think that a good test for any celebrity photography, is to put forward the question - "would the image work if the subject were not famous'. Hmm.
So take the test with this book, and perhaps any of Mark Seligers drivel , with this new hypothesis. If the image is visually interesting, despite the fact that the subject is famous, then drinks all round. If, however, the image looks more like a polished stock portrait image, then.....you know who I'm talking about Parry, you thoughtless bounder.
Impressive roll call but visually monotonous
2002-12-09 - Sharp is described by the publisher as "a collection the likes of which have never been seen before", a book with such "brilliant lenswork" that it allows one "repeated viewings that never tire or bore."
If you are a photo editor that wants to run images of celebrities that depict every pore, with contrast on the image so intense that the subjects look like coal miners on their way home after a day in the pits, then this is your man and he's in the phone book under Creative Photographers, Inc.
In short, while Sharp represents an impressive roll call of celebrity faces, Parry's style is quickly revealed to be visually monotonous in the form of a collection.
Wonderful 
2002-11-18 - Nigel Parry's Book sharp is a visual delight. His portraits are beautifully composed and capture that exacting moment as a photograph should....
These outstanding portrait photos are enhanced
2001-03-16 - Sharp is an impressive, 144-page, coffee table book showcasing Nigel Parry's black and white celebrity portraits. Parry uses his camera framing and lighting to present private images of movie stars, film directors, musicians, politicians, and entertainment celebrities in a totally new perspective that is both memorable and thought provoking. Highly recommended as a significant and welcome addition to any personal, photography school, professional, or community library collection, these outstanding portrait photos are enhanced for the photography study and connoisseur by an informative essay on Nigel Perry's life and work by Liam Neeson.
