The “life” in this book is the life of beautiful flowers, and it is “stilled” because Sam Stapleton picked them at their height of beauty and put them in a pan of water and froze them. After they were frozen, he photographed them with back lighting both completely frozen and when the water melted. The results are both astonishing and gorgeous. Then to offer some context to the photographs, he has added six poems from George Ella Lyon and four from Diane Gilliam, all of which refer to flowers but expand to illuminate all of life. This book is not for everyone, but it is a book that many will cherish. Sam Stapleton relates that forty years ago he was pursuing rock and roll concert photography, and thirty years ago his subjects were architecture and landscapes; twenty years ago he was immersed in parenthood and working in finance for a university medical center. He has been photographing flowers for ten years, and he has been photographing frozen flowers for six years. Diane Gilliam is an Ohio poet whose ancestors have roots in Eastern Kentucky. She has published four poetry books. George Ella Lyon is a former Kentucky Poet Laureate who has written books for all ages.
Bulls Gap, Tennessee: Bloodroot Mountain Press, 2018. 131 pages with poems by George Ella Lyon and Diane Gilliam, an Image Index and Notes, and full-page color photographs throughout. 10” X 12” hardback with pictorial cover