Alpenglühn Hardcover – December 1, 2010

It is too bad that Amazon only provides a five-star rating capability for this item, because I would be more than ready to rate it a SIX! This book is an absolute masterwork; a lush collection of photographic work and a dazzling showcase for extraordinary alpine shooting locations and equally extraordinary female models.There are some truly Fantastik Frauleins here; every one of them more than the equal of the typical Playboy Playmate, or Sports Illustrated or Victoria's Secret supermodel. They are dazzlers all. These are truly World Class beauties and if there was a category for such loveliness in Olympic competition, there'd be Gold Medals being handed out all around to this bunch. These girls are voluptuous, but there are NO "Brunhildes" here. These aren't built like Grand Opera singers! These foxes are lithe, supple, and SVELT. One look at the lot of them and, if you are a red-blooded heterosexual male, you likely WON'T turn into a werewolf, but you sure might damn well be ready to go out and howl at the moon!I opened this volume and fell instantly and irrevocably in love (and lust!) with Susann---the very first of Stefan Soell's nubile nymphs my eyes beheld. THEN I fell instantly and irrevocably in love (and lust!) with Corinna!!! Like Elvis Presley in "G.I. Blues", I might not have a wooden HEART,but I had to really wonder if something else might not be going wooden on me!Then I saw and went gah-gah over Rose! Then with Ivory Flame! Then Denisa! And with Sujatha! And Jana! And Julia! And Anke! And Lia! Alexa! Anna!Lorena! Katy! Mabelle! Ariel! Kinga! Nicolette! Jade!Elisa!Andrea! Iva! Niki! Alison! Saskia! Estella! And if I have forgotten anybody then JUST SHOOT ME!These girls , every one, look like they just just stepped off the screen of a James Bond movie and I would not hesitate one instant to tell Eon Productions, SA, to look at ALL of Soell's models here and likely find themselves a whole BEVY of Bond girls for upcoming cinematic 007 adventures (a re-make of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" could use the ENTIRE BUNCH as the beauties of Ernst Blofelds' Piz Gloria alpine sanctuary).As for me, they are enough to make me want to turn raging polygamist and go on a strict Viagra or Cialis diet. Surely they'd make a mountain climber come rappelling or abseiling down his climbing rope like a rocket once he caught sight of them----likely with his eyes bulging out like a Baird marionette in "The Sound of Music". And, for that matter, any Lonely Goatherd who spots one might well flip his Tyrolean hat and come bursting right out of the fly of his lederhosen (as well might the aforementioned mountaineer, LOL!).And, look as I might, I don't see a damned TATTOO on anyone---ANYWHERE!!!!Mein Gott, but that's refreshing!!!!!!! SO gratifying! Sleek, sumptuous temptresses with smooth, creamy expanses of skin showing and NO stupid "body art" (i.e epidermal vandalism) to mar the natural bodyscapes. No PIERCINGS, either, would you you believe? Astounding! Nothing stuck in anyone's navel, or nostril, or eyebrow, or anywhere else that I can discern! None of the faddish "junk" of contemporary pop culture either stuck into them or drawn onto them! Hopefully none of these lovely mouths hides any stupid piece of metal stuck through a tongue, either! Hell, it makes me want to stand up and cheer to see such naturalness! Herr Soell, I commend you! AND your models!!A smaller, yet somewhat similar book to this one (gorgeous models in exquisite landscapes), "All Natural Girls" by Martin Krake, is a charmer as well but several of Krake's girls could not resist that faddish tattoo needle and more's the pity. A tattoo instantly pulls the viewer's attention AWAY from the form and curve and texture and color continuity of the model's body, thus throwing the visual composition "off". The Amy Winehouse look just doesn't get it with regard to serious nude imagery. Stefan Soell realizes this and is having none of it. And rightly so. If any of these beauties DID come with "drawings" affixed, it would seem he either eliminated the distraction with body make-up or with digital removal.One reviewer here has opined that Soell's shaven or well-trimmed nudes aren't as "natural" looking as he would have preferred, lacking the traditional pubic wedge of hair. Well, "different strokes for different folks", as the saying goes.I personally like the minimalist look and the concept of not "hiding nubility behind a bush" (so to speak). If we westerners (certainly we Americans) aren't all that enthused about unshaven legs and unshaven armpits (and eye the French dubiously in such matters), why shouldn't we like a collateral bareness between the legs? Works for ME!!! And, in my opinion, the bald or severely trimmed pubis ACCENTUATES the vulva and considerably antes up the eroticism of the photograph.Soell's photography itself is more than excellent. It is truly consummate work. Soell captures light and shadow (and particularly the high mountain purplish half-light called Alpenglow , from which his book takes its title) in such a way as to remind one of the work of the famous "Painter of Light", the artist, Thomas Kincaid.From craggy mountain pinnacles wrapped in morning mists, to glorious waterfalls and streams, to high, flowery alpine meadows and farmyards that harken one's mind to "Heidi" (or to Ricola cough drop commercials), the location imagery is just fabulous. You can take in this geography, flora, and topography, and flash in your mind to Sean Connery's 1964 James Bond in his Aston Martin DB5, pursuing Auric Goldfinger across Switzerland----or to Julie Andrews , as Maria (soon-to-be Von Trapp), in the mountain meadow overlooking Salzburg, Austria---with the glorious alps in the background---in the opening scenes of the previously mentioned"The Sound of Music".Just really, really breathtaking stuff.And added "extra" here is that, on the pages where he shoots these stunning locations shots, Soell includes GPS ground co-ordinates---latitudes and longitudes---so that if a reader gets the opportunity at any future time, they can go to the EXACT SPOT where Soell shot a specific model. I think this is totally "Neat" as a concept. Bravissimo, Herr Soell!!! A brilliant idea!Hopefully, if any of you WERE to go to any of these places, though, you wouldn't find ANY of these luscious models around, however----because I want to hypnotize and brainwash ALL of them and then abscond with the whole lot of them to parts unknown!Yeah. Sure. I WISH!!!!!!!

Though unfamiliar with Soell's work I was tempted by the premise in this book. Overall I was slightly disapointed after reading the other glowing reviews.I would probably have to give this somewhere between 3 and 4 stars. A few pictures are amazing, but many are best described as so-so. The models are beautiful, the settings are beautiful. Some of the perspectives and poses though.. seem quite unimaginative compared to others in the book which overall gives me borderline buyers remorse.I expected more from the preview pictures and reviews. The quality is high though and a few pictures are so striking that I almost feel justified in purchasing the book for those alone. I am swayed to try Waldlust after my experience here, but more cautious about trying the other books by Soell.

What can be said about this Stefan Soell book which features crisp clear pictures of natural beauty and youth. Well it is not classic because they are mostly bare down there, and there is none of the Vaseline on the lens type of shots typical of David Hamilton and generally a more modern and direct treatment of the subject. When looking at images like this you get the feeling the subjects are making the statement; "so what, I'm naked". It is almost as if they could be more sexy with more clothes on and be less offensive to those with sensibilities about full frontal nudity. Sexy is not what the artist seems to be going for, this is more in your face nudity and "look at me" attitude. It is nice to see so many beautiful young ladies enjoy showing the world what they have been gifted with, and do it with a smile, and the quality of the paper and the large format 24cm by 30cm bigger than A4 are all above standard. All bar one European Caucasian white skin set against deep forest greens and blue skies. Waldlust by the same author is just the same thing again but slightly less explicit.

I greatly enjoyed the scenery and the beautiful models, and how they were used to create a visual story. The models and the background scenery are absolutely gorgeous!If you enjoy beautiful women and/or great landscapes, than this is a must have.A final bonus, is the inclusion of GPS coordinates for every shoot.

Stefan Soell is a genius with the camera! Each of his books are so tastefully posed and scenic incorporating the beautiful figure of a woman into the topography of the area. I have several of his books, they are all marvelous.

I recently received this book, and I have to say it is top-notch. It is an oversized book made of quality materials and a very nice dust jacket. All of the women are drop-dead gorgeous, and most of them are photographed against the Alps (or so it seems). It strikes me as a unique concept . . . at least I haven't see any books like this (other than beach scenes). At the price Amazon sells it for, it's a pretty good deal. There are two drawbacks if you're like me. Virtually every woman is shaved (if you know what I mean). So, if you like your ladies natural, this isn't the book for you. Also, it took Amazon 3 months to get this book and ship it to me. Geez!!!! So, 4 stars because of those issues.

As I've said in other reviews, I've quickly become a big fan of Stefan Soell's work. He picks interesting settings for his photos, and more importantly for me, he picks very attractive models to photograph. I found this book to be similar to, though not quite as good as, Soell's Waldlust. That's not a complaint, and as a stand-alone this book is of very high quality. I highly recommend it (and, really, anything else I've seen by Stefan Soell).