"the glow" and Jock Sturges' photographs

[pgs@thillana.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick Sobalvarro)]

I was at the local Borders bookstore the other night and looked at a
copy of Jock Sturges' book "Radiant Identities" (published by
Aperture).  The photographs are often beautiful, but I find the work a
little too disturbing to want to own the book, and so I didn't buy it.
(N.b.: I don't think that Jock Sturges is a pornographer, and I don't
think the U.S. Government should hassle him.)

However!  I saw some photographs in it whose out-of-focus parts
display a particular quality that may (or may not) be the
oft-referenced "Leica glow".  The tones of out-of-focus shapes in
these photographs, rather than blurring smoothly into the tones of
surrounding shapes, instead show up as distinct patches with sharply
delineated edges.  The effect is particularly noticeable on highlights
and on branches of trees.

Not all of his photographs look like this; only some.  But the
out-of-focus areas in these particular photographs look like those
that I get with my older 28mm/2.8 Elmarit, and haven't seen with other
lenses.

So -- two questions: (1) does anyone in the group know whether Jock
Sturges ever uses Leica equipment?  (2) does anyone in the group who's
looked at the book see the quality I'm talking about, and is this the
so-called "Leica glow," or some other quality?

- -Patrick