GIFT BOOKS IN BRIEF : COLORS OF THE DEEP <i> photographs by Jeffrey L. Rotman, text by Joseph S. Levine (Thomasson-Grant: $45).</i>

“Colors of the Deep” is a breathtaking, splashy and at times bizarre book. Rotman’s macro-photography, shot mainly at night in premier dive areas around the world, is presented in no less than 37 astonishing single-image color spreads as well as full and half page plates. Don’t look for realism--the effect is surreal and wildly decorative. Half the fun is consulting discreet captions to find out which minute bit of a sea creature is projected into each giant, abstract photograph.

The spare accompanying text provides a somewhat eccentric discussion of sea-life pigmentation and parts of fish anatomy such as snouts, scales, fins and jaws. Among the unforgettable shots: blubbery lips of a yellowtail flounder, the electric blue jaws of a Red Sea needlefish. A must-see book for underwater buffs and a sure conversation piece for anyone.

Less dramatic but still jewel-like is “California Reefs” with photography by Chuck Davis and a foreward by Jean-Michel Cousteau (Chronicle Books: $29.95). This smaller format underwater photography book is subtle and handsomely designed, a minimalist’s coffee-table book.

“California Reefs” offers sun-tinted photography: a golden kelp canopy photographed just below the water’s surface, sea lions ascending from blue depths toward the light. Macro and night photographs also capture singular images such as the eye of a Pacific angel shark, a wisp of surfgrass on the Cortez Bank.

Davis’ color photography and thoughtful text portray the reef systems along California’s 1100-mile coastline with a Gaia-influenced point of view, treating the reef as a single organism that interacts with natural and commercially-induced elements. (This book benefits the California Marine Mammal Center.)