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Ecology, a science scarcely a century old, aims to give its practitioners an approach to understanding how whole natural systems--for example, watersheds, deserts, and estuaries--work. Few books translate this aim as well as Earth from Above, a stunning collection of photographs that affords its viewers a window into the world's workings. It is something of a commonplace, for instance, that the large-scale logging now being visited on the world's rainforests is causing untold damage to tropical ecosystems. In French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand's hands, this problem is translated from arid fact to alarming image, giving immediate meaning to the statistics that underlie today's environmental headlines; his photographs of the ruins of rural Madagascar, where forests are being cleared at a rate of 1,500 square kilometers (580 square miles) annually, are a sad case in point.
Arthus-Bertrand, working with the support of UNESCO, has wandered the globe to gather this collection of more than 200 photographs, presented in a folio format. The images are uniformly striking, whether of stalagmite-like fans of algae spreading into the Mediterranean Sea, farmers working their fields in northern India, or destroyed Iraqi tanks littering the deserts of Kuwait. The accompanying text, captions, and short essays by some of France's leading scientists and social critics lend specific depth to the images, which will cheer few readers--but that will shock, and educate, and, with luck, inspire closer attention to the world around us. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
The result of a five-year airborne odyssey across five continents and 60 countries, Earth from Above is the most revealing and spectacular portrait of our world ever created. From a heart-shaped mangrove forest in New Caledonia to a flock of red ibises in Venezuela, from a caravan of camels in Mauritania to Mt. Everest and Mammoth Hot Springs, renowned aerial photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand presents striking color images that put our home planet in a whole new perspective. Produced under the sponsorship of UNESCO, the book is also a documentary record of the state of the world's fragile environment.
This vibrant new edition of the internationally acclaimed original features an updated design and nearly 60 stunning new photographs. All new captions and the addition of authoritative new texts by experts in various environmental fields illuminate Arthus-Bertand's monumental achievement.
Customer Reviews:
Item never recieved!.......2007-09-27
I ordered my book about a month ago and it is still not here! I can not review the book, but I can review the service, and it has been awful.
Cover.......2007-09-20
I think the photo of the cover is the best. Nice photos, no one to recall as very nice.
Beautiful photographs but some rather polemical commentaries.......2007-05-10
This is a book with some of the most beautiful and interesting photographs I have ever seen, all of which have been taken from the air above by the well known photographer Yann-Arthus Bertrand. It also comes with an alarming and urgent message that we (the citizens of the world) must all do our bit to bring to a halt the continuing and escalating damage to our environment before it is too late.
It's a big heavy book (38cm by 30 cm by 5cm), and one could say that its weight matches the importance of the topics being addressed. The book is divided into twelve sections:
* Building an Eco Economy
* World Population and the Environment
* Urban Landscapes, Landscapes of Urbanism
* Farmers of the World, the Price of our Future
* Water, Humanity's Heritage
* Biodiversity, a Question of Survival
* Seas and Oceans, Red Alert
* Climate Change, Doubts and Certainties
* Rethinking the World s Energy
* Sustainable Development
* Microcredit and the Future of Poverty
* Antartica, the Continent of hope
Each section is beautifully laid out, commencing with a 3 page commentary on the particular topic, which has been written by a well known scholar or expert, followed by a page of supporting facts and figures which provide the evidence to show the importance of the particular environmental issue under discussion. This is followed by a summary page of the 15 photographs in the section, and the double page photographs themselves. Because of its size, I found the best way to read this book was to put it down on my dining room table, and read a few pages at a time. And I did read it line by line and from cover to cover!
I would like to say that I am convinced by the scholarly nature of the commentaries, but I found myself "tuning out" some sections because of the unrelieved gloom and doom portrayed by the author of the article. The main problem I had with the style and tone of the commentaries was I was never quite sure as how much of what was being presented was fact as opposed to opinion masquerading as fact. There were some very interesting statistics, most of which seem to have been published in reports of the United Nations reports, but, again, I was never quite sure whether the author was just selecting those statistics which supported his case.
One of the underlying messages of the book seems to be that any progress we may make towards improving the way we live only ends up endangering Mother Earth and to make it worse for those who are struggling to survive in an ever more deteriorating environment, and that nearly all of the present solutions which have been offered to correct our environmental problems will also make matters worse. This means that the only hope we have to avoid disaster is for us (humanity) to change our ways. This requires, of course, that we should return to a simpler way of life, and that governments should be concerned with changing our attitudes accordingly.
My problem with this kind of reasoning is that human beings, by their very nature seem first and foremost to be self-oriented, It is true that at times we do display magnificent examples of altruism, but we are not colony insects like bees and ants. In my opinion, this means that solutions to our environmental problems HAVE to take into account how humans actually behave, individually and en masse, and not how they SHOULD behave! In my opinion, many of the solutions offered were rather high level and top down, and as is clear in most current political issues, the devil is usually in the details. I think that to be successful in persuading people to change their minds on important issues like this, you must appeal to their intelligence rather than employing the faith based reasoning of some of the commentaries For me, the most useful section was on Sustainable Development because I felt that the author of the commentary had done a very even handed job of presenting both sides of that particular issue.
Notwithstanding these comments, the commentaries are VERY interesting and did present many new facts which I was hitherto totally unaware of. I am very happy to have acquired the book, and I do recommend it to other readers. I am sure I will read it again , since it does successfully convey a vitally important message - and it is still open on my dining room table.
So much beauty around us we don't notice.......2007-03-21
The author has been able to collate in this book amazing images that will take you many coffees to sit and go through.
This isn't a tiny book.
If you want to exercise then this is a hefty book that is worth its weight.
The images taken from all over the planet aren't just of pretty clean items but the author has been able to show beauty in even the ugliest of images. This will be a book your friends will want to borrow and possibly keep, if you lend it to them. tell them to get their own. You will see why when you review it.
Great Pictures.......2007-03-11
I saw the exhibition a couple of years ago in Lyon, France. Big sized pictures hanging all over town with explaning text beside it. Too bad the books there were, what else?, in French. When I saw this book @ Amazon, I bought it straight away. When you look at the pictures you think: what a great job this guy has. Gets to visit the best spots on this planet and makes great pictures of them too. Just recently, end of 2006, I saw a new exhibition in Amsterdam with some familiar pics and some new ones. Too bad there wasn't a book with all new pics, It would have been another great asset.
Book Description
In late September 2005, Robert Polidori traveled to New Orleans to record the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina and by the city's broken levees. He found the streets deserted, and, without electricity, eerily dark. The next day he began to photograph, house by house: "All the places I went in, the doors were just open. They had been opened by what I collectively call Ithe army,' of maybe 20 National Guards from New Hampshire, 15 policemen from Minneapolis, 20 firefighters from New York... On maybe half of them or a third of them that I went in, I think that the occupants had been there prior. And some of them did leave certain funeral-like mementos before they left. Maybe right after the waters receded they had the chance to just--to go back to their place and just see, and realize there's nothing worth saving." Amidst all this, Polidori has found something worth saving, has created mementos for those who could not return, documenting the paradoxically beautiful wreckage. In classical terms, he has found ruins. The abandoned houses he recorded were still waterlogged as he entered and as he learned (by trial and error, a process that including finding a dead body) the language of signs and codes in which rescue workers had spray-painted each house's siding. He sees the resulting photographs as the work of a psychological witness, mapping the lives of the absent and deceased through what remains of their belongings and their homes.
Customer Reviews:
Katrina as Art.......2007-03-13
Silt has rendered a wonderous, pale beauty to the interior carnage of New Orlean's homes. Polidoris's project, a subsequentc 'invasion' of these domains, places on public record their devastation. It's a case of supreme technical skill, enshrining an ephemeral disaster. The denizens have hastily evacuated, leaving Polidori to rut in the trough of the city's ruin. Here, in one haunting page after another, the tidal muds that have rudely piled cars beneath houses in tragically asymmetrical congress, are made warm and close. It's relentless. You can almost handle the poignant detritus. We're led first through the haunting streets of uprooted poles, trees and weathereboards, of twisted metal. Then the rooms, the hearts and minds of individual suffering. Not snap-happy journalistic sensationalism, but hypnotically constructed images whose frozen testimonies have more permanence than the rented edifices they record. Polidori knows where to stand amidst the wreckage: his camera an unerring eye delving near and distantly with disturbing clarity. It is the very silence that entrances with singular eloquence and gravity. The wind and tide have subsided, but the havock endures in sulphurous washes and surreal configuration which 1000 installation artists would greet as a great funereal statement that transcends collective imagination. In a word, awesome, the currency of the Sublime. Polidori has wrested art from tragedy. Any of its 200 plus large format pages can be poured over for aesthetic reward, the more to dwell on vagabond Nature. Brilliant!
Photography as a "process of revelation".......2007-02-08
"After the Flood", the latest book by French Canadian Photographer, Robert Polidori, about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is also his largest and most powerful. It is as if his books on Havana and Chernobyl were mere foretastes to this exceptional and moving work, and certainly anyone who has seen these two books came away with a feeling of the power and storytelling that Polidori's images can convey. Polidori has the gift of the detailed eye that can simultaneously give the viewer images of beauty and revulsion in objects and textures. These alone tell the stories. There are no images of people necessary. It is as if he is capturing the tracks and shadows that humanity has left behind. He was able to show this in the urban decay of Havana and of the horrors of the rapid evacuation and subsequent reclamation of nature in Chernobyl. In "After the Flood", he presents us with an almost encyclopedic presentation of the aftermath of the hurricane, flooding, wind, water and mud damage showing the fragility of our cities and the power of nature.
The book contains at least 400 images, which have been carefully arranged. The first images show parts of the city still under water and the receding water. The next group shows the destruction caused by water inside the houses. Furniture has been picked up by the flood and re-arranged and we see the effects of water on different materials and soon notice the tell-tale brown lines on the walls, sometimes over six feet high, showing the high water mark. Succeeding groups of images show the effects of mud, water and wind on buildings and cars that have been tossed around at random like toys. Sometimes cars rest against houses in bizarre angles and sometimes the houses are laying on top of the cars. Several pages show smaller images of streets where every house was damaged and abandoned. The last set of images shows the clean up. Mounds of refuse in front of houses, temporary trailers, houses being cleaned and repaired. The effect is very powerful as we see how the lives of hundreds of thousands were affected and how many must have lost everything.
The book can only give a taste of the incredible detail the images contain. In a recent exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art they could be seen as the original prints, each at about 40" by 54". They were taken with a large camera and according to Polidori with no lighting, as there was no electricity available at the time the shots were taken and lighting would have been to cumbersome in cramped and sometimes dangerous conditions. Only time exposures could show the incredible detail, which Polidori refers to as the "process of revelation". He call his work "a constant learning process", and anyone who looks at this book will not only learn, but will also ask questions as to how a disaster of this magnitude was possible, and to our place on this earth and our future here.
Review by Walter O. Koenig
Average customer rating:
- Received from Pendant Publishing
- Great
- Interest Piece
- Perfect for either spiritual collections or art libraries strong in modern photography.
- Bible Road
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Bible Road: Signs of Faith in the American Landscape
Sam Fentress
Manufacturer: David & Charles Publishers
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House of Worship: Sacred Spaces in America
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![Bolivian Baroque [includes DVD] [Hybrid SACD]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00079RNEU.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
Bolivian Baroque [includes DVD] [Hybrid SACD]
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FSA: The American Vision
ASIN: 0715326856 |
Book Description
Over the last 25 years while driving through 49 states, Sam Fentress encountered thousands of religious signs along America's highways, city streets and country roads. With over 150 images from every region of the country, Bible Road: Signs of Faith in the American Landscape is his photographic chronicle of what he discovered on beauty salon windows, highway pylons, silos and burger joint marquees. Aware that photographers Walker Evans, Berenice Abbott, Robert Frank, and others had only partially documented the subject, Fentress embarked on this remarkable and singular typology of roadside evangelism in America.
Customer Reviews:
Received from Pendant Publishing.......2007-09-20
The pictures are amazing. My Mother-In-Law loved it! I bought this book as -new- from Pendant Publishing and was very pleased on how fast this item arrived in perfect condition.
Great.......2007-08-14
I love it and everyone that has viewed it loved it as well. It shows faith exist. It's neat to see the word of God in places you wouldn't think.
Interest Piece.......2007-06-09
This book appeals to many people. The book has been picked up by many people at our house. They only put it down if they finish it or need to leave before they can finish it. I think people just want to see what signs are posted out there that we might stumble across one day. The photography is very good and it is an easy read.
Perfect for either spiritual collections or art libraries strong in modern photography........2007-05-19
BIBLE ROAD: SIGNS OF FAITH IN THE AMERICAN LANDSCAPE features photos by Sam Fentress in full color and represents the photographer's last few decades of travel, crossing over forty states photographing thousands of religious signs along America's highways and city streets. His photography embraces works from churches, bikes, walls, and even stocks and looks for religious messages in even unlikely places, both urban and rural, making for a striking survey of religious messages in modern culture. Perfect for either spiritual collections or art libraries strong in modern photography.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Bible Road.......2007-05-12
This book is well done and it clearly indicates that our politicians can remove God from our schools, our court buildings, our state buildings and even our money, but not from our hearts and minds.
Average customer rating:
- An amazing book!
- Lanting impresses again!
- High impact book, but...
- LIFE: A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME by Frans Lanting
- Life: A journey Through Time
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Life: A Journey Through Time
Manufacturer: Taschen
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Life 2008 Diary (2008 Desk Diary)
ASIN: 3822839949 |
Book Description
Planet earth, home sweet home
In the year 2000, world-renowned wildlife photographer Frans Lanting set out on a personal journey to photograph the evolution of life on earth. He made pilgrimages to true time capsules like a remote lagoon in Western Australia, spent time in research collections photographing forms of microscopic life, and even found ways to create visual parallels between the growth of organs in the human body and the patterns seen on the surface of the earth. The resulting volume is a glorious picture book of planet earth depicting the amazing biodiversity that surrounds us all. Lanting's true gift lies beyond his technical mastery: it is his eye for geometry in the beautiful chaos of nature that allows him to show us the world as it has never been seen before. From crabs to jellyfish, diatoms to vast geological formations, jungles to flowers, monkeys to human embryos, LIFE is a testament to the magical beauty of life in all its forms and is Lanting's most remarkable achievement to date.
Customer Reviews:
An amazing book!.......2007-06-08
If you are not familiar with Franz Lanting's work this is an amazing first book to buy. It is full of stunning photos of a close approximation of the earth as it once was.
As has been said it makes a great coffee table book but is also a great addition to any library. For all the nature and photography enthusiasts out there, here is a great intro!
Lanting impresses again!.......2007-05-17
This is a wonderful book! The photographs are simply stunning and the layout of the book is great. This is an excellent sample of Lanting's work.
High impact book, but..........2007-05-13
Definately an impressive volume. Big, bold and generally with superb pictures. Also a nice concept book- the pursuit of time and change through photos of life and its diversity. However, for a book of this production quality (and it's very high), I was surprised with the number and degree of colour enhanced images and the lack of interpretation - either of the subjects (and their relationship to the theme of time) or of the technical aspects of the photography and the story behind the photographs (for the photo nerds amongst us!). To be fair, Lanting does provide single paragraph descriptions for each photo, but these seem like an after thought enforced by the publisher. Maybe writing is not Lanting's thing, pity, because his photography is impressive. Alternatively, I might have bought the wrong type of book: If you want something visually stunning to leave open on the coffee table, then buy it- it was a better deal than that offered by shops here in NZ!
W.C.
New Zealand
LIFE: A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME by Frans Lanting.......2007-02-26
Having followed Lanting's photo career since the origin of Nature Photographers of North America, we anxiously awaited his Life book and were not disappointed. Here is represented the beginnings of earth, after the Big Bang, and the geological results.
Life: A journey Through Time.......2007-01-16
This book is very interesting. The pictures offer a very special vision of our planet.
Book Description
A look at the history of Miami, with stunning contemporary and historic photography and captions describing the development of this famous city. Part of the highly successful "Then and Now" series, this book looks at the changes in this exciting city.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful photos and interesting history.......2007-03-10
Being both a history buff and having grown up and lived in Miami for 20 years, I could certainly appreciate the spirit of this book. Miami is currently synonymous in popular media and culture with clubs and partying, sexy people and celebrities, and hip shops (even though this image is more descriptive of Miami Beach and South Beach rather than the city of Miami itself). Despite it being a relatively young city, though, it is still rich in its own history and thankfully this book goes beyond the present glossy, superficial party image of the city and transports the reader back to a simpler and more wholesome time. This is Miami how its founders and earliest residents knew it. Most of the "before" pictures date from the 20's and 30's, and it is really fascinating to see how things have changed. As I said, I grew up in Miami and there are places shown in the book that I never even knew existed, such as the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple and the Coral Gables Rock House. I am glad that the author explores not only downtown Miami and Miami Beach, but devotes pages of photos to other neighborhoods around Miami such as Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Little Havana, and even Opa Locka and Hialeah (being a Hialeah native myself, I would have liked to see more than just the one picture of the racetrack, but that is my own personal bias). While the book is certainly complete, I feel maybe too many pages were devoted to certain places, such as Coral Gables and Coconut Grove for example, and perhaps some of that coverage could have been reduced and made room for other places to be shown. I am glad that the author explores little known places familiar to residents and not just the touristy areas that visitors would know, but on the other hand, some of these are a little too obscure and I would have also liked to have seen what was in some of those touristy areas, such as Bayside, the zoo, major malls, etc. Just because of those little complaints I give the book four stars, but if you don't care about these, then this might as well be 5 stars and it is still a highly recommended book.
Miami Then and Now.......2006-03-07
Having grown up in Miami, I found the book particularly interesting. The pictures were excellent. I thought the captions could have been a bit more informative.
Miami preconstruction boom and Investment.......2004-10-20
Execellent book - highly recommended, but get down here and see for yourself - what's happening to the Miami is magical and really a golden opportunity for all. Over the next few years Miami's Skyline will be transformed as builders and investors seek billions in pre-construction investments to turn the city into a the epicenter of the region.
http://realestate.1stmiami.com
Captiving Photo Book.......2003-09-16
If you have lived in Miami or have an affinity toward Miami, this is a must-have book. Few people in Miami like Arva Moore Parks have taken the time to document the City's rich history as the fastest-growing metropolis in the United States over the last 100 years. The "then and now" photos offer splendid matches, with interesting and informative historical notes in the caption. Great coffee-table book too!
Memories.......2003-04-06
I was born and reared in Miami, the fourth generation of my Pioneer South Florida family. I was delighted with this book, it brought back so many memories.
The old photographs are gems, and the descriptions well written and informative. I enjoyed the "then" pictures with the "now", in some instances they are almost unbelievable, the Coconut Grove Womens Club little Club House which I went to frequently is a good example, long may it survive!
Book Description
Over the past decade, the noted Dutch photographer Bert Teunissen has documented hundreds of old European homes and the dignified, often elderly people who inhabit them. He seeks out rudimentary, yet cultured settings aglow with a warm, timeless atmosphere; spaces with a very particular quality of natural light. Old World details crowd the frame of each image: ornate wallpaper, ancestral portraits, home-cured hams hung from exposed beams and decorative dishware proudly displayed on mantels. These homes were built before the World Wars, before electricity was a standard feature, a time when sunlight played a pivotal role in the conception of architecture. Teunissen renders these last vestiges of old Europe with a palette and a sensitivity to light that recalls, with astonishing sensitivity, Dutch masters like Vermeer and Rembrandt. At first glance, one might easily mistake any one of them for a Renaissance painting. They are certainly some of the most remarkable and intimate architectural portraits of recent years. The body of work captured in Domestic Landscapes, Teunissen's first monograph, dovetails with two traditions: the use of the camera to record cultural vestiges and a strain of portraiture that looks at subjects in their own environs. Made in numerous countries, including the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Italy, France, Great Britain, Spain, and Portugal, Teunissen's poignant photographs capture and record an architecture--and a way of life--that is quickly disappearing.
Book Description
Recollections, John Sexton's highly anticipated fourth book, invites the viewer into contemplative landscapes and human-made environments filled with vibrant luminosity. Seen through Sexton's eyes, his subjects are transformed into images of tranquility, wonder, and mystery. From the purity of a fresh snowfall in Yosemite Valley to the enigmatic rock forms of the Colorado Plateau, Sexton explores the subtle nuances of details rather than grand vistas.
Scheduled for publication by Ventana Editions in October 2006, every detail of the project has been supervised by Sexton. The book has been elegantly designed by Cliff Rusch, and the large-format, black and white images have been magnificently reproduced on luxurious heavyweight paper by Dual Graphics. The fifty-five images included in Recollections-none of which have appeared in Sexton's previous books-provide moving testimony to his love of light and his dedication to revealing the beauty of the planet.
In addition to the stunning reproductions, Recollections includes an illuminating foreword by well-known curator, writer, and photographer Arthur Ollman, as well as an engaging personal afterword by respected photographer Ray McSavaney. In his photographer's notes, John Sexton relates adventures and challenges encountered while working in the field and in the darkroom. Marked by the same excellence in printing and design as Sexton's three previous
award-winning books, Quiet Light, Listen to the Trees, and Places of Power, Recollections promises an equally memorable experience.
Customer Reviews:
Flame away.......2007-06-14
One cannot help but marvel at Sexton's technique but I'm afraid most of the images in this beautifully printed book leave me cold. This isn't to say there aren't some exquisite images herein (the cover and plate 40 for example). This is my third Sexton book so I consider I've paid my dues.
Light and Shadow.......2007-05-17
Sure, John ist one of the famoust living photographer on this planet. Sure, the quality of the printings in this book is stunning, fantastic and impressing. Very rich tonality and finest structures and details. Sure, some of his photos with an deep impact, for example "Fallen Trees", "Rock forms and roaring River" or "Reseding Doorways". On the other hand there are some so lala photos for example "Snow covered Slopes" or " Geologic Conundrum". But I'am sorry I have to say some pictures are dissapointed me like "Painted Window" or "Cathedral Alcove",
And some pictures we have seen for many times before: the golden gate bridge, antelope canyon, paria canyon, o.k. in b/w it's an other point of view.
The picture shows the wide range of John's images and gives us a great cross-section from his work.
Sure, people who are interested in b/w photography need to buy this book, the same is for John Sexton fans.
But in my opinion not one of the best b/w books there are light and shadow. I recommended Michael Kenna, Josef Hoflehner or Mapplethorpe
Disappointed.......2007-05-15
With all the recommendations by photographers whom I respect, I expected something wonderful. But there are no great images in it, only the dust cover and another of Corn Flower leaves (oh Jesus, not more cornflowers!) are better than ordinary camera club show and tell. Perhaps the quality of his prints makes up for the blandness and sameness of the imagery shown here. If this is the best he has done after 30 years, then it's time to get another dayjob.
This will be the first time that I've ever taken advantage of Amazon's liberal return policy.
Spectacular!.......2007-01-17
Yesterday we received your "Recollections" book. What a glorious collection of images to enhance the world of fine art photography! One page is more spectacular than the other. In these days when traditional photography seems to be headed towards the sunset, your artistry promises a new sunrise.
Gordon & Marilyn Bowie
Boise, ID
Great book and presentation.......2007-01-16
Gave as a gift to an amateur photographer. He immediately began reading it and has commented numerous times how much he likes it.
Average customer rating:
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Natural Light: Visions of British Columbia
Manufacturer: Harbour Publishing
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1550172735 |
Book Description
From frosted mountain peaks to the low-lying farmlands of the Fraser Valley, from the Sahara-like sand dunes of Farwell Canyon to the dripping, moss-bedecked rainforests of the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia is a province of startling contrasts. Its beauty has inspired many photo collections, but none quite like David Nunuk's.
Natural Light is a spectacular, jaw-dropping collection of Nunuk's best photographs of British Columbia in all its moods, accompanied by his often wry observations about the settings and his unorthodox methods of capturing them. In the tradition of Wade Davis, Nunuk writes about his experience hiking into an area, planning a shot and digging in patiently until the light and weather co-operate to make the perfect picture. He becomes intimate with the subtle variants in a landscape over an hour, a day, a month or a minute before he captures the images with his camera. His pictures are composed with a naturalist's eye for scientific detail and an outdoorsman's affection and respect for nature.
From the warm Mediterranean tones of an Okanagan vineyard to the crystalline twinkle of an ice cave, the striking radiance of Natural Light makes this luxuriously produced, oversize coffee-table book the perfect gift for lovers of outdoor photography, naturalists, armchair travellers or anyone who wants to see BC in a dramatic new--and entirely natural--light.
Book Description
•Many digital cameras come equipped with close-up features—but few users understand them •Combines two of the hottest topics in photography today: digital and nature •Perfect companion to Digital Nature Photography. Some 59.3 million digital cameras will be sold this year—and most come fully equipped with close-up features that let users get up close and personal with all the wonders of nature, from birds and trees to flowers and insects to underwater plants and fish. But few buyers know how to get the most from these exciting features. Digital Nature Photography Closeup lets everyone—from amateurs on up—harness this new macro power to create truly breathtaking nature photography. The author offers advice on purchasing and using all manner of special macro equipment, i.e., lenses, extension tubes, teleconverters, microscopes, etc. In this logical follow-up to his best-selling Digital Nature Photography, author Jon Cox uses doszens of full-color examples and clear explanations to illustrate exactly how he got that shot—and how other photographers can, too. From basic techniques, to action shots, aquarium and underwater photography, even shooting through a microscope, Digital Nature Photography Closeup is the perfect guide to exploring the fascinating world of nature.
Customer Reviews:
Expecting too much!.......2007-04-28
Maybe I was expecting too much from this book based on a fairly excellent customer reviews at amazon. I maybe expecting too much cause because to my surprise, the book dealt with point and shoot aside from DSLR cameras. I was kind of disappointed with that. I own a Nikon D200 and a Nikon 105mm f2.8 macro lens to learn the art of macrophotography and to my surprise coolpix camera shots were there....honestly i was turned off with that! If you are expecting a purely DSLR macrophotography on this book you may have to look elsewhere! I felt that there was something missing in this book. I know some of you out there knows what I mean...it lacks some oomph!!
Digital Nature Photography Closeup.......2007-04-02
This writer put some very nice photos into his book. He lists the camera and lens that he made the shots with but not the camera settings he used, which would be helpful to someone learning the art.
This is a beautiful book.......2007-02-16
This book is exactly as it says on the back cover....A Complete Guide to Macro Digital Nature Photography. And well done. Well worth my investment.
Polished, but basic.......2006-10-30
I've noticed a problem with specialized photography books: not enough specialized information. Digital Nature Photography Closeup is well organized, clearly written and very attractively designed with some striking photography. Unfortunately, more than half of the book is devoted to basic photo equipment and concepts.
What I've wanted - and have yet to find - is a book on macro photography that assumes I have basic or intermediate photo skills and want to extend them into a new space. The chapters of the book are:
- Equipment
- Camera features and techniques
- Light & Color
- Composition
- Flash
- Working with Histograms
- The Digital Darkroom
It could be the outline of almost any photo book - and much of the content in each is applicable to any photography, not macro in particular.
If you're relatively new to digital SLRs and have an interest in closeup photography, you'll probably get a full meal here. If you're beyond the basics, it's not much more than a light snack. Well presented, but not very filling.
Digital Nature Photography Closeup.......2006-08-29
This book only covers the basics of macro photography and is suitable for 'newbies' at photography. Book and pictures are average quality. Experienced (macro) photographers should look further for technique and inspriration.
Average customer rating:
- Exquisite and Haunting Landscape Photography
- moving photos
- seeing through the opaqueness
- Transcendent Images
- Magnificent and complex
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Deep South
Sally Mann
Manufacturer: Bulfinch
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Mann, Sally
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ASIN: 0821228765 |
Book Description
This evocative collection by internationally acclaimed photographer Sally Mann is a masterful reinvention of the art of landscape photography. Sally Mann remains among the most innovative, talked-about, and daring artists working with a camera today. DEEP SOUTH is a much anticipated collection of her exquisite, ethereal landscape photographs, taken in the years since she rose to international fame with her groundbreaking book Immediate Family. The photographs in DEEP SOUTH, many produced with the 19th-century collodion process and a variety of toning techniques, capture what Mann calls the radical light of the American South. Borrowing methods favored by early masters of landscape photography, Mann bends classic craftsmanship to serve the expressive needs of a heightened contemporary sensibility. Serendipitous technical imperfections, such as light leaks or scratches on negatives, echo the accidental, chaotic workings of time. From ghostly images of historic battlefields to painterly visions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, and her native Virginia, Manns landscape photographs transport the viewer to another time and place.
Customer Reviews:
Exquisite and Haunting Landscape Photography.......2007-01-12
Landscape photography has never spoken to me until this book. Sally Mann has created gorgeously abstract and ethereal images of the south and has coupled it with very eloquent text. It has forever changed the way I feel about landscape photography. If straight up landscape photography isn't your thing, by all means give this book a chance.
moving photos .......2006-11-22
I am again deeply moved and awed by Sally Mann's work. Using older photo processes, combined with a deep seeing, these photos create a sense of place that I can feel as well as see. Ms. Mann also writes beautifully about these images and the people and place she is photographing. Though I shoot digitally, I am still inspired and in some ways try to emulate what I'm seeing here
I like the imperfections of these images, but if you want bright colors and tack sharp images, these my not be for you.
David.
seeing through the opaqueness.......2006-04-25
whether this is Mann's best work it certainly is the most thought-provoking, when you think of the Deep South, you think of a place much like Stravinsky's Russia,Eastern Europa,or parts of New York State intolerant,class-orineted;superstitious,but also one that savors progess and the science of the image, the sensual,the evocative,but a place also defeated,Appomattox, that really has takened long to live with, in fact defeat is covered everyday in the macho-isms that has been part of popular strains in music.
The opaqueness-es of Mann's reveals a fascinating abstraction,touched daguertypes, I don't know the correct technical affiliation,and that takes you someplace,it has rails to take you someplace,but more like an archeologist for you do merely sit and stare,and examine closely; where you need to decipher the layers of history,meanings seems to be held in abeyance for now, suspended the layers of reference, and this might be difficult for someone who has not really lived in these places, in Virginia,Antietam and Manassas, but these are works of art nonetheless you return, Mann does draw you into her work; to again and again and you cannot say that for other of post-modern forms, yes these are manipulations as if Mann had lived herself in the Civil War,as a recluse held up in a forgotten city, as Knoxville or as the viewer had lived then and these are remnants of this discovery.
Her photos are of natural landscapes, spots, where the horizon quickly becomes blurred, it is not the sense of things to have perspective here,merely one image, one-dimensional,like her subject matter is some respects; yet placed with layers of hue, mists,nebuli and filigrees of time,durations and their ruins,we see decapying Greek columns,made of wood, with chipped paint, white of course,now deteriorating like those of an ancient time in the USA, but we know the time of here where we live, lost civilizations, or Persopolis.
Curious how you really cannot find these works beautiful unless you know something about history USA for that matter,and then their beauty is arresting for a moment;Mann's voice here speaks within a distance,like the faces of her children in her previous work, a voice once or twice removed, here a voice that has no resonance; or if you have followed the forms and shapes of the human spirit, you come to understand these photos. Mann has created a work that can stand alone in a void, they refer to a time, well no one today knows from real experience,perhaps Toni Morrison's "Beloved" has some resonance here but only from a great distance between her prose in parametrical time exposed as you read. Mann has found a way between representation and abstraction two of the paradigms of the 20th Century,the late Kirk Varnedoe had wanted to devote a study to this very subject, why the two have persisted throughout a century, or barely less than one. You also not only come to understand the South, but most places where such similar occurences have takened place. The American Civil War seems closer in a way, like these places are icons, yet not icons that form a critique with them,asking questions, there are no special spiritual places, here only where men have died, slaughtered along with mosquitoes and peaceful trees, Magnolias gently alive to witness the human condition.
Transcendent Images.......2005-11-22
Mann is one of the very most gifted photographers of our time. In her landscape work, she finds the perfect marriage of technique and subject matter--marrying the processes of 19th-century photography and historic lenses to the subject matter of great sites of the South, the profound and mysterious ways in which site carries memory. In doing so she has created images that seem to derive from our own memories, carrying the ghostly presences of the past, embodying something we hold in our minds while adding something distinctly new as well. Mann's are transcendent, glorious photographs that should be examined and appreciated by anyone with a discerning eye for great work from our own time.
Magnificent and complex.......2005-10-29
This is certainly Mann's best work. The landscapes seem destilled from both southern history as well as intimate and collective dreamworlds - both beautiful and intimidating. Look for a truly transcendental image that depicts a wooded landscape scarred by some kind of disaster. The image merges with the scarred emulsion of the glass plate to form a scull like shape that seems to expand into a fragment from and infinite outer space. An ambiguous, singular and extremely rewarding work of art.
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