Frans Lanting: Jungles

by Frans Lanting

Book Overview

This title shows where the wild things are, from South America to Africa, up close with rainforest flora and fauna. Jungles is a personal exploration of nature in the tropics by master photographer,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 3822863092
• ISBN13: 9783822863091
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Taschen
• Length: 260 Pages
• Weight: 5.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 10.9" x 13.2"

Customer Reviews

Fantastic and inspirational book!

Well,when I was 14-15 years old,I was mostly interested in underwater photography and therefore,I had only a few photo books. But later,my interest for other animals too,grew much larger and therefore,I received this book as a christmas gift from my mother. It was really not a bad book,and it made me love Lanting and buy two more books with his pictures later.It is a huge book,weighing perhaps 1,5 kilograms and with dimensions "14" x "10". It contains 150 photographs of plants and animals living in jungles around the world. Among the animals included are a series of pictures of red macaws in Peru,dancing lemurs of Madagascar,cute little frogs in giant flowers in Borneo,incredibly strang-looking insects of various jungles,bats fishing at night in South America,and the shining eyes of caimans in Brazil. But don`t just look at the animal pictures. The part which I find most inspiring is the jungle habitats. Especially the morning light in Borneo and Peru,and the palm savannah of Brazil. They all look humid and there are fog clouds in the dawin. Very beautifull. The australian jungles look very exciting too. Many pictures,especially of birds,are very windy to make a real impression of the movements of the animals. Lanting`s capability of capturing details of animals has never been as well presented as in this book. Especially in this huge format and double-page photos in the half of the book. Over all,this is a fantastic book recommended to anyone interested in jungles,animals,or just in beautifull natural photography. You`ll be amazed,whoever you are.

A Pictoral Essay: Please Save Our Jungles!

"I . . . show jungles in their natural spendor, and their animal inhabitants with the dignity they deserve." "I want to show what is at stake . . . ." "It is about the feeling of the forest rather than the science of it." -- Frans LantingThis book contains some of the most stunning jungle photography that it has been my pleasure to see. The images contain amazing contrasts between breathtaking vistas and intricate close-ups. The contrasts continue with great use of both stillness and motion. In some cases, very fast exposures capture images that you could never see in real time with the human eye. In all these scenes, you will see incredible detail that will impress you with nature's richness. Mr. Lanting's view is that only by knowing the jungle, can people want to save it. The whole book is designed to serve a conservationist's purpose.You and I could spend a lifetime in the jungle and probably not see a quarter of the stunning images that are here. These photographs are the result of 20 years worth of work in trying conditions all around the world. The photographs are grouped into four sections to emphasize elements of the jungle. "Water and Light" looks at the interplay of these elements with plant and animal life. "Color and Camouflage" looks at the contrasting needs to hide and desire to be seen for procreative purposes. "Anarchy and Order" surveys impressions of growth and movement. "Form and Evolution" shows many wonders of natural selection.My favorites include the following:Victoria's Crowned PigeonRaindrops on Leaf, PeruRainforest Sunrise, BorneoFern, BorneoWaterfalls, BrazilSwimming Snake, MadagascarPalm Savannah, BrazilGreat Argus Pheasant PlumageNightjar, BelizeLichen Katydid, BorneoScarlet Ibis BathingUrania Moth, PeruProboscis Monkey, BorneoMount Kinabalu, BorneoPitcher Plant Growth, BorneoChameleon, MadagascarTree Ferns, AustraliaButterflies on Sneaker, PeruAfter you finish enjoying these marvelous color reveries of the natural world, I suggest you think about how you can help save the jungles. They offer practical benefits (like providing biological diversity, places where life-saving drugs can be found, and offsetting the carbon dioxide build-up) as well as aesthetic ones that we all should take seriously. If you can afford a donation, do that. If you can donate your time, do that. If you can help inform someone else to help, that's a wonderful thing to do as well. Walk and act in beauty!

Perfect

Within a world that seems to reek imperfection and chaos there are moments of perfection -an awe that wakes up the sleepiest of minds. 'Jungles' is one of those precious moments.

A Model of its Kind

This is yet another stunning book from Benedikt Taschen, the German publisher who's given us so much great stuff over the past several years.To my mind this book, Jungles, is a model of what a good picture book should be: Beautiful format and thoughtful design; concise, minimal text and wonderful editing and display of photos, including, at the back, minature versions of all the images with descriptions by the photographer. Lanting and Eckstrom are well served by a sympathetic designer and publisher; it's encouraging to see such hard-won work given the kind of vehicle it deserves.As for the book and its subject, it's breathtaking in every respect. It's an adventure just turning the pages. The overall theme is green, with the fireworks being provided by the amazing birds, flowers, insects and reptiles that Lanting and Eckstrom have encountered in their arduous, rewarding travels.(The shot of a flock of macaws at a clay lick in Peru is just astonishing.)Lanting's text is fascinating, and anyone who's been to the tropics will understand what he means when he says that eventually nature takes over everything, regardless of how careful you are.All in all, this is an exemplary book. And, as with most Taschen efforts, the price is just right; you can find books at three times the price of this one that are ugly, glossy shells compared to Jungles.

Jungles - Where most of us can't venture

As an owner of the spectacular Frans Lanting book "Eye to Eye," I was curious as to whether or not his next book "Jungles" would fall short. It does not. The photographs are a combination of the incredible jungles of the world, along with the creatures that inhabit them. The cover definitely has the "Wow" factor. I've had it on my desk at work for a couple of weeks and it literally has stopped business. People rushing by have caught sight of the cover and then stopped immediately to look page-by-page at the content. As with "Eye to Eye," Jungles has a recap in the back of the book where photographs are miniaturized with a short sentence or two of Lanting's explanation of how he shot the picture. His comments add to the pleasure of looking at the photographs, and I found myself going back again to take a second look at many of them. This would be a wonderful gift book as it would appeal to virtually everyone regardless of interests or age group. It also makes a spectacular coffee table book - a real conversation starter. I loved it!