Customer Reviews

Bear Portraits

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have a bear fetish going on at present, and my bro also loves them, and I got him this book for his birthday.

It is a beautifully produced volume, and to be able to see the myriad subtle moods and expressions of these awesome beasts, often described as unpredictable because of their supposed lack of visible emotion, is a fantastic treat.

Mere personal opinion: I know it is her trademark "look", but I feel Ms. Greenberg's work loses a lot of impact because of its extreme post-production fiddling and heavy Photoshop treatment; I feel that she has gilded the lily. Eye-whites are too white, dribble is removed, fur is cleaned and softened... the well-intentioned graphic idealization is obvious and the bears are too sanitized and even seem artificial in spots. Some even look like illustrations, so far removed are they from the original photo. This is a great shame. It imposes a distance between observer and bear, when the idea should to be to close that gap. If I went on a date with a real bear who had sent me a Greenberg portrait of himself as means of introduction, I'd feel let down, and then I'd sit down with him and discuss his unwarranted poor self-esteem. Bears- we love you as you are, with your rough edges, red eyes, bed hair and slobber. Don't go changin'.

Bear Portraits by Jill Greenberg captures trained bears in unbelievable poses. The stars of the book are: Agee, polar bear; Ali Oop, Kodiak; Amos, European Brown Bear Cub; Barney, Kodiak; Betty, Kodiak; Bonkers, Black Bear; Brett, Black Bear; Cheyenne, Russian Brown Bear; Koda, Grizzly; Max, Black Bear; Ursula, Kodiak; and Whopper, Kodiak. Page after extraordinary page of this remarkable book features bears as never seen before.

Each portrait demonstrates that bears "are magnificent creatures of immense power, emotion and beauty." Some bears are caught in reflection, while others enjoy "cutting up" for the camera. Some bears are depicted in full fury, while others appear to be gentle giants. Some bears are shot so close that one can check the bear's teeth for cavities! And the baby photos of Amos the 40 pound brown bear cub are irresistible!

Greenberg declares that "bears can be simple, sometimes savage animals, but they have as much right to survival on this planet as we do." Thanks to the arresting images in Bear Portraits many will be inclined to agree!

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (November 3, 2009), 104 pages

Advance review copy provided courtesy of the publisher.

Bear Portraits by Jill Greenberg is a delightful book full of glorious, almost unbelievable, portraits of all sorts of bears

Jill Greenberg has been an avid photographer since the age of 10 where she would stage photographs and create characters using various mediums. Jill's ability to take creative, fun, serious, touching and emotional evoking portraits is the secret to her success.

As soon as I opened the box to view the book, I was in awe and immediately ran over to my two girls and sat them down to review it with me. They were beyond happy and were elated in seeing all these amazing portraits. Some of the poses were so unreal; they appeared to be more like stuffed animals or drawings. She truly is an astounding photographer to be able to capture the unique essence of these miraculous animals in various poses.

They both went "ohhhh" and "ahhhhh" over the baby cubs and my two year old particularly loved the cub drinking from a "ba-ba." I'm not sure what was more fun, seeing the various bears in their most adorable, but some scary poses or watching the girl's obvious fascination and adoration to this great book.

A special bonus in the back of the book contains all the bear's names which is so cute for little kids to see that each has their own name.

I would highly recommend this book to an animal lover, a photographer, a nature admirer or anyone with kids. This is a great way to see bears in a completely different light.

I love the work of Jill Greenberg, and highly recommend this collection of glorious color portraits of twelve different bears ranging from Brett, a twelve pound black bear cub, to Koda, a 1,600 pound Grizzly. Greenberg manages to capture the intelligence, inquisitiveness, and power of these magnificent animals as few other photographers ever could, and I highly enjoyed her efforts. Why only four stars, then? This was a tough call for me (I would have liked the ability to give the book four and a half stars), but some of the photos seemed so sanitized with computer software that they lost some of the natural qualities that make the bears fascinating in the first place. Despite that drawback I love this collection and highly recommend it.

Bear Portraits

Ever since I was a child, I've been fascinated by "wild animals." Bears were among my special favorites. But the images that I had of bears were from wild life shows - usually grizzlies catching fish with their paws or koola bears in trees, pandas surrounded by bamboo in a zoo or polar bears on ice - or from cartoons. Even the live bears that I'd peered at in zoos were some distance away. Jill Greenberg's Bear Portraits gives the unique opportunity to study bears' faces at close range.

In Bear Portraits, Jill Greenberg shares photos of 12 very different bears - a Polar Bear, a European Brown Bear, a Russian Brown Bear, several Kodiak Bears, a Grizzly Bear, a Black Bear. All these bears had been raised in captivity and learned to view their owners as their family. The bears were accustomed to people and filming. These deadly bears were able to sit, stand and growl silently on cue. The close shots and artificial lighting gives us a chance to see close up the different faces of these amazing bears.

These are the twelve bears that you'll meet in Jill Greenberg's Bear Portraits:

(1) Agee, a polar bear weighing 800 pounds at a height of 7 feet whose credits include Mystery, Alaska, and Out Cold;

(2) Ali Oop, a Kodiak Bear weighing 1,400 pounds at a height of over 8 feet whose credits include Grizzly Falls, Wild America, Dr. Doolittle 2, and The Last Trapper;

(3) Amos, a 4 month old European Brown Bear weighing 40 pounds and had been on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno;

(4) Barney, a Kodiak Bear weighing 1,000 pounds at a height of 7.5 feet whose credits include Anchorman, Grizzly Falls and Shoebox Zoo;

(5) Betty, a Kodiak Bear weighing 1,000 pounds at a height of 7 feet and whose credits include Dr. Doolittle 2 and Anchorman;

(6) Bonkers, a Black Bear weighing 600 pounds at a height of over 6 feet and whose credits include Brokeback Mountain, The Sopranos, Gentle Ben 1 & 2;

(7) Brett, a Black Bear cub, weighing 12 pounds at a height of 1 foot on all fours and 30 inches on his hind legs;

(8) Cheyenne, a Russian Brown Bear weighing 180 pounds at a height of 5 feet whose credits include The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Ellen DeGeneres Show;

(9) Koda, a Grizzly Bear weighing 1,600 pounds at a height of 9 feet and whose credits included Grizzly Rage, Snow Dogs, Kevin of the North, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer;

(10) Max, a Black Bear weighing over 400 pounds at a height of six feet and whose credits include Tin Man, Dead Like Me, Dreamcatcher, and Animal Miracles;

(11) Ursula, a Kodiak Bear weighing 850 pounds at a height of 7 feet and whose credits include Anchorman, True Heart, Grizzly Falls, Wild America; and

(12) Whopper, a Kodiak Bear, weighing 1,000 pounds at a height of 7 feet and whose credits include Air Bud 2, Grizzly Falls, Anchorman, Return to Grizzly Mountain and The Last Trapper.

Bear Portraits is a fascinating book of photographs that will surely bring much enjoyment to children and adults alike.

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1 edition (November 3, 2009), 104 pages.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

The grizzly bear is huge and wild,

It has devoured the infant child.

The infant child is not aware

It has been eaten by the bear.

Housman's amusing poem is at least a refreshing change from the sentimentality that we tend to lavish on bears. There is no doubt that a baby bear is one of the most appealing animals in the world. Even adult beasts, with their shambling gait, draw oohs and ahhs of affection out of us. I remember a TV documentary about a polar expedition which contained footage of a polar bear peering in at the explorers through the window. There they were, staring death in the face, but I at least (from my English armchair of course) was still thinking how nice its face was.

Jill Greenberg has steered a middle course between this sort of thing and the reality of bears as you would encounter them in their own environment. Her bears do a bit of roaring and rearing as well as being shown in more reposeful attitudes, but the general impression is that they could be entrants in a Prize Bear contest. Their condition is always immaculate. Their fur looks to have been newly groomed, their eyes are bright, their noses are a shiny black and their dental condition is magnificent.

Jill Greenberg is a famous society photographer, and it seems that this volume of snaps is a follow-up to a hit she scored with a parallel book of monkeys. I expect this one will be equally successful, because it treats us to our bears at a safe distance and sanitises out the bits we might not like to be reminded of. There are cutesy little quotes (usually of only vague relevance) interspersed with the plates, and there are enthusiastic statements by assorted celebs and wannabes as well as Jill Greenberg's own preface. One of these had better not be true, where Seth MacFarlane says `This is not your father's book of bear photographs.' I am quite sure my daughter will be delighted with this little surprise on her birthday in 3 weeks' time.

My wife loved this book! Gave it to her as a Christmas gift last year. They have the bears showing different poses and faces, they look almost human. Funny pictures!

Gave this as a gift to a friend who loves bears. This was so well received that she purchased another titled Monkey photos.

Uncanny, adorable, & majestic at the same time as comedic, the photog has either captured or created something amazingly human--or, at least, intelligent--in these charming beasts' moments before the camera.

BEAR PORTRAITS comes from a celebrity portrait photographer who works for such clients as Dreamworks and Sony Pictures, and who here provides a collection of outstanding photos used in Animal Planet's ad campaign, billboards, and more. Striking full-page color photos of bear close-ups capture amazing expressions and offer poses and facial expressions both striking and unique. Photography and natural history libraries will find this a popular patron leisure browse.