Envisioning Science: The Design and Craft of the Science Image [Paperback]

Felice Frankel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 2004

Science and engineering research must be communicated within the research community and to the general public, and a crucial element of that communication is visual. In Envisioning Science, science photographer Felice Frankel provides a guide to creating dynamic and compelling photographs for journal submissions and scientific presentations to funding agencies, investors, and the general public. The book is organized from the large to small -- from photographing laboratory equipment to capturing new material and biological structures at the microscopic level. Full-color illustrations including many side-by-side comparisons provide an extensive gallery of fine science photography.The book begins with a brief historical overview in a foreword by science educator Phylis Morrison. Frankel discusses technical issues and, just as important, her personal approach to creating images that are both scientifically informational and accessible. This is a handbook that should become a standard tool in all research laboratories.

Editorial Reviews

From Scientific American

Frankel, a science photographer and research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, presents "a guide to photographing science material." As that alone, it would be of limited interest. But two other attributes give the book a far broader appeal. One is her goal of encouraging science workers "to find a place in your research for a new way of seeing and presenting your work" so as to see "the potential of using your images to communicate to those outside the research community." The other is the pictures, a stunning array that will communicate with any reader. Open the book at random, and your eye will be dazzled: a three-centimeter drop of ferrofluid, gold on gold (one-centimeter patterned chips on a gold wafer), or a flowerlike yeast colony illuminated by daylight from a window.

Editors of Scientific American --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Felice Frankel has produced a remarkable book about marrying pictorial art with science and engineering. The figures are a delight to the eye and stimulation to the brain. What's more, she explains how you can create your own."--Phillip A. Sharp, Institute Professor and Director of the McGovern Institute, MIT, Nobel Laureate in Medicine (1993)

"... a beautifully designed array of arresting images." Dee Breger Nature.com

"A valuable resource for researchers trying to get the best picture they can of their findings." Michael Felton Today's Chemist at Work

"...[a] truly remarkable book." G.I. Barenblatt Physics Today

"...an art object as well as a lab hand-book...as good a workbook as any you will find." J. Turney The Times Higher Education Supplement

"Envisioning Science can help you, your students and your trainees to produce engaging illustrations." Lee A. Meserve TRENDS ni Endocrinology and Metabolism

"Frankel's is a practical handbook that combines stunning pictures with descriptive text." Wendy Winn Technical Communication

"Here's an important new guide to photographing scientific material and creating accurate yet dramatic photographic presentations." Angelynn Grant Design Annual

"The text is highlighted by hundreds of stunning examples and detailed instructions." Science News

"There's no way to describe this book other than as a true teacher's gift - a master photographer of the art of science teaches her craft, with patience, graphic detail, and feeling to all of us who need to visualize and represent this world." Roald Hoffmann , Frank H. T. Rhodes Professor of Humane Letters, Cornell University, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (1981)

"This is as good a workbook as any you will find." J. Turney The Times Higher Education Supplement

"There's no way to describe this book other than as a true teacher's gift--a master photographer of the art of science teaches her craft, with patience, graphic detail, and feeling to all of us who need to visualize and represent this world."--Roald Hoffmann, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (1981), author of *The Same and Not the Same*Please note: Endorser gives permission to excerpt from quote.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (January 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262562057
• ISBN-13: 978-0262562058
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 6.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #622,689 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Science photographer Felice Frankel is a research scientist in the Center for Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has received awards and grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, among others. Felice was a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design and was awarded the Distinguished Alumna Award at Brooklyn College, CUNY and the Lennart Nilsson Award for Scientific Photography.

For more information: www.felicefrankel.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply wonderful, October 26, 2003

By 

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Envisioning Science: The Design and Craft of the Science Image (Hardcover)

This is at least two different books. The first is simply in the pictures themselves. Frankel's photography complements, even improves the quality of the science with which she works. The scientist's goal is to make new knowledge available, and Frankel has unique talent in doing this visually.

The second book lies in the text around these beautiful pictures. This is an introductory guide to scientific photography. The text will work for a novice as well as a photographer experienced in other kinds of images.

Above all, this is a book about communication - about visual presentation of knowledge. In a chapter of his own, the book's designer makes it clear that the book itself is an example of visual communication.

Perhaps some people think that art and science are somehow opposed to each other. I think such people just don't understand either. This book shows that art and science are complements, perhaps just different ways of finding and sharing new truths.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very useful book for scientists, January 7, 2004

By 

Bruce E. Wilson (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Envisioning Science: The Design and Craft of the Science Image (Hardcover)

I had the opportunity to hear Ms. Frankel at the Materials Research Society meeting and bought the book as a consequence of her talk. Certainly, having heard some of the stories about some of the pictures helps make the book more alive, but I am convinced the book would still be a 5 star one without that advantage.

Ms. Frankel does a good job covering the basics of photography (mostly film, but some digital). She spends a lot of time talking about how to use the image and construct the image to tell the story. My observation is that scientists often don't do a good job getting the image and the story out in a terribly effective way. From the perspective of using images to tell a story (particularly a technical story), this book is by far the best resource I've seen on that subject. I strongly recommend the book to scientists working with images and to those interested in journalism about science.

5.0 out of 5 stars 100 years from now, we'll be talking about this book, September 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Envisioning Science: The Design and Craft of the Science Image (Hardcover)

I first read about this book in the New York Times, and I agree with Mandelbrot's observation that it's a "masterpiece." Frankel's work will have a tremendous impact, not just on science, but on art, design, architecture, aesthetics, and the way we view the world.