Eye to Eye: Intimate Encounters with the Animal World (Jumbo) [Hardcover]

Frans Lanting (Author), Christine Eckstrom (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Jumbo | Publication Date: August 1, 1997

With his camera and telephoto lens, Frans Lanting seeks to act as a go-between to document insights into the animal kingdom for the reader. The book includes over 130 colour photographs as well as three fold-out pages.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Frans Lanting, a Dutch American photographer, delivers yet another extraordinary book drawn from time spent alongside African waterholes, Antarctic beaches, and North Pacific islands, among other locales. Lanting chronicles the lives of residents such as the aye-aye of Madagascar, the elephant seal of California, and the caiman of Brazil. He favors an up-close and personal approach to his work, and his aptly titled Eye to Eye, made up of 140 color plates, captures the essential qualities of various animals. The subjects did not always appreciate posing for him; while making his images Lanting was challenged by African elephants, sniffed at by lions, and shunned by macaws.

From Library Journal

In his introduction, award-winning photographer Lanting states that he seeks to "show the strength and dignity of animals in nature." This book accomplishes that goal, as have his other works (e.g., Okavango, LJ 12/93). One simply cannot look at the photographs here without responding emotionally. The book is divided into three main sections: "One on One," in which the animals are seen individually; "Two by Two," in which pairs of animals come together to eventually become mates and parents; "All in All," in which large congregations are shown, often with a single animal on the opposite page. "Behind the Camera" features brief comments on techniques and equipment, and in "Photographer's Notes," Lanting describes each photograph, the animal, the situation, and/or the animal's reaction to the photographer. His book is meant to be a bridge for those "who will never crouch before an elephant or hunt with lions." Essential for all photography and nature collections.?Nancy J. Moeckel, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, Ohio
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 252 pages
• Publisher: Taschen (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 382287745X
• ISBN-13: 978-3822877456
• Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 10.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,183,055 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mind-blowing wildlife images are captivating and awesome!, September 16, 1999

By 

Lance Williams ([e-mail]) (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eye to Eye: Intimate Encounters with the Animal World (Jumbo) (Hardcover)

I have the pleasure of knowing Frans and Chris and I believe that this is their finest work to date. Page after page of captivating images trasport you to far away lands and bring you up close and personal with your favorite wild animals and many you have never seen before. The quality of their work speaks to their commitment and dedication. This book is for animal lovers AND for anyone who is the least bit interested in some truly mind-bending photography. This book is to be treasured and is one of two books (both by Lanting) on my coffee table.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Face Time, January 28, 2005

By 

Conrad J. Obregon (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Eye to Eye (Hardcover)

Frans Lanting is one of the great wildlife photographers of the world. He has published many books showing wild animals but "Eye to Eye" is certainly one of his most famous. It consists of dramatically close-up photographs of animals, always concentrating on the eyes of the subject.

The book is divided into three parts: "One on One" shows photographs of single animals, often so close that the frame is filled completely with just the animal's eyes. "Two by Two" usually shows pairs of animals, although there are occasional shots of larger groups. Often the pictures are of mother and child, or mates, but a few shots show conflict. "All in All" shows shots of larger groups of animals. The book also contains a two page section called "Behind the Camera" in which Lanting discusses his photographic philosophy but provides few hints that will allow others to copy his style. Finally, perhaps because the text of the main sessions is limited to species name, there is a section of thumbnails with a brief statement concerning the picture. I found this section to be particularly inadequate since I often said to myself "How did he do that?" but got no help in finding an answer.

These are amazing pictures, primarily because Lanting has managed to get so close to his subjects. In a few pictures we can see that that is a result of enlarging and cropping, but in most cases the pictures are sharp enough so that so that we realize he was really close to the animals. Moreover, with a few exceptions, these are not captive animals. I for one would not like to take a picture of a wild lion at a distance of twenty feet. At least one critic has suggested that this book raised the bar for all wildlife photographers, forcing them to get closer to their subjects, and placing more stress upon photographers and subject.

There are moments of great intimacy, particularly in the "Two by Two" section, where the pictures of parent and child tug at our heartstrings. It's hard not to see human characteristics in these photos. The book also benefits from its layout, grouping its subjects by actions. Thus there are pictures of a huge flock of butterflies followed by pictures of ibises, penguins, snow geese, zebras and elephants all purposefully on the move to some destination. I also particularly enjoyed facing pictures of a lion and a leopard, moving toward the centerfold in mirror image.

These are great photographs because the photographer got so close to his subjects. But they are also mostly documentary. Few of the pictures rise to the level where the form rather than the subject makes them art, although I was particularly struck by a picture of Oryxes carefully treading their way across the Namibian sand dunes. But when I compare Lanting's photographs to the work of other wildlife photographers like Art Wolfe, I can see the difference. The pictures in Wolfe's "The Living Wild" show each animal in its environment, where Wolfe was better able to concentrate on the composition of his subjects to create a more artful picture.

Not withstanding this quibble, "Eye to Eye" is a great book, and readers are unlikely to soon forget these close encounters with the other living inhabitants of our planet.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another masterpiece, May 27, 2003

By 

N. Tripp (Oregon, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eye to Eye: Intimate Encounters with the Animal World (Jumbo) (Hardcover)

Frans Lanting does it again in Eye To Eye--a brilliant collection of intimate portraits and daily activities of various animals. Like Jungles, it's a book that no natural photographer should be without. When you can see the individual hairs in a courgar's fur coat, it makes you kind of wonder what it would be like to be that close to one.
Looking at Lanting's work is always like looking through a book of artwork, as if he is the Picasso of photography and we are looking through his masterpieces.