Customer Reviews

Frans Lanting: Jungles (Jumbo)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

"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 Lanting

This 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 Pigeon

Raindrops on Leaf, Peru

Rainforest Sunrise, Borneo

Fern, Borneo

Waterfalls, Brazil

Swimming Snake, Madagascar

Palm Savannah, Brazil

Great Argus Pheasant Plumage

Nightjar, Belize

Lichen Katydid, Borneo

Scarlet Ibis Bathing

Urania Moth, Peru

Proboscis Monkey, Borneo

Mount Kinabalu, Borneo

Pitcher Plant Growth, Borneo

Chameleon, Madagascar

Tree Ferns, Australia

Butterflies on Sneaker, Peru

After 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!

This is really an excellent portfolio with some stunning photography that really inspires one. I am a fan of Lanting's work and this book does not dissapoint.

My only issue is not with Lanting, but rather with Taschen (the publisher). The book is really very poorly bound and the glue just does'nt seem to hold the book together. This is not just an isolated case with my copy. I found that most of the copies (even those on the bookstore shelves) that I handled has this problem. I must say that this is quite dissapointing work from Taschen.

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.

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.

As a nature phototgrapher, Frans Lanting is my teacher, yes you could think I am crazy but no the best way for me to learn about nature photography is looking at his photos, he is really the best. Jungles, is an unbeliable work, he really can show what he fells when he is there in the jungle. One more time this book is that kind of bokk that everybody should have on his tea table, thank you Frans to let us share your moments with the nature world.

Quite a collection of brilliant pictures of the world's jungles. Insects on the tip of leaves - a snake swimming across a lake - beautiful flowers - misty forest landscapes - it's all there. While many of the pictures have a definite natural history interest to them, this book is not an identification guide to jungle animals. Rather the photographs transport moods and atmospheres, you can almost smell the wet rain forest soil when looking at them. It's really hard to describe how poetic Lanting's pictures are without resorting to cliches - I can only recommend that anyone interested in nature photography look for himself.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys photography, animals, scenery, and just beautiful magical things. Franz Lanting is able to capture images from the real world but in a way that makes them seem not of this world.

Not only are the pictures a work of art but the book itself is contructed so that it too feels like a masterpiece. An oversized book that just feels good to hold in your hands and each new section in the book is seperated by lovely, transparant vellum.

Treat yourself or someone you love and buy this book!

Everyone knows that Frans Lanting is a fantastic wildlife photographer. With this wonderful book he impressively shows what's possible if you know a lot about what you photograph and if you know how to photograph. This book is really terrific.

I also got the 2001 calendar which will be very difficult to replace in 2002 regarding picture size and quality.