Magic of Minerals and Rock [Hardcover]

Dirk J. Wiersma (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 27, 2004

Features 135 splendid color photographs, ranges from vast rock-landscapes recorded in Europe, America, Australia, and Iceland right down to finely detailed images of a few square millimeters. Close-ups of crystals, gems, and fossils are alternated with micro-images of the minute textures and patterns that emerge from thin, translucent sections of rocks and minerals. Literally, as well as figuratively Dirk Wiersma, the photographer, ´zooms in` on the subject matter, leading the reader deeper into various spaces of surprising new forms and perspectives, at times abstract, at other times (pseudo)realistic. Brief accompanying texts are written in a style that is accessible and appealing to a general audience, while also providing the necessary factual information.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From reviews of the Dutch-language edition - "…a stunningly illustrated guide to rocks, crystals, geodes, fossils, minerals and all manner of other things geological." Nature "This beautifully illustrated large "library table book"… (is) a worthwhile treasure for browsing… Just wait until you see Wiersma’s oftentimes breathtakingly colorful photographs and his microphotographs…" HGS Bulletin "I never saw a geological book like this, and I probably never will again… It is not just a photo book: one should rather consider it an art book. Photographs as an expression of art; and art with the earth sciences as the object…. They show how well Wiersma manages to discover the beauty of the earth…" J. Sedimentary Research From the reviews: "The author tries to show the beauty of his scientific world to a broad and general public. I think he really succeeded … covering the whole gamma of his working field. As a geologist he shows us … landscapes of splendid rocks and forms, the result of geological processes as mountain formation and erosion. … The merit of the book is the skilful photography and the very artistic composition of the images … ." (Herman Goethals, Geologica Belgica, Vol. 8(1-2), 2005) "This book brings together the author’s fascinations for geology and photography. The photographs range over a scale from whole landscapes down to the microscopic. In the field the rocks can be seen in their natural settings – in mountains, outcrops, riverbeds, on the coast and in quarries. … On the microscopic scale there is yet another universe with finer details and abstractions. … There is a short explanatory text to accompany the plates." (Book News on the Internet, January, 2005) "Photo-artist Wiersma gets up close to geological sparklers and captures them lovingly on large format film. The result is a treasure trove, as his trained eye reveals details, colours, textures and relationships that most of us either miss or take for granted. … This is an ideal present for a geologist, and more serious photographers will appreciate it too." (Nick Chang, Focus, October, 2004)  

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (July 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3540210539
• ISBN-13: 978-3540210535
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 9.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,530,816 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars magic of minerals and rocks, July 20, 2005

By 

Shelagh Johnston (Sydney Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Magic of Minerals and Rock (Hardcover)

Being a third year Fine Art Student this book blow me a way with the beauty of the photo's I will never look at a rock in the same way after buying this book.