Customer Reviews

Night Visions: The Secret Designs of Moths

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My reaction was very different from that of "a reader from Hamilton". To me, the images were stunning, exquisite both in detail and beauty, and required neither apology nor defence. The omission of more colourful moths from other parts of the world is hardly an objection: author Joseph Scheer collected his from within a specific area (upstate New York, I believe), and there is no indication that he had any interest in doing a "moths of the world" or even a "moths of the US". That he found such a wide variety in such a limited geographical range is already impressive. He had no need for more or different specimens to prove his point.

Some moths were striking, indeed -- drab is not a word one would apply to the Actias luna, by a long shot -- but I found myself delighting even more in the simple, subtle beauty of the shades of brown (Odontosia elegans), or white (Eudeilinia herminiata), or grey (Catocala relicta), next to which even the subdued reds and yellows of, say, Hypoprepia fucosa seemed almost gaudy. What beauty might be overlooked seeing these moths with the human eye alone was brought out superbly seeing them enlarged upon these plates, often with each hair and each scale distinct.

Yes, there were areas where the image was not as sharp as it should have been had this been a scientific work, where detail is all and aesthetics, however welcome, of secondary importance. For such a work, a camera might have been the better choice; Scheer, however, was interested in exploring the artistic potential of using a high-resolution scanner and an Iris printer. Frankly, I had not even noticed the fuzziness until I went looking for it after encountering the Hamiltonian reader's review. Now that I see it, I do not find it detracts in the slightest -- it is only natural that, when the human eye focuses on one part, other parts blur away. These images simply mimic this.

As for the size of the book (30 cm. x 36 cm., rounding fractions up) vis a vis the size of your bookshelves: let me answer your question, reader from Hamilton -- you store it lying flat, by preference. If you have absolutely no choice but to shelve it upright and your shelves are too shallow, rest it on its spine, and make sure there is adequate support on either side (as, indeed, you would for any book upright on the shelf). Never shelve a book fore-edge down, the strain on the binding is much too great.

This is one of the most remarkable books that I have encountered in a long long time. An artist friend who is aware of my tripartite interest in science, technology, and the arts grabbed me in the cafeteria last month & said that I "had to take a look at this". She was absolutely right. No, this ISN'T a scientific treatise on moths or a discourse on the natural history of insects, and one certainly wouldn't want to take it into the field to identify even the moths of the relatively small area sampled, BUT THAT ISN'T THE POINT! Instead one is treated to stunning imagery of animals that most of us either ignore entirely or slaughter with "bug-zappers" and poisons & seldom if ever grant the benefit of a second glance. Thanks to Scheer my children & I have had some very pleasant sessions simply sitting & turning the pages & the most frequent comment is the title of this review. "Wow!" indeed. Also Bravo to Scheer for giving us a wonderful look at a little seen & greatly under-appreciated subject.

This is one of the most remarkable books that I have encountered in a long long time. An artist friend who is aware of my tripartite interest in science, technology, and the arts grabbed me in the cafeteria last months & said that I "had to take a look at this". She was absolutely right. No, this ISN'T a scientific treatise on moths or a discourse on the natural history of insects, and one certainly wouldn't want to take it into the field to identify even the moths of the relatively small area sampled, BUT THAT ISN'T THE POINT! Instead one is treated to stunning imagery of animals that most of us either ignore entirely or slaughter with "bug-zappers" and poisons & seldom if ever grant the benefit of a second glance. Thanks to Scheer my children & I have had some very pleasant sessions simply sitting & turning the pages & the most frequent comment is the title of this review. "Wow!" indeed. Also Bravo to Scheer for giving us a wonderful look at a little seen & greatly under-appreciated subject.

Joseph Sheer has used his expertise in the electronic arts-scanning and digital imaging-to produce an amazing collection of colorful, vivid images of moths. Very simply, "Night Visions" contains stupendous color plates and would appeal to anyone, especially those interested in macro imaging or the study of Lepidoptera (butterflies, skippers and moths).

The book begins with three introductory chapters (like forewords), the first by Mr. Sheer explaining his interest in moths and his techniques for trapping them and scanning them for print images. Lepidopterist Marc Epstein follows with a four-page mini-course in moth types, habits and markings, after which Johanna Drucker briefly describes the evolution of image making that brought us to the scanning technology which produced this book. I enjoyed the first two sections the best since I became interested in moths upon seeing this book.

There are over 70 color plates, mostly displaying the moths enlarged so that each wingspan extends to just about one full page in width (depending on the moth, that's a magnification ranging from 2.5x to over 20x). In addition, where aspects of a moth's coloration or texture is particularly fascinating, a secondary blow-up, many times the initial enlargement, is displayed alongside in order to give perspective to the detail. In every case, the result is a photograph that is amazing in terms of clarity, color and detail. I've never seen anything like this.

A nice bonus can be found in the last twelve pages, which have another 150-plus 1" x 2" photos of moths, arranged by family (Sphinx moths, Tiger moths, Owlet, etc.) so that an easier comparison of characteristics can be made to introduce the reader to the different family types. I thought this added a nice educational complement to the big images. The construction of the book is first-rate, with durable, thick and glossy print stock. "Night Visions" is bound to fascinate just about anyone.

The front and back covers of this book are not mirror images of each other. They are continuous parts of a scan that is 12 inches tall and about 36 inches long, including the flaps in the front and back covers. The body of the moth is not clear along the spine of the book, but the light hairs extending an inch or more from dark shoulder pads are similar to the pattern of Grammia virgo on Plate 18. This print of the entire moth measures six and a half inches between spots that are shown on the inner flaps, so the cover must be zooming in with a power of five on the size of a full page moth in this book. The virgin tiger moth shown in the tiny version of that scan on page 110 has a wingspan of 6.2 cm. It is amazing how intense the colors become as the picture is electronically exploded to twenty-five times actual size, and fine red hairs can be seen crossing yellow wing membrane.

On Plate 18, the antennae curve like an antelope's antler, with tiny offshoots like eyelashes. The wings look as fuzzy as moths are expected to be, with fine hairs projecting into the space between the wings and the body. The long cover scan is so well focused on the hairs at the glass of the scanner that the gap between body and wing is hardly noticeable, except on the back cover, where distinct hairs over a white background approach the rounded red shape of the moth's body. The intricate parts of the wings look flaky, but the scanning technique emphasizes the shapes and colors of discrete objects on the surface of the glass much more than how three-dimensional anything is. Legs might be blurry, as in plate 43, Magusa orbifera, or extremely hairy when they are featured, as on plate 44, Zanclognatha laevigata, looking like a combination of feathers and spiky thorns.

Weird is the 11 and 1/2 by 18 inch scan of Geina tenuidactyla on plate 59, which looks like it has five or six feathers on each side, striped curvy antennae, and legs with long spines at the joints. Wingspan is actually 1.1 cm, so the scan is magnified about 40 times, and the strange features of the Pterophoridae family are explained on page 116. "They are mostly small moths with long slender legs. At rest the wings are rolled in a T-shape at right angles to its body. The forewing is deeply notched and the hindwing is divided into three fringed lobes resembling plumes." It really helps to have the small pictures at the back of the book, which more closely resemble what you are expecting to see whenever you view a moth in real life.

This book is simply amazing--and I love that the emphasis is simply on the beauty of the moth. I would recommend it as a gift for anyone who will appreciate being reminded of the miraculous beauty of that which we bypass(or worse...swat at) every day. A fantastically wonderful reality check.

A nice pair of close-up binoculars, a flashlight and boots could be a lot more exciting and respectful of these animals than drying them up just to copy their evolutionary path and call it art. The three stars are for the benefit of those who would have never known such creatures exist, that much this book has done. Why not get a microscope and take photos of bacteria, or take photos of metal detector screens. I prefer my animals alive in their habitat, and my art to really say something. Check out naturephotographers dot net. Now there is photography of nature.

Moths are some of the most beautiful creatures in the world and in many cases exceeding the beauty of the butterfly but you would not know it from the majority of specimens shown in this book. Many moths shown are different shades of browns or white and gray. Many beautiful USA moths are left out such as the "Royal Walnut" and the "Imperial" moth.

Without doing a lot of research the specimens shown all appear to be USA moths mainly east of the Missippi. Although these are great pictures there are some disturbing out of focus areas near the bodies of a few specimens.

In doing a book like this on the beauty of moths you should include some of the vast array of fantastically beautiful moths from other parts of the world to truly appreciate their beauty and leave out the dull browns and whites unless they have a striking pattern.

The other problem is this book will not fit in a book case as it is 12" x 14" in size. Most bookshelves are 12" deep so the final question is how do you store this 14" deep book - on its end?