Customer Reviews

Through the Lens: National Geographic Greatest Photographs (National Geographic Collectors Series)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

It never goes wrong to buy photo collections of national geographic. Hardcover, 500 pages, high-quality pictures, at price $30. What do you expect?

The book is in high quality, in terms of binding and printing. The pictures included are also very interesting. About 250 photos are included, and usaully, one photo will cover too pages.

But I have a complaint. Most photos are not the original. The editor cut the edges, and only show the "main" part of the photo in this book. This causes two problems. First, I believe that when the photographer took the photo, he/she has special purpose for framing. Different photographer has different style. But now, the style of all photos look consistent!!! I want to see the original photos. Second, since a portion of the orignal photo is enlarged so much, the color is not as vivid as before.

But anyway, despite the drawback, it is definitely worth buying this book.

I'll give 3 stars to this book for the hidden gems in it, and for the expansive collection of photographs. However, National Geographic seems to have chosen quantity over quality. I was genuinely surprised at the lack of pictures even worth being denoted 'good'. Some of them looked like the sort of thing the average person takes on a short vacation.
Most photos in it are across both pages, and the large size makes almost every picture look grainy. It also makes the book seem like there are more pictures than there really are. The truly wonderful photos are pretty much all ones we've seen printed elsewhere, multiple times, like a humpback whale with seabirds about it by Flip Nicklin. I've even seen that one used in advertisements.
Don't waste your money or time buying this book; there are others of much better quality and lower pricing. In short they are NOT the "Greatest" photographs.

Through the Lens is an excellent collection of National Geographic photos, and for only $30, well worth the cost. The book has several well known photos, as well as other beautiful, but not as publicized, pictures. The book is divided into sections based on continents, which (usually) makes it easier to find a specific picture. This book does have its share of problems however. There's no index, so you can't look for pictures with a specific theme. The majority of the pictures are centered in the middle of the two pages, so the middle of the pictures disappear into the binding. The pages are another problem entirely. The book is printed on glossy paper that absorbs liquid (apparently). Oil from your fingers is left as prints or smudges, even if you only are touching the page for a few seconds. These marks DO NOT disappear over time, and you can espeacially see them on the black pages. Even with these problems, this book is worth getting for the spectacular pictures inside.

National Geographic Magazine, long the definitive resource for armchair discovery of the world, has published this very fine volume that has been translated in many languages and distributed around the world. The contents are simply (!) rich color photographs for which National Geographic is so widely respected and well known. Divided into sections - Europe, Asia, Africa & the Middle East, The Americas, Oceans and Isles, and The Universe - the editors have selected a terrific cross section of images from the depth of underwater photographs (apparently these were the first ever made!) to images of the distant most stars. And of course including images of the planet's surface and habitants in the fine tradition of the magazine.

Some of the photographs will be familiar to readers of the magazine while many will be the first glimpses of how fine the representative 84 photographers truly are. This is one photography/art book that would rest comfortably on any coffee table. It provides a wonderland for children's imaginations, reveries for travelers, and stimuli for every eye that journeys through the book. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, December 05

More than the articles, when I think of National Geographic Magazine I think of the photography. I have long considered the photography in National Geographic to be some of the best magazine photography that I have seen. The images are typically stunning and give me a visual idea of locations that I would not even be able to imagine. I cannot speak to the technical craft of photography because I know nothing about that. Since I also have not looked at other National Geographic Collections, I cannot speak as to what is included in those collections and how it compares to this collection. What I can speak to is what I thought about this particular collection.

Bottom line: I liked it. Since I am not a regular reader of National Geographic, all of the pictures were new to me. This is an excellent collection of photography for someone who just wants to look at some wonderful pictures. One can look through the book casually and enjoy the pictures (as I did), or one can study the pictures and see exactly what is going on and find nuance within the pictures. Either way works. Good pictures, good book, and it was an enjoyable time looking at some of the best of National Geographic's photography.

Our world, its people and the animals that share it all with us, as captured thru the years by National Geographic photographers. Photography is an art and a book like this proves it! Some of the most lovely, shocking, interesting and amazing pictures ever published are in this incredible book. Fun to look at again and again. Well worth the price.

An avid reader and fan of Nationl Geographic for 5 decades, I was
disappointed in the book. More than half of the featured photographs were recent, many taken in the last 5 years. So many of the breath taking pictures that I remeber were not included. I cannot even guess at what the critera was for photographs to be included in this book but, in my opinion, these are not the best of National Geographic.

Through the Lens is a collection of some of the best photographs that were stored in the archives of The National Geograhic society. However, like many other people have already said, these are not National Geographic's "greatest photographs". While many of the photographs in this book are among the greatest, not all of them are...
I still recommend that you buy this book simply because these this is a great collection of some of National Geographic's greatest photographs, but I highly recommend picking up "The National Geographic Society: 100 Years of Adventure and Discovery" to go with it. If this book has most of National Geographic's greatest photographs, then 100 years of adventure and discovery has, well... I dont want to say that it has the rest of them, but it at least has another large chunk of NG's greatest photographs. Oh, and did I mention it's cheap too? Seriously, I only paid 25 cents plus shipping & handling for my copy of 100 years of adventure and discovery!
What are you waiting for?

For $18, this is a huge book with enough full-page images to fill your lazy Sunday tea time.

Just as much as many of Henri-Cartier Bresson's publications are a rehash of previous publications plus new images, I found only several of the images are from previous old publications. However, I consider these as almost symbols of the NG series.

As a photographer, I have since gone thru the book 3 times and I find the images entertaining and lovely to soak in.

*AHEM* I don't see what anyone sees in this book. These photographs are NOT National Geographic's greatest! I have been a fan of NG ever since I was a child, always picking up the curiously bright yellow magazine and fliping through it to uncover stunning, magnificent photos and articles. Sadly, I must say that this book is a poor representation of NG's greatest photos. :(