The Living Wild

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding book
Review: Art wolfe has done a great job. I enjoyed the stories and well as the photo specifics in acquiring the image. And the subject depth of this book is astounding. A must read/show!

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent Wildlife Photography!!!!!
Review: Art Wolfe, perhaps the world's pre-eminent wildlife photographer, and my favorite photographer from any genre, has done it again. The "Living Wild" book is produced in wide format much like his Africa work. This production both shows off his wide angle photography, and creates a high-quality work that would make any coffee table or library proud. Wide-angle shots are combined with multi-image pages to create a portfolio that is at once balanced, and eye catching.

Wolfe has a stunning visual style - his animal shots appear to be more portraits than wildlife photography. I found myself wondering how he could have possibly captured some shots. Better still, he captures them in their habitats, combining landscape with flora and fauna as only he can. Animals from virtually every climate are featured: desert to temperate zone. For the true animal lover, he includes briefs on each animal species featured, much in the way most modern zoos do. These are combined with essays from respected zoologists like Jane Goodall.

The net effect? A beautiful, high-quality photographic collection, wrapped in an interesting and informative package. I recommend this highly to lovers of photography, animals, or show-off quality coffee table books.

Check out his other works as well. Stunning.

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent photographs and call for help to text!
Review: I had heard of Mr. Wolfe before,but it wasn`t until today,when I got this book I saw his photographs. I definitly think he is comparable with my other favourites Lanting and Doubilet,if not better. This book is definitly not a small bad book! At a weight of more than 2 pounds and in a format not suitable for even my bookcase,it is a behemoth in nature photo books. It was pretty expensive,but belive me,it`s worth the money. The book is divided into seven chapters,after the beautifull introduction. Island and Ocean is the first,and it deals with the Galapagos Islands with fantastic iguanas,and also humpback whales,which are very impressive. Polar & Subpolar,which is the second chapter,deals with cute polar bears and elephant seals that looks pretty fun,but also penguins,which are charmy animals. Savannah,Desert & Steppe is also an impressive chapter that features lions,wild dogs and elephants of the african savannah. Here are also some funny australian lizards,among them a moloch which looks like an alien!Mountain is the fourth chapterm,and it has many beautifull views of animals with mountains in the background - perfect inspiration. Temperate shows the beauty of North America`s nature with bears,owls and wolves. Subtropical features the Indian Nature. Here there are an excellent picture of mating peacocks. The tiger enthusiast won`t be disappointed either. The final chapter deals with the tropical rainforests,the most diverse areas in the world. Many wild cats are included here,but also toucans and parrots,to not mention monkeys. Over all,I can almost classify this as a sequel to Lanting`s The Living Planet,but in new format and a new photographer. This is a real mammoth release that won`t make anyone disappointed. It also has interesting comments about the endangered species by different authors. I find it very inspiring and funny to look at. Everyone that sees it says:"Can I look!". In such huge format,the full beauty of the image can be discovered. Every picture is like a poster!The book features a total of 150 species from 40 countries. Together with "The Living Planet" and "Water Light Time" it is the best photo book I have read so far. If Wolfe continues like this,I am pleased to see his future work.

Rating:
Summary: nice photo work BUT....
Review: I liked the photography in this book but i can not believe how UNSHARP all the shots are. They are blown up way too much considering he works with 35mm equipment. The book layout is splendid but should be produced in half the dimensions of the current version. Best part is the distribution maps with the photos reduced and a brief write-up about the species and how the shots were taken.

Rating:
Summary: nice photo work BUT....
Review: I liked the photography in this book but i can not believe how UNSHARP many of the shots appear to be. They are blown up way too much considering he works with 35mm equipment. The book layout is splendid but should be produced in half the dimensions of the current version. Best part is the distribution maps with the photos reduced and a brief write-up about the species and how the shots were taken.

Rating:
Summary: amazing
Review: I ordered this book from a book distributor that I deal with at the store where I work and when it came in, 2 of my co-workers were so impressed by it that they asked me to order one for each of them. This is an absolutely incredible book for wildlife enthusiasts. The photographers may be interested in reading Art's notes at the end of each section that often explain some techniques and gear used for the shots. This is a stunning addition to any coffee table top.

Rating:
Summary: Every Photo A Masterpiece
Review: Inspiring. Emotive. Creative. Colorful. Each picture is "poster" material, quite unusual for table-top photography books. With wonderful essays, it provides an interesting reading. I pick it up often to look at a few pictures and be inspired about the world.

Cheers, BilFish

Rating:
Summary: An exquisite call to arms...
Review: Once in a great while, an author produces a book that has the potential to change the way people view the environment and their role in preserving it. From an idea initially born while photographing a single endangered Florida panther, Art Wolfe has produced such a book.

"The Living Wild" is a call to arms that highlights the need for immediate habitat preservation to combat the decline of biodiversity in the world. Happily, it accomplishes this goal while remaining a uniquely accessible work, with a visual splendor that will allow people far-removed from the core environmental debate to appreciate, relate to, and, with any hope, be inspired by its central message.

It is obvious on every page that Wolfe was meticulous in his editing choices during the book's production. Each image is composed carefully, and no photograph in the book appears even slightly out of focus. There is no implication that any photograph made the final cut because it was "good enough." Wolfe stayed in the field until he got it right. Such tenacity was particularly important on this project because the visual style Wolfe chose led to a significantly lower number of "keeper" images than would normally be expected from a seasoned pro running so much film through his camera. By employing slower films, longer exposures, and wider-angle lenses than those typically used for wildlife photography, each of which naturally magnifies the possibility of subject movement or camera shake, Wolfe has created a collection of images that will stand out in a crowd.

After three years of seemingly perpetual motion on the world's many continents, and with hundreds of thousands of travel miles behind him, Wolfe may have met his greatest challenge of the project on the light table when he arrived back home in Seattle. Although there are a large number of pictures in the book, that number represents an incredibly small percentage of the total number of exposures Wolfe made during his three years in the field. Upon a second reading of the book, I found myself extrapolating from the photographs Wolfe ultimately chose to include, wondering what images had found their way to the cutting room floor (metaphorically) during the production process in order to make room for the survivors.

Wolfe's goal in producing this book was to highlight the state of wildlife in the world at the turning of the Millennium, and to that end, the photographs in "The Living Wild" place an unusual amount of emphasis on the animals' context in their environment. This is not a book of portraits; nearly all of the photographs depict the animals in their native habitats. This style will not please every viewer, of course. For those who prefer tightly-framed animal portraits, or animal photographs exhibiting a high degree of anthropomorphism, Wolfe's emphasis on environmental context may detract from the viewing experience. Such readers might be better served with a review of Frans Lanting's excellent "Eye to Eye."

In addition to Wolfe's photographs, "The Living Wild" also features a series of essays written by environmental luminaries, including Jane Goodall, Richard Dawkins, William Conway, John C. Sawhill, and Goerge B. Schaller. The essays tie Wolfe's images together well, and those readers who are drawn to "The Living Wild" for its message of habitat preservation will find that the text of the essays effectively outlines the problems human encroachment on the environment is producing, and calls for immediate corrective efforts before the remedies escape us. On the other hand, those readers who purchase the book solely for its visual qualities will find that the text is easily skimmed, and will not impede the book's value as a fixture on the coffee table.

"The Living Wild" concludes with a section of thumbnail-sized images of each of the photographs in the book. Each of the pictures is accompanied by a small map indicating the habitat range for the particular animal depicted in the corresponding photograph. There is also a narrative passage offering Wolfe's comments about the making and meaning of the image, which those in the nature photography community seeking to emulate Wolfe's work will find helpful.

The fact that such information was presented on additional pages in the book, rather than edited tightly and crammed into captions on the same page as the primary image, underscored for me the commitment Wolfe and his production team had to releasing a top-quality work. Such additional pages invariably add to production costs, and "The Living Wild" is already a thick book, with large pages printed on excellent quality paper. Wolfe spent a great deal of his own money on the project, which was obviously a labor of love, and at the price for which it is selling I'm not sure the project can even recoup its costs.

No book, of course, is perfect, and "The Living Wild" is not an exception. Some readers may be looking for a collection of pretty pictures, and no more, and may accordingly find the message of habitat preservation Wolfe presents unduly `preachy," although as mentioned above I think the textual portions of the book are easily circumnavigated. Those on the opposite end of the political spectrum may wish that the essays took an even harsher tone in condemning human expansion on the planet. And the emphasis on broad-based accessibility does not allow for a high-minded, scholarly dissertation. At any rate, that is not Wolfe's style.

I would also note that the photographs Wolfe has selected for the book often differ greatly from one another stylistically. While this visual diversity helps showcase the breadth of Wolfe's talents, and probably means that the book will have a "Wow!" shot for every reader, it also increases the likelihood that no reader will feel a connection to all of the photographs. Finally, although it is a very accessible and persuasive work, it is unlikely to have the same far-reaching energizing effects on society as some earlier works, such as Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring." That it may be mentioned in the same company as such a book, however, is already a testament to the power "The Living Wild" does have.

"The Living Wild" is a beautiful and important book. It will improve any shelf or coffee table upon which it sits, and will hopefully have a similar effect on the minds of those that read it. I whole-heartedly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: An exquisite call to arms...
Review: Once in a great while, an author produces a book that has the potential to change the way people view the environment and their role in preserving it. From an idea initially born while photographing a single endangered Florida panther, Art Wolfe has produced such a book.

"The Living Wild" is a call to arms that highlights the need for immediate habitat preservation to combat the decline of biodiversity in the world. Happily, it accomplishes this goal while remaining a uniquely accessible work, with a visual splendor that will allow people far-removed from the core environmental debate to appreciate, relate to, and, with any hope, be inspired by its central message.

It is obvious on every page that Wolfe was meticulous in his editing choices during the book's production. Each image is composed carefully, and no photograph in the book appears even slightly out of focus. There is no implication that any photograph made the final cut because it was "good enough." Wolfe stayed in the field until he got it right. Such tenacity was particularly important on this project because the visual style Wolfe chose led to a significantly lower number of "keeper" images than would normally be expected from a seasoned pro running so much film through his camera. By employing slower films, longer exposures, and wider-angle lenses than those typically used for wildlife photography, each of which naturally magnifies the possibility of subject movement or camera shake, Wolfe has created a collection of images that will stand out in a crowd.

After three years of seemingly perpetual motion on the world's many continents, and with hundreds of thousands of travel miles behind him, Wolfe may have met his greatest challenge of the project on the light table when he arrived back home in Seattle. Although there are a large number of pictures in the book, that number represents an incredibly small percentage of the total number of exposures Wolfe made during his three years in the field. Upon a second reading of the book, I found myself extrapolating from the photographs Wolfe ultimately chose to include, wondering what images had found their way to the cutting room floor (metaphorically) during the production process in order to make room for the survivors.

Wolfe's goal in producing this book was to highlight the state of wildlife in the world at the turning of the Millennium, and to that end, the photographs in "The Living Wild" place an unusual amount of emphasis on the animals' context in their environment. This is not a book of portraits; nearly all of the photographs depict the animals in their native habitats. This style will not please every viewer, of course. For those who prefer tightly-framed animal portraits, or animal photographs exhibiting a high degree of anthropomorphism, Wolfe's emphasis on environmental context may detract from the viewing experience. Such readers might be better served with a review of Frans Lanting's excellent "Eye to Eye."

In addition to Wolfe's photographs, "The Living Wild" also features a series of essays written by environmental luminaries, including Jane Goodall, Richard Dawkins, William Conway, John C. Sawhill, and Goerge B. Schaller. The essays tie Wolfe's images together well, and those readers who are drawn to "The Living Wild" for its message of habitat preservation will find that the text of the essays effectively outlines the problems human encroachment on the environment is producing, and calls for immediate corrective efforts before the remedies escape us. On the other hand, those readers who purchase the book solely for its visual qualities will find that the text is easily skimmed, and will not impede the book's value as a fixture on the coffee table.

"The Living Wild" concludes with a section of thumbnail-sized images of each of the photographs in the book. Each of the pictures is accompanied by a small map indicating the habitat range for the particular animal depicted in the corresponding photograph. There is also a narrative passage offering Wolfe's comments about the making and meaning of the image, which those in the nature photography community seeking to emulate Wolfe's work will find helpful.

The fact that such information was presented on additional pages in the book, rather than edited tightly and crammed into captions on the same page as the primary image, underscored for me the commitment Wolfe and his production team had to releasing a top-quality work. Such additional pages invariably add to production costs, and "The Living Wild" is already a thick book, with large pages printed on excellent quality paper. Wolfe spent a great deal of his own money on the project, which was obviously a labor of love, and at the price for which it is selling I'm not sure the project can even recoup its costs.

No book, of course, is perfect, and "The Living Wild" is not an exception. Some readers may be looking for a collection of pretty pictures, and no more, and may accordingly find the message of habitat preservation Wolfe presents unduly 'preachy," although as mentioned above I think the textual portions of the book are easily circumnavigated. Those on the opposite end of the political spectrum may wish that the essays took an even harsher tone in condemning human expansion on the planet. And the emphasis on broad-based accessibility does not allow for a high-minded, scholarly dissertation. At any rate, that is not Wolfe's style.

I would also note that the photographs Wolfe has selected for the book often differ greatly from one another stylistically. While this visual diversity helps showcase the breadth of Wolfe's talents, and probably means that the book will have a "Wow!" shot for every reader, it also increases the likelihood that no reader will feel a connection to all of the photographs. Finally, although it is a very accessible and persuasive work, it is unlikely to have the same far-reaching energizing effects on society as some earlier works, such as Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring." That it may be mentioned in the same company as such a book, however, is already a testament to the power "The Living Wild" does have.

"The Living Wild" is a beautiful and important book. It will improve any shelf or coffee table upon which it sits, and will hopefully have a similar effect on the minds of those that read it. I whole-heartedly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding book
Review: This is a remarkable work. We're all accustomed to wildlife shots, but not from this point of view. Firstly, all in their true natural habitat, not some preserve or other artificial locale, and secondly, most shots are from a very intimate perspective. Not telephoto lenses, but wide angle. The colors, framing, and perspectives are unlike any you've seen or are likely to see again. Can't recommend this book enough.