Life in Color: National Geographic Photographs

by Susan Hitchcock, Annie Griffiths (Editor)

"The world is a wonder of color. Remarkable images by National Geographic photographers entice us to take notice in a whole new way." --House Beautiful

Life in Color is arranged by color in a rainbow of beauty. Each chapter begins with a short, inspiring essay that explores the qualities, meaning, and symbolism of that color. Throughout, interesting quotes and surprising short insights in the captions give the reader an entirely new look at the color in the world around us. Chock full of amazing images, this eye-pleasing volume is now available in a mini edition.

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, Art, Coffee Table Books, Nature, Art Design

504 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2012

Reviews

[Sherri · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a heavy book, physically. Use this if you don't want your coffee table to blow away. I wanted to take a peek at it for the picture book aspect.

[Ranendu Das · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well! This photo collection from Nat Geo could not much satisfy me. The theme of this colection is colour and the editor has arranged photographs according to the different background colour (for landscapes and costumes) or the color of the subject (birds, fish, human faces etc.) that is prominent. To put these photographs in particular colour segment a number of photographs have been heavily cropped and for that reason those prints are sometimes blurry and dull. A number of Photographs are dull itself and apart from the colour criterion they do not bear any kind of significance. They are indeed still and staged photographs which do not offer us a sense of a particular moment cut from the immediate past, that is they are a 'moment'. There are however a number of photographs from renowned photographers also which will delight you.

Overall, although this particular 'Nat Geo type' photography collection portray the vividness in visual colours, if you are critical about the photographic art, you will remain bit unsatisfied.

[RumBelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Explore the world through stunning photography. The colors of blue, orange, green, yellow, purple and red are predominant, with shorter sections with photos in silver, brown, black, gold, white, and "unseen color" images that cannot be seen with the naked eye. These include topics like lasers, the universe, and microscopic images.

Each photo, whether a closeup or a wider shot, is so exquisitely presented. It's really interesting to see the world categorized by color. The sections about unseen color, in their own ways, were particularly fascinating.

Quotes are seen throughout the book that provide insight into the photos.

A fun, engaging way to look at the world.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pictures are amazing! (There are a few topless women in this book so the reader beware.) You can tell the editor was trying for poetic, artful wording to go with the pictures. Some of it makes sense but I found myself, after reading most of it, thinking "What did I just read?" Most of the time I had no idea what they were aiming for with the quote or the wording. I don't usually read the words in photo books so I am not sure if that's normal.

[Lenore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of my favourite photography books. Once again, one of the biggest drawbacks of this book is the lack of description accompanying the photographs. You have to search through previous pages, succeeding pages etc. etc. or to access the collection in miniature at the back of the book. It is a very heavy volume which adds an extra problem in flipping the book back and forth searching for pertinent information.

[Nichole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really cool. I liked the ruminations on color and the photographs are beautiful. The print quality or something is off, though. I don't know quite what it is, but may of the photos are not printed as nicely as in the magazine. Not as crisp and beautiful. And I don't think at all it's a question of the photo's quality. I found a couple of photos that I'm going to use as paint studies.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish some of the photos were printed smaller so they weren't pixelated.

[Claudio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Semplicemente... una gioia per gli occhi. Foto uniche e indimenticabili

[Roxanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book about colorful photographs and each color is explored and there are descriptions of each photograph and my favorite photographs are a red-eyed tree frog on a freesia blossom, the pink flamingo in Columbia, Denali National Park in Alaska, a Malaysian green turtle, Yosemite National Park, Calif; and Monument Valley (Red Rock Valley). I also liked a green chameleon in Malawi, Africa and Acaidia National Park in Maine (leaf trees). The purple color section was my favorite photos. These include tulips form Mount Vernon, Washington, Lasser Volcanic National Park in Calif; multicolored limestone formations in China, The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missiouri and a sunset at Smith Island, Maryland. I also loved the red sections that shows a ladybug, red umbrellas, poppies in Galilee, red maple leaves in Maine, a volcano in Indonesia and red forget-me-nots in Verona, Italy. Every color represents something Every single page of this book is a different delight to my visual senses. This is an excellent book.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of vibrant photos that encapsulate the beauty of the world. The writings on the importance of colour and the impact each colour has had on both society and ourselves was wonderful. The writings and provoking quotes added deeper meanings to the photos and allowed me to developed a greater appreciation for them. My only annoyance was that some of the photos were of such low quality, they shouldn't have had such large spreads.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely photographs. I didn't like something in the introduction though. The writer joking that happy colors are better than Prozac. I know it's a joke, but there are so many people who suffer because they don't want to seem pathetic by taking medication.

I don't know, it's a coffee table book, do people generally read the intros?

[Miri Gifford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely stunning. A beautiful collection of National Geographic photographs, organized by color and interspersed with poetic quotes about each color. I can't wait to buy this for my coffee table collection.

[Parker J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such Beautiful photography!

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful! Amazing Color! Photographs from many different countries! The version I own is small and compact! Really enjoy this version! A book to look at again and again!

[Kathleen Messmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The images in this book as well as the colors descriptions are an amazing example of what photography is and can be. It is a source of inspiration to all who read it.

[Con Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely stunning book. Amazing photographs. An inspiration for any person. Artist, photographer, layman...

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't actually read this book. But I look at it occasionally for the color hit. Absolutely beautiful.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some are particularly interesting, such as the wedding couples in front of a diamond mirrors, and feet being "massaged" by fishes!

[Mary Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book opened my eyes to a life full of brighter colors, and make me want to be a better photographer.

[deleted d · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures in different colors. Playing with different themes. Really enjoyed watching them