Jungles.

by Frans Lanting, Christine Eckstrom

"Jungles" is a celebration of the patterns of life in the tropics by master photographer, storyteller, and naturalist Frans Lanting. In a glorious portfolio of images made over a period of twenty years in jungles from the lowlands of the Congo to the cloud forests of the Amazon, Frans Lanting interprets the aesthetic splender and the astonishing natural realm of the tropics. His provocative images represent a personal vision of the emerald worlds that shelter the ultimate expression of life on personal vision of the emerald worlds that shelter the ultimate expression of life on earth. Through images and words, Lanting takes readers on a dazzling journey into a realm of bewildering complexity, where nothing is the way it first appears. In photographs that range from spectacular gatherings of rainbow-colored macaws to the misty exudations of a forest at dawn, he evokes the luscious sensuality and intricate natural order of the tropics. His stories chronicle a series of rugged expeditions into remote tropical wilderness areas, from the otherwordly island continent of Madagascar to the soaring mountains of Borneo, to capture the mesmerising beauty and eerie fascination of nature at its most fantastic.

Genres: Photography, Nature, Nonfiction, Animals, Art, Travel, Art and Photography

260 pages, Hardcover

First published October 28, 2000

Reviews

[Peter Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I currently (2023) have 5 Frans Lanting photo-books on my GR index, and 4/5 are 5-star! Including this one, and you can start by reading the publisher's intro at the top of this page. The photo I partic
recall is red macaws at a salt-lick somewhere in the South American tropics. You may have seen it too, or a version of it by someone else -- it's a popular macaw feature-photo, and for good reason. OK, here's his online portfolio from this book. Enjoy!

I'll have to add these portfolios to my other Lanting photo-book reviews. This one is a nice reminder to re-read & view that great book, Another easy 5-star book from Lanting, who is my favorite wildlife photographer, I think.

[Ypatios Varelas · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting collection of documentary photos, which the photographer tried to organize in four different "portfolios". Most photos are interesting, a few are boring and only a couple really captured my attention. OK, I understand that to take such shots is not an easy thing to do, but I am not thinking of this when looking at pictures; I only care about how they affect my thoughts and feelings and these phots are rather average in such terms.
The quality of paper and printing is good (although most photos are not really sharp) and the subject is interesting, but the artistic value is low. I can guess that this is due to the fact that the pictures were taken either as part of specific projects (not one) either at the photographer's "free time" while at work and trying to fit them into 4 "stories" is artificial and not working well.
Anyway, it's an aesthetically pleasant book so I am happy to give three stars but not more, for the reasons I have already explained. Probably nice as a coffee table book.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book fits my definition of quintessential "coffee table" book. It's basically just pictures, with maybe a few pages of text. However, the picture quality could be better, and in this day and age, I'd rather just frame these photos and look at them on a wall at my home, in a museum, or online rather than as print media. For a full discussion of this book and what makes a good "coffee table book" check out this episode of the podcast "From the Archives": https://anchor.fm/anthropologyarchive....

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful

[Bumbles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but some pics got to the realm of the abstract which hindered my enjoyment.