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Through the Ocean Window
Through the Ocean WIndow takes us on a fantastic voyage to several of the planet's incredibly prolific coral reefs. Proceeding on this enchanting photographic journey, we become witness to some of the most bizarre and beautiful creatures found in the animal kingdom. Through Brown's insightful and often humorous commentary, the reader begins to unlock some of the mystery that lurks within these oceanic castles of splendor. From hammerheaed sharks to a tumbnail-sized seahorse, tehe imagery and text brings to life this amazing eosystem and helps foster a better understanding of this relatively unknown realm.
136 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 13, 2025
Another beautiful book for fans of the South Pacific, as these photos were all taken on the various reefs around Malaysia, Indonesia, PNG and Fiji. I'm not a particular fan of fish pictures, but I love all the other stuff down there: the endless variety of shrimp and crabs, nudibranchs and gastropods, seahorses and dragons (and okay, those are technically fish), etc.
Most of these are macro photos, shot back then on film so that Brown never knew what he had until he got home and had everything developed. As such, many photos revealed spectacular colors unseen in the filtered light of the deep, and Brown is as mystified as myself as to why evolution would create such beauty and then hide it where it would never be appreciated (other than by the Creator himself...or, okay, eventually scuba divers with flashes). And the levels of mimicry and camouflage are just astounding, similar in compexity to the insect worlds of the rain forest...as Bertrand Russell said, "the world is (indeed) full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper."
The book begins and then ends with a pair of nicely appropriate quotes, wildly different in tone but equally accurate, depending on the ocean's mood of the day:
(Lovely pictures; meh layout)
I can't find anything about author W. Gregory Brown other than he has a few more diving-related books out there; and publisher Ocean World Photography has no internet hits whatsoever, despite apparently being located right here in Manassas, VA, (will have to check out the address sometime).
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This was another "found" book, by which I mean a pleasantly unexpected find at our local used book store. I go in there a couple times a month and check for particular authors (Adam Hall, George McDonald Fraser, Mick Herron, Max Barry), but then also browse the marine life, exploration, travel, biology/botany and a few other shelves, which is where I find most of those books ultimately listed on my GR "less-than-10-ratings" and "less-than-50-ratings" bookshelves, usually ranging from $1 to no more than $5. McKay Used Books is just like Forrest's box of chocolates — you never know what you're going to get!
Most of these are macro photos, shot back then on film so that Brown never knew what he had until he got home and had everything developed. As such, many photos revealed spectacular colors unseen in the filtered light of the deep, and Brown is as mystified as myself as to why evolution would create such beauty and then hide it where it would never be appreciated (other than by the Creator himself...or, okay, eventually scuba divers with flashes). And the levels of mimicry and camouflage are just astounding, similar in compexity to the insect worlds of the rain forest...as Bertrand Russell said, "the world is (indeed) full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper."
The book begins and then ends with a pair of nicely appropriate quotes, wildly different in tone but equally accurate, depending on the ocean's mood of the day:
"They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep." - Psalm 107:23-24Aside from the unfortunate typographic choice of using "Brush Script" for all of the brief introductory sections, the book is nicely if unexceptionally printed, with a clean but dull layout; Brown also includes lengthy and often humorous descriptions of each photo in the back of the book.
"…these are the times of dreamy quietude, when beholding the tranquil beauty of the ocean's skin, one forgets the tiger heart that pants beneath it; and would not willingly remember, that this velvet paw but conceals a remorseless fang." - Herman Melville
(Lovely pictures; meh layout)
I can't find anything about author W. Gregory Brown other than he has a few more diving-related books out there; and publisher Ocean World Photography has no internet hits whatsoever, despite apparently being located right here in Manassas, VA, (will have to check out the address sometime).
__________________________________
This was another "found" book, by which I mean a pleasantly unexpected find at our local used book store. I go in there a couple times a month and check for particular authors (Adam Hall, George McDonald Fraser, Mick Herron, Max Barry), but then also browse the marine life, exploration, travel, biology/botany and a few other shelves, which is where I find most of those books ultimately listed on my GR "less-than-10-ratings" and "less-than-50-ratings" bookshelves, usually ranging from $1 to no more than $5. McKay Used Books is just like Forrest's box of chocolates — you never know what you're going to get!
Displaying 1 of 1 review