Frans Lanting: Jungles

by Frans Lanting (Photographer), Christine Eckstrom (Editor)

Where the wild things From South America to Africa, up close with rainforest flora and fauna Jungles is a personal exploration of nature in the tropics by master photographer, storyteller, and naturalist Frans Lanting. In a unique collection of images made over a period of 20 years in jungles from the lowlands of the Congo to the cloud forests of the Andes, Lanting interprets the aesthetic splendor and the remarkable natural history of the tropical rainforest—a realm of bewildering complexity where nothing is the way it first appears. "While the essence of photography is to show, jungles hide, or at best, suggest," Lanting writes. "So I opted to show impressions of jungles to evoke a sense of their kaleidoscopic nature—the glimpses of faces that melt into shadows, the bursts of color and shimmering light."

The book features four portfolios of images taken years and continents apart, and stories of field expeditions into tropical wilderness areas. "Water and Light" shows the interplay of these elements with plant and animal life, with a story about life after dark in the jungles of Central America . "Color and Camouflage" explores the need to hide and the desire to be seen, and details a journey to a remote part of the Amazon Basin to document macaws. "Anarchy and Order" features impressions of growth and movement, and leads to a trek up a mountain in Borneo. "Form and Evolution" is an ode to the wonders of natural selection, and culminates in encounters with primates in the forests of Madagascar and Africa.

In photographs ranging from spectacular gatherings of rainbow-colored macaws to the misty exhalations of a forest at dawn, Lanting evokes the lush sensuality and intricate natural order of the tropical regions that form the beating heart of life on earth.

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

255 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