Penguin (Icons Series) by Frans Lanting

by Frans Lanting

What's more charming than a penguin? A bunch of penguins! Brilliant nature photographer Frans Lanting enters the deep south world of the flightless Antarctic birds to reveal their daily lives, their triumphs and tragedies, and above all, that adorable way they waddle in their little tuxedoes. In his introduction, Lanting I wanted to create an impression of who these penguins are and what they go through. I hope my work will be seen as an homage to the individual within them all. Set against the starkly beautiful Antarctic rocks and ice, Lanting's subjects are brilliantly defined, as sure of their purpose in life as they are of krill in the water. Whether going to sea to hunt, or raising their heartbreakingly cute chicks in crowded rookeries, these penguins are sleek, elegant, and funny. Lanting's photos reveal their lives in sparkling, intimate detail. --Therese Littleton

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, Animals, Nature, Birds, Natural History, Art

Paperback

First published February 1, 1999

Reviews

[Bettie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Description: Penguin is a celebration of the nature and beauty of penguins as expressed through the exquisite images and unique personal stories of master photographer and naturalist Frans Lanting. In a remarkable portfolio of photographs made during three expeditions to the icy kingdoms of penguins, he reveals both the amazing natural history and the irresistible appeal of the most human of birds.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Lanting wildlife-photo book. He really is a masterful photographer. And I LOVE penguins! Priority for a reread -- hopefully the library copy hasn't gotten too beat up! We'll see. Wonderful (and famous!) cover photo. Taschen did him proud on the photo reproductions and good-quality binding.

Third (at least) reading/viewing, 2023: the local library copy has gotten more worn, but the quality of Lanting's great photos shines through. And the cover photo has likely earned him a house payment or three for their Santa Cruz residence. Well-earned! I think I saved the calendar that featured this wonderful photo a few years back. 5 easy stars!

And . . . here's Lanting's online portfolio of his Penguin photos!
https://lanting.com/images/portfolios...
Great stuff!!

[Alice Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful, beautiful pictures! I was hoping for more information about penguins though... : /

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do you like penguins? do you like pictures of penguins? then this a book for you.

for my there wasnt enough accompanying narative and although i am no pro in photography i felt some of the pictures were out of focus...

[Coleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love penguins, you'll love this book. Informative and very generous with penguin pictures.

[Rick Ludwig · Rating 4 out of 5]

The words are few and the pictures are fabulous. A very nice experience.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book! It features incredible pictures. I got it from the library for my three year olds for our unit on arctic animals and I wasn’t sure if they’d like looking at it or not, they tend to be of the goofy story camp when it comes to books at story time. But they absolutely loved this one and requested I bring it back another day! I used it as a teaching aid to talk about Emperor penguin life cycles and habits. Their favorite part was definitely all the cute baby penguins, they loved looking at them. Even when I ended circle time and had them go play, a bunch of them wanted to sit around and look at the pictures some more. They were super invested in the stories I told them using the photos about how mommy penguins lay eggs and go get food while daddy penguins watch the eggs. Their only complaint was the lack of regurgitation photos, but you can’t please everyone, right?

[Aquila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful photography, fascinating penguin facts, but the things I'll remember best from this book are that macaroni penguins and jackass penguins exist.

[Annelotte Beutler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pinguïns ❤️

[Tweedledum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is there anyone who doesn't love penguins? This book is a beautiful photographic celebration by Frans Lanting who has been photographing the world's penguins for over 10 years. Lanting adds some brief but interesting commentary at various points. Really the more one learns about penguins the more amazing and wonderful these birds prove to be.

[Cristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

[João Moura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um livro para simplesmente sorrir e apreciar a beleza da natureza. Tem informação sobre as espécies de pinguins e a sua vida em condições extremas, assim como a história da captação das fotografias pelo próprio autor, que até contraiu malária no processo. Mas o aqui importa são mesmo as fotografias extraordinárias de um mundo inóspito e ainda assim real, algures, e dos pinguins, que em muitas fotografias se assemelham ao homem, a amar a cara metade e as crias com todas as forças, a apressar-se no meio da multidão, a apanhar breves raios de sol, ou a tentar sobreviver contra todas as probalibidades.

[Molli B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this little book!!! The photos are great, and there's a section at the end that explains what's going on in each photo and where it was captured. There's also a little intro to each chapter, talking about the different penguins in that section.

Very fun! Learned a lot. Penguins ♥

(Seriously increased my Antarctica yearning, tho.)

[Lorena Mazuera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Las fotografías son preciosas, logran capturar la belleza de los pingüinos, ¡Me encantó!

[Lussi · Rating 5 out of 5]

就是这本摄影集让我发现我对帝王企鹅的爱（

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Photos of penguins. Nice photos but a bit monotonous for me

[Serch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fui de compras a Costco y me di una vuelta por la sección de libros para ver las novedades del mes y me llevé una grata sorpresa al ver un enorme libro sobre pingüinos. Lo que más me llamó la atención fue su precio pues es bastante económico, tan solo pagué 61 pesos por el libro, baratísimo, así que no me pude resistir.

Les mencionaré que soy fan de estos pequeños animales, además de bonitos me parecen súper interesantes; después de ver el documental de “La Marcha de los Pingüinos” me enamoré aún más de ellos. Gracias al parque acuático ‘Sea World’ los he podido apreciar en directo y capturarlos en fotografía al igual que Frans Lanting, solamente que no creo que lo llegue a realizar en su hábitat natural, aunque quien sabe, ¿verdad?

El libro está lleno de hermosas ilustraciones, son más de 110 y se divide en 2 partes: los pingüinos de mar y los de tierra. Nos da los nombres de las distintas especies y además nos menciona la región en que fue tomada la fotografía. Se incluye muy poco texto e información, sólo lo básico pero es más que suficiente para conocer sobre esta bella especie. Algunas fotografías tal vez les parezcan que están fuera de foco, pero hay que saber que Frans las ha capturado a lo largo de muchos años y en diversas situaciones.

En palabras del fotógrafo: “Este libro es una interpretación personal de los pingüinos con los que conviví, no una historia natural de estas aves. Mi intención ha sido transmitir lo que son y cómo es su azarosa vida, y mi mayor deseo es que mi trabajo se vea como un homenaje a todos y cada uno de ellos”.

Un libro que no puede faltar en la estantería de los amantes de los pingüinos, van a disfrutar cada página y cada fotografía y lo mejor es que lo venden a un precio muy accesible para todos.

[Jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know why every girl has a particular animal they're drawn to - mine are penguins. I love their waddles and their sense of family. I love how intelligent and kind they are, how they raise their young and how they persevere despite some of the most dangerous weather. This book serves as a kind of hybrid between picture book and non-fiction book. The photos are sweet and that's about it for me!

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captivating pictures of penguins, primarily from South Georgia, the Falklands and Antarctica. A couple pages of text are interspersed which relate some facts about the penguins, details about their habitats, and information on how the photographer studied and photographed them.

[Beroha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my absolute favorite from Frans Lanting. It celebrates the beauty of nature at the end of the world and of penguins. The photographer reveals their natural history and portrays them in a very personal way.

[Sean Evans]

Penguin by Frans Lanting (2000)