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Bugs Up Close: A Magnified Look at the Incredible World of Insects
Take a close-up look into a world you’ve never noticed.
Bugs are usually so small that we hardly notice them, let alone think of them as living beings. But call upon the magnifying glass, and a shapeless jumble of legs, wings, and antennae suddenly start staring back at us.
About 80 percent of the Earth’s animals are insects. While there are millions of different species, we rarely see many of them . . . until now. Thanks to the photography of John Hallmén, who took a camera and magnified these magnificent creatures one hundred times, we can see what we’ve never been able to see before.
Bugs Up Close takes readers on a journey into a world rarely seen, with incredible photographs of such insects as:
Crane flies
Yellow meadow ants
Black fungus beetles
Treehoppers
And many more!
The diversity of this insect civilization is striking and unknown to most. An insect we may never have thought twice about now looks like a creature from outer space. Fascinating and somewhat monstrous details such as compound eyes, antennae, and sharp mouth parts are visible, and with text by Lars-Åke Janzon, Bugs Up Close is an amazing close look into the strange and beautiful world of insects.
Bugs are usually so small that we hardly notice them, let alone think of them as living beings. But call upon the magnifying glass, and a shapeless jumble of legs, wings, and antennae suddenly start staring back at us.
About 80 percent of the Earth’s animals are insects. While there are millions of different species, we rarely see many of them . . . until now. Thanks to the photography of John Hallmén, who took a camera and magnified these magnificent creatures one hundred times, we can see what we’ve never been able to see before.
Bugs Up Close takes readers on a journey into a world rarely seen, with incredible photographs of such insects as:
Crane flies
Yellow meadow ants
Black fungus beetles
Treehoppers
And many more!
The diversity of this insect civilization is striking and unknown to most. An insect we may never have thought twice about now looks like a creature from outer space. Fascinating and somewhat monstrous details such as compound eyes, antennae, and sharp mouth parts are visible, and with text by Lars-Åke Janzon, Bugs Up Close is an amazing close look into the strange and beautiful world of insects.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
29 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Lars-Åke Janzon
9 books1 followerLars-Åke Janzon is a biologist at the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm. He enjoys research in the lab and in the field, where he often helps students identify their natural finds. He has made numerous television and radio appearances in Sweden to discuss biology and nature, and has published many articles on his findings.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 2, 2020
Great info and excellent photos!
Bugs Up Close by John Hallmen has the best photos of bugs, but parts, their parasites, and great info on the creepy things too! I got the book on sale for free and assumed it was one of those 30-50 page books that might have a couple of good pictures but nothing much, but not was I wrong. This is a full sized book with lots of easy to understand information and pages and pages of high quality close up photos of a variety of bugs! Enjoyed it. Looking at them that close they look like something from outer space!
Bugs Up Close by John Hallmen has the best photos of bugs, but parts, their parasites, and great info on the creepy things too! I got the book on sale for free and assumed it was one of those 30-50 page books that might have a couple of good pictures but nothing much, but not was I wrong. This is a full sized book with lots of easy to understand information and pages and pages of high quality close up photos of a variety of bugs! Enjoyed it. Looking at them that close they look like something from outer space!
December 19, 2014
Ooooh! Bugs! Up CLOSE!
Yes, please!
I love bugs. I think they are delightful and fascinating (only, not ticks or leeches. They are horrifying nightmares)
This is a book is full of bug faces and bug fur and bug scales and all the other minute (my-newt, not minnit) parts of insects that show up larger than life thanks to the wonders of macro-lenses.
It sounds like many, probably most, of these pictures were taken in the out of doors and the critters are alive for their shots. That's impressive. I know how hard it is to get a bug to stay still long enough for portraiture.
There is a bit in the back by the photographer in which he talks about his photography and methods. Pretty much, he's telling you he's not magic, just dedicated and in possession of a good understanding of photography.
There are some phenomenal pictures in here. GIANT BUG MUSTACHE! SO MANY FACETS! BEETLES THAT LOOK LIKE FUZZY BUNNIES! GAH! It's wonderful.
There I two things I wish this book also had:
1) In bird and flower guides, there's a map that shows you where the item in question can be found. I would have liked that kind of map with each bug, too. Just because I like that kind of thing. That's personal preference.
2) This is the one thing that detracted for me and it is also personal preference but I really think it may have helped make some of the images even stronger: Many of the photos are super-up-close, like just a giant eye or some odd little pinchy toes. In those cases, I really would have appreciated the up-close photo more had it been accompanied by a comparison shot of the full insect. Kind of a "Ok, here's the giant eye, but if we back out just a bit, you can see the head, shoulders, knees, and toes (knees and toes). It's all the same bug! Isn't that neat?"
There is lots of bug information throughout the book, both in terms of the story of the individual in each photograph as well as overall "Here's neat things to know about insects" at the beginning of each chapter.
It's a fascinating book. I didn't even read it all, I got too caught up in wondering how soft bug hair might be.
I recommend this if:
-You like insects a lot;
-You have children who like insects a lot;
-You like macro photography;
-You want to know and like bugs more than you currently do.
However, if bugs feature in your nightmares and give you the squeebie weebies, probably you should give this book a pass.
Yes, please!
I love bugs. I think they are delightful and fascinating (only, not ticks or leeches. They are horrifying nightmares)
This is a book is full of bug faces and bug fur and bug scales and all the other minute (my-newt, not minnit) parts of insects that show up larger than life thanks to the wonders of macro-lenses.
It sounds like many, probably most, of these pictures were taken in the out of doors and the critters are alive for their shots. That's impressive. I know how hard it is to get a bug to stay still long enough for portraiture.
There is a bit in the back by the photographer in which he talks about his photography and methods. Pretty much, he's telling you he's not magic, just dedicated and in possession of a good understanding of photography.
There are some phenomenal pictures in here. GIANT BUG MUSTACHE! SO MANY FACETS! BEETLES THAT LOOK LIKE FUZZY BUNNIES! GAH! It's wonderful.
There I two things I wish this book also had:
1) In bird and flower guides, there's a map that shows you where the item in question can be found. I would have liked that kind of map with each bug, too. Just because I like that kind of thing. That's personal preference.
2) This is the one thing that detracted for me and it is also personal preference but I really think it may have helped make some of the images even stronger: Many of the photos are super-up-close, like just a giant eye or some odd little pinchy toes. In those cases, I really would have appreciated the up-close photo more had it been accompanied by a comparison shot of the full insect. Kind of a "Ok, here's the giant eye, but if we back out just a bit, you can see the head, shoulders, knees, and toes (knees and toes). It's all the same bug! Isn't that neat?"
There is lots of bug information throughout the book, both in terms of the story of the individual in each photograph as well as overall "Here's neat things to know about insects" at the beginning of each chapter.
It's a fascinating book. I didn't even read it all, I got too caught up in wondering how soft bug hair might be.
I recommend this if:
-You like insects a lot;
-You have children who like insects a lot;
-You like macro photography;
-You want to know and like bugs more than you currently do.
However, if bugs feature in your nightmares and give you the squeebie weebies, probably you should give this book a pass.
October 6, 2024
This was neat. The author and photographer presents the insects of Sweden in close ups. Some bugs are actually really beautiful, while others are still kinda ugly (honesty, I don't think you can make a tick look good). Each bug is presented with information. The book is split in to various sections and includes a section at the end about how the photos were taken.
October 7, 2017
fantastisk, riktigt creepy fotografier.
January 17, 2015
Stunning!!! Spectacular photography, one incredible image after another. Great coffee table book, just to flip through and see the photos. Also, perfect for savoring a while on each page, and read the description of the little creature that makes each amazing photo. Worth looking through, again and again. Good writing, too, one short paragraph at a time, per page, it immersed me in this alien awesome world. A beautiful journey. I'll go again.
August 9, 2015
Overall, this book is gorgeous and strikes a good balance between accessible and informative. Really the only issue is that, like a lot of books on insects written for a popular audience, it is largely narrowly focused on the most diverse/charismatic groups and there are several sentences whose phrasing is awkward in English.
June 7, 2013
High-quality macro photography of insects. John Hallmén is clearly an expert of focus stacking, and has managed to create captivating extreme close-up photos of insects. Very intriguing work. Even very common flys look quite charming face-to-face like this.
May 25, 2015
I love this book. The photography is amazing, and there is also a lot of information about all of the bugs featured in the photographs
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews