Here Today: Portraits of Our Vanishing Species

by Susan Middleton, Liittschwager

Photographers Middleton and Liittschwager have photographed each of 36 endangered species of plants and animals (many portrayed in both b&w and color) against a simple black or white background not only highlighting the delicate features of each species, but also underscoring the very absence of their natural habitat. Each image is accompanied by brief, informative text. The foreword is by Wendell Berry. Lovely work. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Genres: Nature

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1991

About the author

Susan Middleton is a photographer and author specializing in the portraiture of rare and endangered animals, plants, sites, and cultures for the past 30 years. She was Chair of the Department of Photography at the California Academy of Sciences from 1982 to 1995, where she currently serves as Research Associate. Her most recent book, in collaboration with Mary Ellen Hannibal, is Evidence of Evolution (Abrams 2009). Previous books in collaboration with David Liittschwager include Archipelago and Remains of a Rainbow (National Geographic); Witness and Here Today (Chronicle Books). She has produced films and exhibitions in conjunction with her book projects. Her most recent project is ‘Hermit Crabs!’, a short film produced for the web.

Middleton was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship in 2009, and is the recipient of an Endangered Species Coalition Champion Award for Education and Outreach and a Bay & Paul Foundation Biodiversity Leadership Award. In the fall of 2008 Middleton was invited as a guest artist at Crown Point Press, San Francisco, to create a series of limited edition color photogravures. Middleton’s photographs have been exhibited and published throughout the world, both in fine art and natural history contexts. She lives in San Francisco.

Reviews

[Kathleen Messmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s so very sad to see how many species are on the endangered list. We need to help prevent this from happening. Please read this book and take action now.

[Sienna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous record of beauty. Not just photographs, loving portraits of creatures & plants.

[Cws]

J574.5Mid