Customer Reviews:
Could be so much better..........2007-01-23
I was disappointed with the book. Although the book is well done, good quality and big pictures, the photos were just "nice".
I expected more.
There were a few beautiful images, but none "jaw dropping", and in general, I think they had no poetry, no soul.
To me it seemed like an average person photographing from a helicopter (= scared animals), not a true artist capturing the magic of Africa.
I was even bored half way through. I recommend checking it out at your local bookstore before ordering it through Amazon, to make sure you're getting what you expect.
Nick Brandt's book, despite very different in style, causes much more emotion.
Somewhat Disappointing.......2006-11-14
Having spent time in Africa, I was expecting really spectacular photos, given the promos I had seen and read. My anticipation wasn't rewarded, however. Unique vantagepoints, but compositions could be better, and there is no text to help compensate.
A Great book of Africa & Photography.......2006-02-26
This is a coffee table book that you will be drawn to many times-not just the first time. The photography is of course beautiful, and the selection is diverse. I love it.
Mike
Gorgeous Images; Great Gift Item.......2005-12-26
I saw Bobby Haas at the National Geographic this fall as he presented these images and launched their exhibition of his work. The images are truly astounding. The landscape and wildlife of Africa have often been captured through gorgeous photography, but I've never seen anything like this. Haas's aerial photography really shows us this remarkable part of the world from a whole new angle. He was a great lecturer, too, very enthusiastic and filled with exciting tales of his adventures. The book is beautiful and it made a great Christmas gift for my parents, who have traveled extensively in Africa and loved seeing places they had visited in such a new way.
The images are unique!.......2005-10-30
This book was just a feature on The Sunday Morning Show. The views of Africa that this man has captured from a helicoper are very moving. I not only want to own this book I wish I could go to Washington DC and see the exhibit of the original photographs. An exhibition of Robert Haas's photographs can be viewed in National Geographic's M Street Building, October 25, 2005, to January 25, 2006. But if that is not possible buy the book.
Average customer rating:
- Great text book
- Excellent introduction to vision
|
An Introduction to the Biology of Vision
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Animals
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Anatomy
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Neuroscience
| Neurology
| Internal Medicine
| Medicine
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Neuroscience
| Neurology
| Internal Medicine
| Medicine
| Medical
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Medicine
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Professional
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Science
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
An Introduction to the Visual System
-
Visual Intelligence: How We Create What We See
-
Animal Eyes (Oxford Animal Biology Series)
ASIN: 0521498902 |
Book Description
This main goals of this text are to provide undergraduates with a working vocabulary and knowledge of the biology of vision and to acquaint them with the major themes in biological vision research. Part I treats the eye as an image-forming organ and provides an overview of the projections from the retina to key visual structures of the brain. The second part builds on this material, examining the functions of the retina and its central projections in greater detail. Part III addresses certain advanced topics in vision. This book is intended for use in a course for undergraduates in biology, neuroscience, or psychology who have had an introductory course on the nervous system. It is also useful as an ancillary graduate-level text.
Customer Reviews:
Great text book.......2007-02-15
This book totally covered the material in my neurology of vision class. Well written and thorough.
Excellent introduction to vision.......2005-01-03
This is a short and sweet introduction to the invertebrate and vertebrate visual systems. Given the small size of this book, its breadth of coverage and clarity of presentation are remarkable. The author should be commended for covering the physics of vision alongside with its anatomy and physiology. I own a copy of this book and highly recommend it as the best introductory text for anyone who enters the field.
Average customer rating:
|
Vision: Coding and Efficiency
Colin Blakemore ,
K. Adler , and
M. Pointon
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Animals
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Mammals
| Animals
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Medicine
| Subjects
| Books
Neuroscience
| Neurology
| Internal Medicine
| Medicine
| Subjects
| Books
Neuroscience
| Neurology
| Internal Medicine
| Medicine
| Medical
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0521447690 |
Book Description
This is an extensive collection of essays on all aspects of vision, approached from the perspective of coding and efficiency. It examines the broad spectrum of vision research from one particular, unifying viewpoint, namely the way that visual systems efficiently encode and represent the outside world. This approach, both rigorous and general, was championed by H.B. Barlow in the fifties and has been followed in many areas of vision research. The approach has recently acquired new significance due to the growing interest of computer science and artificial intelligence in the processes of vision, which attempts to describe visual processes in algorithmic terms, equally relevant to a robotic visual system, the eye of a fly or the complex visual pathways in the human brain.
Book Description
An astonishing collection of images so vibrant they seem poised to fly off the page.
In a place where art, science and technology meet, Joseph Scheer's images of moths emerge. These ubiquitous creatures are often considered drab-colored poor relations of the "beautiful" butterfly; Scheer's artwork will forever change that notion. By using a high-resolution scanner, recently developed digital printing technology, and an artist's sensibility, he brings forth the subtleties and astonishing varieties of color and textures that moths possess. The result is a glittering jewel box of brilliantly colored, intricately formed creatures, each with its own landscape of tiny hairs, kaleidoscopic color, iridescent eyes and antennae as intricate as filigree.
Scheer's moth experiments started out as a fine art print installation to show a range of insects at large scale in a single room, and have now expanded into a biodiversity project with a significant number of specimens. This exquisitely produced volume features one hundred and fifty prints selected from Scheer's extensive collection, images of such incredible depth and color you'll want to reach out and touch them. Certainly you'll never look at a moth the same way again.
Customer Reviews:
Reality Check.......2007-07-11
This book is simply amazing--and I love that the emphasis is simply on the beauty of the moth. I would recommend it as a gift for anyone who will appreciate being reminded of the miraculous beauty of that which we bypass(or worse...swat at) every day. A fantastically wonderful reality check.
capturing and killing beauty.......2005-12-12
A nice pair of close-up binoculars, a flashlight and boots could be a lot more exciting and respectful of these animals than drying them up just to copy their evolutionary path and call it art. The three stars are for the benefit of those who would have never known such creatures exist, that much this book has done. Why not get a microscope and take photos of bacteria, or take photos of metal detector screens. I prefer my animals alive in their habitat, and my art to really say something. Check out naturephotographers dot net. Now there is photography of nature.
The beauty I overlooked.......2005-11-07
Joseph Sheer has used his expertise in the electronic arts-scanning and digital imaging-to produce an amazing collection of colorful, vivid images of moths. Very simply, "Night Visions" contains stupendous color plates and would appeal to anyone, especially those interested in macro imaging or the study of Lepidoptera (butterflies, skippers and moths).
The book begins with three introductory chapters (like forewords), the first by Mr. Sheer explaining his interest in moths and his techniques for trapping them and scanning them for print images. Lepidopterist Marc Epstein follows with a four-page mini-course in moth types, habits and markings, after which Johanna Drucker briefly describes the evolution of image making that brought us to the scanning technology which produced this book. I enjoyed the first two sections the best since I became interested in moths upon seeing this book.
There are over 70 color plates, mostly displaying the moths enlarged so that each wingspan extends to just about one full page in width (depending on the moth, that's a magnification ranging from 2.5x to over 20x). In addition, where aspects of a moth's coloration or texture is particularly fascinating, a secondary blow-up, many times the initial enlargement, is displayed alongside in order to give perspective to the detail. In every case, the result is a photograph that is amazing in terms of clarity, color and detail. I've never seen anything like this.
A nice bonus can be found in the last twelve pages, which have another 150-plus 1" x 2" photos of moths, arranged by family (Sphinx moths, Tiger moths, Owlet, etc.) so that an easier comparison of characteristics can be made to introduce the reader to the different family types. I thought this added a nice educational complement to the big images. The construction of the book is first-rate, with durable, thick and glossy print stock. "Night Visions" is bound to fascinate just about anyone.
Astonishing state of the art color scanning.......2005-04-02
The front and back covers of this book are not mirror images of each other. They are continuous parts of a scan that is 12 inches tall and about 36 inches long, including the flaps in the front and back covers. The body of the moth is not clear along the spine of the book, but the light hairs extending an inch or more from dark shoulder pads are similar to the pattern of Grammia virgo on Plate 18. This print of the entire moth measures six and a half inches between spots that are shown on the inner flaps, so the cover must be zooming in with a power of five on the size of a full page moth in this book. The virgin tiger moth shown in the tiny version of that scan on page 110 has a wingspan of 6.2 cm. It is amazing how intense the colors become as the picture is electronically exploded to twenty-five times actual size, and fine red hairs can be seen crossing yellow wing membrane.
On Plate 18, the antennae curve like an antelope's antler, with tiny offshoots like eyelashes. The wings look as fuzzy as moths are expected to be, with fine hairs projecting into the space between the wings and the body. The long cover scan is so well focused on the hairs at the glass of the scanner that the gap between body and wing is hardly noticeable, except on the back cover, where distinct hairs over a white background approach the rounded red shape of the moth's body. The intricate parts of the wings look flaky, but the scanning technique emphasizes the shapes and colors of discrete objects on the surface of the glass much more than how three-dimensional anything is. Legs might be blurry, as in plate 43, Magusa orbifera, or extremely hairy when they are featured, as on plate 44, Zanclognatha laevigata, looking like a combination of feathers and spiky thorns.
Weird is the 11 and 1/2 by 18 inch scan of Geina tenuidactyla on plate 59, which looks like it has five or six feathers on each side, striped curvy antennae, and legs with long spines at the joints. Wingspan is actually 1.1 cm, so the scan is magnified about 40 times, and the strange features of the Pterophoridae family are explained on page 116. "They are mostly small moths with long slender legs. At rest the wings are rolled in a T-shape at right angles to its body. The forewing is deeply notched and the hindwing is divided into three fringed lobes resembling plumes." It really helps to have the small pictures at the back of the book, which more closely resemble what you are expecting to see whenever you view a moth in real life.
WOW!.......2004-03-22
This is one of the most remarkable books that I have encountered in a long long time. An artist friend who is aware of my tripartite interest in science, technology, and the arts grabbed me in the cafeteria last month & said that I "had to take a look at this". She was absolutely right. No, this ISN'T a scientific treatise on moths or a discourse on the natural history of insects, and one certainly wouldn't want to take it into the field to identify even the moths of the relatively small area sampled, BUT THAT ISN'T THE POINT! Instead one is treated to stunning imagery of animals that most of us either ignore entirely or slaughter with "bug-zappers" and poisons & seldom if ever grant the benefit of a second glance. Thanks to Scheer my children & I have had some very pleasant sessions simply sitting & turning the pages & the most frequent comment is the title of this review. "Wow!" indeed. Also Bravo to Scheer for giving us a wonderful look at a little seen & greatly under-appreciated subject.
Book Description
Conservation International has been instrumental in raising awareness and concern about the most environmentally endangered regions and animals throughout the world with its publication of high-quality volumes that combine breathtaking photography with expert scientific analysis. Continuing in this distinguished tradition, Conservation International offers here a new, lushly illustrated volume that examines transboundary conservation areas—environmentally endangered regions that sprawl across international borders and contain multiple protected areas.
Recent studies estimate that there are now 188 transboundary conservation areas in 112 countries, making up about 17 percent of the designated protected areas around the world. This book specifically examines 28 of these areas, found across all continents, from Asia to Antarctica, and in several oceans. Eminent scientists and conservationists contribute detailed histories of the areas, from the birth of the initial conservation efforts to the latest research that reveals new regions and assesses the success of the programs to protect existing ones. Accompanying the analyses are Conservation International’s trademark vibrant full-color photographs that powerfully document these rapidly disappearing treasures.
Following in the footsteps of Hotspots, Wilderness, Wildlife Spectacles, and Hotspots Revisited, Transboundary Conservation is an essential resource for all those concerned about the future of our environment.
Customer Reviews:
A photographic treat .......2006-07-28
The environment defies political borders and any meaningful attempt at conservation must inherently transcend such demarcations. In this extraordinary series of photographic essays, Conservation International, provides us with a visual rationale for why countries must cooperate on conservation. While the book does not have much substantive text about the challenges in establishing such conservation zones, it is a worthy addition to any coffee table. A picture is indeed worth a thousand words with the general public and the book serves an important purpose by visually sensitizing us to the value of transboundary conservation.
Book Description
Gorgeous full-color photography by award-winning photographer Miguel Ãngel de la Cueva, and evocative text by Bruce Berger (Almost an Island, There Was a River), bring the southern half of Baja California to life. Beginning with its unique geology, and moving on to the coastal, desert, and mountain ecosystems of Mexico's little-known peninsula, this lushly decorated coffee-table book highlights the geology that created this "oasis of stone" and the flora and fauna that are make their homes here.
Ending with a short photo-essay on "The Newcomers" (mankind) from cave painters to the enduring rancheros, the book packs a pro-environmental punch by following the many pages of glorious natural beauty with some succinct words and images of what man's enduring legacy might be, should we continue unchecked.
Customer Reviews:
Magic in the desert.......2007-10-08
This oversized table top book is simply amazing. The photographs are otherworldly yet these are the visions of Baja Califonia where desert stone meets the sand and shore. Photographer Miguel Angel de La Cueva presents pictures of Baja California that are mind blowing land and sea visons that look unreal. The photogrpahs reveal glimpses of habitats and micro-habitats that look as though they are from some alien planet. The views from above ,revealing the terrain as it meets the sea looks like molecular observations, it is as though you were looking at blood running through veins in a body;in many ways it is one and the same. The photographs of the various cacti are magnificent, the sun illuminating the spines, making the cacti look like angels with halos or at times their thorny presentation looking like a medussa of devil horns highlighted by the sun. The shots taken at night are superb revealing the austerity and serenity of the desert. The colorful flowering plants of the desert are a sight to behold whether you are a Baja traveler or an arm chair adventurer. The Sierra de La Laguna exhibits some of the most colorful depictions of the desert that defy our sterotypical thoughts regading what a desert looks like. Nature is presented in all it's beauty. Seeing a tree growing like the wild fig, on the side of a cliff, with it's roots extending the length of city blocks is a sight that goes against our normal perceptions of tree growth; the natural beauty of the landscape is impressive. The section on the creatures of the desert is interesting but the photographs of the land and sea far exceeeds those about the animals that hunt and survive. The text is lyrical and expressive of the beauty of the desert that is Baja California. This book is recommended for all Baja enthusiasts, community libraries or high schools. Unfortunately there were only 5,000 copies printed in the first printing so get yours now while you still can.
An essential acquisition by California libraries.......2007-03-07
Enhanced with 160 superbly presented full color photographs by acclaimed photographer Miguel Angel de la Cueva which accompany an informative, almost lyrical text by Bruce Berger, "Oasis Of Stone: Visions Of Baja California Sur" presents a beautifully showcased survey of southern Baja California complete with its unique geology, as well as its coastal, desert and mountain ecosystems. Of special note is the succinct photo-essay on 'The Newcomers" providing a perspective on the contributions and impacts of humans that range on the positive side from cave painters to rancheros, the negative as illustrated by rivers poisoned by pollution and junked car heaps. An essential acquisition by California libraries, "Oasis Of Stone" will also have dramatic appeal for non-specialist general readers with an interest in nature and the environment, as well as armchair travelers seeking to explore the wonders and beauty of the relatively unknown and heretofore underappreciated Baja peninsula
Natural history books can be fun to read!.......2007-02-15
For those who doubt it--check out "Oasis of Stone"...Every glossy page fairly bursts with color and the photos have that amazing depth that only very talented photographers can capture; where it looks as if you could step right inside and walk across a sun-washed valley or into the warm turquoise waters of the Sea. The text as well is both beautiful and deep--one of my favorite non-fiction writers, Bruce Berger, who dazzled all Baja book lovers with "Almost An Island" does it again, taking us deeper into the natural world of this unique peninsula and its inhabitants.
Book Description
The work of Douglas Harper has for two decades documented worlds in eclipse. A glimpse into the life of dairy farmers in upstate New York on the cusp of technological change, Changing Works is no exception. With photographs and interviews with farmers, Harper brings into view a social world altered by machines and stuns us with gorgeous visions of rural times past. As a member of this community, Harper relates compelling stories about families and their dairies that reveal how the advent of industrialized labor changed the way farmers structure their work and organize their lives. His new book charts the transformation of American farming from small dairies based on animal power and cooperative work to industrialized agriculture.
Changing Works combines Harper's pictures with classic images by photographers such as Gordon Parks, Sol Libsohn, and Charlotte Brooks-men and women whose work during the 1940s documented the mechanization and automation of agricultural practices. Part social history and part analysis of the drive to mass production, Changing Works examines how we farmed a half century ago versus how we do today through pictures new and old and through discussions with elderly farmers who witnessed the makeover. Ultimately, Harper challenges timely ecological and social questions about contemporary agriculture. He shows us how the dissolution of cooperative dairy farming has diminished the safety of the practice, degraded the way we relate to our natural environment, and splintered the once tight-knit communities of rural farmers. Mindful, then, of the advantages of preindustrial agriculture, and heeding the alarming spread of mad cow and foot-and-mouth disease, Changing Works harks back to the benefits of an older system.
Customer Reviews:
Review of Changing Works .......2005-11-05
I found "Changing Works" to be a very informative text in the area of technological advances in the dairy industry. Harper uses SONJ pictures to highlight wonderful interviews with various dairy farmers that farmed in the generations before World War II. These interviews bring the past back to life as the reader goes through the mechanization introductions such as replacement of horses and the reconstruction of the milking process. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about the dairy industry and to future dairymen. As an agricultural student, I was enthralled throughout the entire book. Harper tends to be less descriptive when it comes to the actual workings of the machinery, but it does not take much away from the rich narrative he weaves with the farmers' interviews. The reader gets a feeling of loss for the traditional ways that Harper projects throughout the book and it only enhances the content.
Book Description
This series of new and compelling night images of the ancient land and skies of Israel offers the viewer mystical points of entry and departure. The world depicted in Celestial Nights is composed of a delicately constructed order where earthly elements and the heavens mirror each other. Folberg emphasizes the singular and poignant presence of objects against the backdrop of the infinite. His photographs describe places where the spiritual is at once near, imprinted in the forms of the arid landscapes, and far away in the dark, starlit recesses of space.
Customer Reviews:
Stunning, Ethereal, Other-Worldly..........2003-03-21
These photographs transport the reader to another world, a twilight zone where the universe meets the earth and mind....these are black and white photographs, powerful, transporting, wonderful....Neil Folberg has captured the mysterious power of a sacred place and made marvelous photographs. Startingly original, deep and authentic. This is great art.
Beautiful landscapes.......2002-03-02
I discovered Neil Folberg through a photograhy magazine, and I fell in love with his images and process of making them. The book is beautifully made and classy with a matte dust cover, but it got a 4 rating because it was just a little less than I had expected. The two images that I had seen over and over again are included, but they are the only ones so dynamic in the book. Others seem a little plain, but art is subjective so what I don't like about this book may not be what others dislike. Either way, I see Folberg gaining more recognition as time goes on and he will continue to improve on his style.
Average customer rating:
|
About Dinosaurs (My Discovery Books)
Brighter Vision
Manufacturer: Brighter Vision Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Nonfiction
| Dinosaurs
| Animals
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Activity Books
| Sports & Activities
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Baby-3
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1552540553 |
Books:
- Top Working Dogs: A Training Manual--Tracking, Obedience, Protection
- Top Working Dogs: A Training Manual--Tracking, Obedience, Protection
- Warriors Field Guide: Secrets of the Clans (Warriors)
- Waterfowl: An Identification Guide to the Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World
- What Your Horse Wants You to Know: What Horses' "Bad" Behavior Means, and How to Correct It
- Where Did I Come From?
- Who am I in the Lives of Children? (7th Edition)
- Wild About Books (Irma S and James H Black Honor for Excellence in Children's Literature (Awards))
- Wisdom Sits in Places: Landscape and Language Among the Western Apache
- Zen Shorts (Caldecott Honor Book)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- FLIP: How to Find, Fix, and Sell Houses for Profit
- The Garden Primer
- Introduction to Aviation Insurance and Risk Management, Second Edition
- Plant-Pollinator Interactions: From Specialization to Generalization
- The Bible and Its Influence, Student Text
- The Wizard of Oz and Other Narcissists: Coping with the One-Way Relationship in Work, Love, and Fami
- The Dog Listener: Learn How to Communicate with Your Dog for Willing Cooperation
- Nurses: Jokes, Quotes, and Anecdotes: 2005 Day-to-Day Calendar
- Managing Interest Rate Risk: Using Financial Derivatives
- Cry Of The Peacock
Through The Eyes Of The Condor: An Aerial Vision of Latin America
On This Earth: Photographs from East Africa
Last Place on Earth (National Geographic)
Africa
Vanishing Act
