The Living Wild

by Art Wolfe

Book Overview

Art Wolfe has been photographing nature and wildlife to wide acclaim for 25 years, but his most recent book takes a new approach. Recognizing the crucial interdependence between animal life and the environment, Wolfe focuses on this relationship. As he says, An animal . . . within its habitat is a vibrant representation of natural selection. The Living Wild offers breathtaking evidence of this. Wolfe traveled three years to capture these rare, soaring...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0967591805
• ISBN13: 9780967591803
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Wildlands Press
• Length: 230 Pages
• Weight: 5.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 14.6" x 11.1"

Customer Reviews

The Living Wild

It is a beautiful book as one would expect because the photos are by Art Wolfe. In addition there are descriptions of how and why he took each picture. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in wildlife and/or photography.

Magnificent photographs and call for help to text!

I had heard of Mr. Wolfe before,but it wasn`t until today,when I got this book I saw his photographs. I definitly think he is comparable with my other favourites Lanting and Doubilet,if not better. This book is definitly not a small bad book! At a weight of more than 2 pounds and in a format not suitable for even my bookcase,it is a behemoth in nature photo books. It was pretty expensive,but belive me,it`s worth the money. The book is divided into seven chapters,after the beautifull introduction. Island and Ocean is the first,and it deals with the Galapagos Islands with fantastic iguanas,and also humpback whales,which are very impressive. Polar & Subpolar,which is the second chapter,deals with cute polar bears and elephant seals that looks pretty fun,but also penguins,which are charmy animals. Savannah,Desert & Steppe is also an impressive chapter that features lions,wild dogs and elephants of the african savannah. Here are also some funny australian lizards,among them a moloch which looks like an alien!Mountain is the fourth chapterm,and it has many beautifull views of animals with mountains in the background - perfect inspiration. Temperate shows the beauty of North America`s nature with bears,owls and wolves. Subtropical features the Indian Nature. Here there are an excellent picture of mating peacocks. The tiger enthusiast won`t be disappointed either. The final chapter deals with the tropical rainforests,the most diverse areas in the world. Many wild cats are included here,but also toucans and parrots,to not mention monkeys. Over all,I can almost classify this as a sequel to Lanting`s The Living Planet,but in new format and a new photographer. This is a real mammoth release that won`t make anyone disappointed. It also has interesting comments about the endangered species by different authors. I find it very inspiring and funny to look at. Everyone that sees it says:"Can I look!". In such huge format,the full beauty of the image can be discovered. Every picture is like a poster!The book features a total of 150 species from 40 countries. Together with "The Living Planet" and "Water Light Time" it is the best photo book I have read so far. If Wolfe continues like this,I am pleased to see his future work.

An exquisite call to arms...

Once in a great while, an author produces a book that has the potential to change the way people view the environment and their role in preserving it. From an idea initially born while photographing a single endangered Florida panther, Art Wolfe has produced such a book."The Living Wild" is a call to arms that highlights the need for immediate habitat preservation to combat the decline of biodiversity in the world. Happily, it accomplishes this goal while remaining a uniquely accessible work, with a visual splendor that will allow people far-removed from the core environmental debate to appreciate, relate to, and, with any hope, be inspired by its central message.It is obvious on every page that Wolfe was meticulous in his editing choices during the book's production. Each image is composed carefully, and no photograph in the book appears even slightly out of focus. There is no implication that any photograph made the final cut because it was "good enough." Wolfe stayed in the field until he got it right. Such tenacity was particularly important on this project because the visual style Wolfe chose led to a significantly lower number of "keeper" images than would normally be expected from a seasoned pro running so much film through his camera. By employing slower films, longer exposures, and wider-angle lenses than those typically used for wildlife photography, each of which naturally magnifies the possibility of subject movement or camera shake, Wolfe has created a collection of images that will stand out in a crowd.After three years of seemingly perpetual motion on the world's many continents, and with hundreds of thousands of travel miles behind him, Wolfe may have met his greatest challenge of the project on the light table when he arrived back home in Seattle. Although there are a large number of pictures in the book, that number represents an incredibly small percentage of the total number of exposures Wolfe made during his three years in the field. Upon a second reading of the book, I found myself extrapolating from the photographs Wolfe ultimately chose to include, wondering what images had found their way to the cutting room floor (metaphorically) during the production process in order to make room for the survivors.Wolfe's goal in producing this book was to highlight the state of wildlife in the world at the turning of the Millennium, and to that end, the photographs in "The Living Wild" place an unusual amount of emphasis on the animals' context in their environment. This is not a book of portraits; nearly all of the photographs depict the animals in their native habitats. This style will not please every viewer, of course. For those who prefer tightly-framed animal portraits, or animal photographs exhibiting a high degree of anthropomorphism, Wolfe's emphasis on environmental context may detract from the viewing experience. Such readers might be better served with a review of Frans Lanting's excellent "Eye to Eye."In additio

Stunning

This is simply a stunning book. The book is a very large format, heavy hardcover. The photos are reproduced vibrantly and with plenty of breathing room--no cramming three or four photos on a page here. Art has attempted to show each animal in its natural surroundings. Many of the photos are taken with a wide-angle lens, sort of combining the best elements of nature and wildlife photography an the results are incredible. There are also well done essays by several leading biologists and naturalists in addition to careful notes on each photo by Wolfe.I purchased the book after seeing a slide show by Art. He devoted many, many hours and lots of his own money to produce this book. I believe it was definitely worthwhile. Buy a copy!!

A whole new perspective.

This is a remarkable work. We're all accustomed to wildlife shots, but not from this point of view. Firstly, all in their true natural habitat, not some preserve or other artificial locale, and secondly, most shots are from a very intimate perspective. Not telephoto lenses, but wide angle. The colors, framing, and perspectives are unlike any you've seen or are likely to see again. Can't recommend this book enough.