Животные

A comprehensive survey of Arctic landscapes and wildlife

From majestic glaciers to vast frozen plains as far as the eye can see, ice is just as important to the world’s ecosystems as water, air, and trees. And yet its presence and vital role on Earth is increasingly threatened by the effects of global warming and population growth — the inspiration behind French photographer Laurent Baheux’s latest endeavor, Ice is Black. Through breathtaking black-and-white images, Baheux captures the world’s most beautiful icy landscapes and the fascinating animals that inhabit them. We get close to creatures and landscapes that seem to be taken out of time. Taken in such far-flung lands as Norway, Iceland, and Canada, Baheux’s images present polar bears and their cubs, foxes frolicking in snow, and seals navigating icy waters. While the photographs convey evocative beauty, they also act as a call to action to protect these magnificent icy lands and the creatures that rely on them.

Laurent Baheux is a French nature photographer and activist who is the author of The Family Album of Wild Africa, published by teNeues in 2015. In addition to the consciousness-raising that is inherent in his photographic work, he accompanies and supports the deeds of organizations such as the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) that work for the protection of nature and the preservation of biodiversity. His mission is to inspire those who witness his works not only to marvel at them, but also to take action.

The perfect gift for anyone with an interest in animals, landscapes, nature photography, and adventure travel
A visual journey that presents natural beauty alongside a call to action to protect these environments

Hilarious, charming and inventive, INDOGNITO is Karen Ngo's visual treat for today's breed of dog lovers. A whimsical collection of stylishly photographed dog portraits, it affectionately embraces the quirky spirit of the primped pooch.

Photographer Karen Ngo brings together dresed-up dogs of many breeds to entertain and surprise you and make you laugh out loud. From Howloween parades to bark mitzvahs, from dog weddings (think bow vows) to birthday paw-ties, Americans are dressing up their dogs in record numbers. The book pays tribute to all those dogs who have patiently permitted their humans to dress them up as Dogzilla, a piece of fruit, or even Davy Crockett…and continue to be their best friend.

Jungles is a personal exploration of nature in the tropics by master photographs, storyteller, and naturalist Frans Lanting. In a unique collection of images made over a period of 20 years in jungles from the lowlands of the Congo to the cloud forests of the Andes, Frans Lanting interprets the aesthetic splendor and the remarkable natural history of the tropical rainforest—a realm of bewildering complexity where nothing is the way it first appears. “While the essence of photography is to show, jungles hide, or at best, suggest,” Lanting writes. “So I opted to show impressions of jungles to evoke a sense of their kaleidoscopic nature—the glimpses of faces that melt into shadows, the bursts of color and shimmering light.” The book features four portfolios of images that blend the results of travels years and continents apart. Within the portfolios are stories of field expeditions into tropical wilderness areas. “Water and Light” shows the interplay of these elements with plant and animal life, and ends with a story about life after dark in the jungles of Central America. “Color and Camouflage” explores the need to hide and the desire to be seen, and details a journey to a remote part of the Amazon Basin to document macaws. “Anarchy and Order” features impressions of growth and movement, and leads to a trek up a mountain in Borneo whose forested flanks show a unique layering of life zones. “Form and Evolution” is an ode to the wonders of natural selection, and culminates in encounters with primates in the forests of Madagascar and Africa. In photographs that range from spectacular gatherings of rainbow-colored macaws to the misty exhalations of a forest at dawn, Frans Lanting evokes the luscious sensuality and intricate natural order of the forests that shelter the ultimate expression of life on earth.

Nothing graces a coffee table like a stunning book that reminds us visually of the glories of nature, and it is the rare nature book that is as beautiful as "The Wonders of Life." Nature has given us marvellous things - places, plants, animals - that are spectacular of awe-inspiring almost beyond belief. To see them is to be amazed, and to see them in the always stunning photography that is the hallmark of Life is to see them in an entirely new way. The editors travel the world in these pages, visiting exotic locations from the deepest Amazon jungle to the glittering Barrier Reef extending from Australia's Gold Coast.

Here we have an endless stream of exotica-exotic living things growing from the ground and exotic critters of all shapes and sizes, crawling, bounding and flying around. As LIFE's editors put it in their introduction: "This is a wild book. In its pages we have animals as big as trucks and plants as big as small towns. We have flowers that dance for our pleasure and flowers that shyly hide underground, flowers that can kill animals and flowers that can heal animals. We have a teeny tiny bird that is directly descended from T Rex and a truly enormous bird that can't fly but can run 45 miles an hour. We have a lizard king that could rip you apart and a lizard princeling that walks on water. This is a wild, wild book." It is indeed. It is a book that is focused on life at the far fringes-the biggest, toughest, gentlest, rarest and weirdest species. It ultimately creates an astonishing image of the world around us, a world more diverse and sometimes strange than even the most imaginative reader might have expected.

Accompanying the remarkable photography, which is always LIFE's hallmark, are descriptions of each subject that will fairly boggle the mind. Did you know that a carnivorous plant's trapping mechanism often doubles as its stomach, or that an elephant seal can hold its breath for up to two hours when diving in the sea? There are as many amazing facts in these pages as there are sensational pictures. And as with earlier volumes in LIFE's Classic Collection series, Wonders of Life comes with a bonus feature: Five photographic prints from the famed LIFE archive that can be extracted, framed and hung on your wall. When the print is removed, the exact picture is still there on the page beneath, so your deluxe coffee-table book remains intact. It is, as the editors write, "an elegant trick worthy of the dancing flower, and one that our readers have come to expect-and greatly enjoy." Travel along then, around the globe and to the depths of the oceans, as LIFE celebrates the wonders of life-each of them wondrous almost beyond belief.

The King of the Animals in all its richness and character. Stunning black-and-white lion photography

The French photographer Laurent Baheux dedicates his new book to the “King of the Animals” — the lion. Breathtaking black-and-white images create a powerful portrait of one of the most majestic and endangered species in the world.

Think of lions and one might think of the powerful member of the “Big Five,” with a roar that echoes across the planes, and a merciless pursuit of its prey. One might think of the pack animal, surprisingly playful and affectionate within its pride. Or one might think of the endangered lion — long the target of hunters and trophy collectors. In this new photo book, Laurent Baheux journeys across Africa to capture the lion in all its intricate facets. The result is a sensitive and intimate photo portrait that shows the big cat in all its nuance: at once powerful, fragile, and tender. Baheux’s stunning black-and-white lion photographs show this feline animal with the precision and texture of a studio portrait — its many different movements, postures, behaviours, and expressions captured with startling intimacy. Playing among the pride, out hunting its prey, or eyeing us directly from the page, Baheux’s lion photography is as much a tribute to the lion’s character, power, and feeling as it is a haunting reminder that this most impressive of animals is also among the most endangered wildlife on earth.

About the Author:

For over 15 years, Laurent Baheux has been creating a collection of monochrome wildlife photographs, characterized by a contrasting, condensed style. With a unique approach that overrides the laws of nature photography, Baheux seeks to capture the character of each animal as an individual. He is actively involved with environmental organizations, including the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Jane Goodall Institute. In 2013, he served as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in the Wild & Precious campaign against poaching. His photographs are shown in galleries and exhibitions in his native France and abroad and are the subject of numerous books and publications.

What brings a dog happiness? Plentiful walks, healthy food and, of course, human love and affection. Luxurious Design for Dogs is perfect for dog owners who want to treat their best friend to something very special.

Whether a glamourous cushion for a pampered Chihuahua, casual eco-fashion in recycled cashmere for a cheeky Boxer or a luxury collar by a fashion icon such as Louis Vuitton - designers from around the world are creating fabulous luxury products for your four-legged friend. This volume presents exquisite accessories created with love and is an ideal source of inspiration for all who love their dog as much as they value high-quality design.

Award-winning photographer Tim Flach has spent years inquiring into the essential bond we have with animals. Now he presents the culmination of a career-long endeavor, an extraordinary body of work in which each image is more striking and powerful than the last.

Just as did Flach’s highly acclaimed previous books, Equus and Dogs, More than Human will amaze and inspire, in a constant affirmation of the animal, whether it be rare or common, powerful or defenseless, odd or majestic. The book showcases a menagerie of creatures - pandas, tigers, bats, lions, orangutans, cobras, bullfrogs, chimpanzees, wolves, porcupines, elephants, owls, armadillos, among many others - as they have never been seen before. Shedding light on Flach’s images will be an accessible collection of texts, written and edited by author Lewis Blackwell.

81 color and 14 b/w Photographs

Known throughout history as man's best friend, the bond between humans and dogs is a deep and enduring one. Literature and art are studded with tributes to these loyal companions. This charming volume is a heartwarming addition to the tradition of public homage to beloved pets. The German magazine dogs asked their readers to send their best dog portraits. Then members of the editorial voted on their favorites—a kind of doggy beauty pageant if you like! Browse the pages of this endearing book and find your own personal favorite.

* An ideal gift for dog lovers

* An essential addition to any collection of canine memorabilia

From acclaimed animal photographer Elke Vogelsang comes a charming, personal collection of portraits of her three dogs-Noodles, Scout, and Ioli.

Nice Nosing You presents Elke's expressive portraits of her much-loved dogs; a collection compiled over two years in what became a personal and touching project for Elke and her husband, Carsten. One year on Christmas Day, Elke's dogs suddenly started barking outside the bathroom door. Investigating the commotion, Elke discovered Carsten collapsed in the bathroom. He had suffered a major brain haemorrhage and the dogs had in fact saved his life, discovering him at a crucial time.

The months immediately following were filled with much uncertainty and in an attempt to establish some sort of routine and find something to lift her husband's mood, Elke started taking photos of their dogs to show Carsten in the hospital. As Carsten slowly recovered, Elke's project became an obsession. Gathered here in a stunning collection, Elke's photographs are captioned with inspiring quotes, illustrating the personal encouragement she and her husband found in these intimate and playful images. Praised by The Huffington Post-"Elke Vogelsang has taken dog portraits to a new level"-this is truly a collection to treasure.

About the Author

Elke Vogelsang is a photographer specialising in animal portraits. Her images have featured in publications across the globe, including the Daily Mail and Huffington Post. She lives with her husband and their three dogs.

In A Shadow Falls, which features fifty-eight recent images in stunning, oversized tritone plates, Nick Brandt continues his ambitious and ongoing photographic project to memorialize the vanishing natural grandeur of East Africa. Brandt’s wide-screen panoramas of animals and landscapes capture an epic vision of Africa that has not been seen before. His iconic portraits of its majestic animals are filled with an empathy usually reserved for human subjects.

From the opening images in A Shadow Falls, of a verdant world filled with multitudes of animals, to the closing images of small bands of creatures moving across a parched, dusty earth, Brandt portrays a mythic Africa struggling against tragic forces. In years to come, we will look back at these powerful photographs and wonder why humanity did not do more to preserve this rare corner of earthly paradise.

About the author:

Nick Brandt's first book, On This Earth, is one of the most popular photography books of this decade.

Across the Ravaged Land is the third and final volume in Nick Brandt’s trilogy of books documenting the disappearing animals of eastern Africa. The book offers a darker vision of this world, still filled with a stunning beauty but now tragically tainted and fast disappearing at the hands of man.

In addition to a range of starkly powerful animal portraits, Brandt introduces some new themes, as humans make an appearance for the first time. He also contributes two essays summing up his photographic odyssey, which has taken more than a decade of intensive work to complete.

About the Author:

Nick Brandt (b.1964) is an English-born, US-based photographer whose themes always relate to the disappearing natural world. He is the co-founder of the Big Life Foundation, in Kenya, where all of these photographs were shot.

Across the Ravaged Land is the third and final volume in Nick Brandt’s trilogy of books documenting the disappearing animals of eastern Africa. The book offers a darker vision of this world, still filled with a stunning beauty but now tragically tainted and fast disappearing at the hands of man.

In addition to a range of starkly powerful animal portraits, Brandt introduces some new themes, as humans make an appearance for the first time. He also contributes two essays summing up his photographic odyssey, which has taken more than a decade of intensive work to complete.

About the Author:

Nick Brandt (b.1964) is an English-born, US-based photographer whose themes always relate to the disappearing natural world. He is the co-founder of the Big Life Foundation, in Kenya, where all of these photographs were shot.

You may not know Belgian artist Thierry Poncelet, but after taking a look at this book, you will quickly come to love him. Art restorer Poncelet has a passion for nineteenth century ancestral portraits and a love for dogs. This blends into an unlikely but fascinating union: he changes the aristocratic heads on the paintings into those of matching dogs. This book presents to you his so-called aristochiens and let them tell their own stories. What is their relationship to the painter? What are their fears and dreams? Oh My Dog! proves that art can be a funny business. At the same time it offers a startling grasp on human psychology and character, because the depicted individuals tell us something about humanity. Barking dogs do bite sometimes, you know...

This title 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. Through his images, he carries us beyond the familiar views of penguins to reveal the stern beauty and dignity of their lives.

"This book is a personal interpretation of the penguins I met, rather than a natural history of all penguins," Frans Lanting writes. "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."