One Hundred Butterflies by Harold Feinstein

In One Hundred Butterflies, Harold Feinstein presents a collection of photographs of butterflies and moths from around the world. Quotes and information about the insects accompany the images.

This an absolutely gorgeous book. The photographs are exquisite. The layout with one butterfly/photograph per page is an ideal way to view these beauties. All of the glorious colours and shapes really standout against the black backgrounds. Even the endpapers are beautiful.

Inside, you'll find butterflies with odd names, such as: Welling's Gaudy Checkerspot, page18; Anna's Eighty-Eight, page 52; Drury Callicore, page 53; Painted Jezebel, page 84; Stinky Leaf Wing Butterfly, page 91; and the African Blue Salamis, page 99. I was amazed and surprised by the butterflies that have very different colouring on their top and bottom sides. I had no idea these existed. Examples include: Owl Butterfly, page 34-35, which is yellow and blue on the top, but has owl-like features on the underside; Blue Morpho, page 37; and the Variable Cracker, page 38. I was also taken aback by the unique shapes of the Indian Leaf, page 92-93, and the Dead-Leaf, page 98; the luminous beauty of the Jungle Queen page 94-95; the batik-dyed quality of the Lacewing, page 118-119; and the stained glass effect on the Glasswing page 124.

There are lovely quotes scattered throughout the book, which make a great addition to the images. Some of these quotes have to do with butterflies; others with nature and beauty. I loved them as well as the interesting and relevant information about the butterflies and moths.

Of all of the photographs, I'd be hard pressed to pick a favourite. I'll just say that my favourite is the one I looked at last. ;)

One nice addition for the book would have been a scale of some kind to give me and other the viewers an idea of the size of these marvellous creatures. I found this especially true of the Pandora Sphinx Moth. As first I thought it was not only unusual, but also quite beautiful. As I wondered about it more, I thought it could also look quite scary if it was shown full size (which I hope it's not.)

I loved the following line from the author's note at the beginning of the book:
The earth laughs with flowers, but it dances with butterflies (page 7).

Recommended. This book would make a lovely gift and/or coffee table book. Butterfly lovers, nature photographers, artists and those interested in these subjects would especially love this book. I'll be on the lookout for Feinstein's other books.

For more information about this book, please visit the Hachette Book Group website.

For more information about the author and his other works, please visit Harold Feinstein's website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at Hachette Book Group for this book.

One Hundred Butterflies by Harold Feinstein, Little, Brown and Company, ©2009. ISBN 9780316033633(Hardcover), 128p.

Bear Portraits by Jill Greenberg

In Bear Portraits, Jill Greenberg presents a series photographs featuring a variety of bears in a outdoor studio setting. Some of the expressions she captures are almost human-like; others exhibit the raw and unforgiving power of these huge beasts. Her subjects range from the 40 pound European Brown Bear, 4-month-old Amos to the 1600 pound Grizzly named Koda. In between, there are Kodiaks, polar bears, brown bears and black bears. The text accompanying the images comes from various sources: ancient proverbs and well-known persons such as Shakespeare, Elvis Costello, and many more.

Beautiful book with marvellous subjects. The gorgeous images in this unique setting allows the viewer to see the bears up close and personal. Something we rarely, if ever, get to do. After glancing at the first couple of photos, I flipped to the introduction because at first I thought that these bears were stuffed. The author explains that they are indeed real and was surprised herself "that the bears didn't look alive or real in the pictures." All of them have, however, been raised by humans from birth and judging from the credits at the back of the book, each has some previous experience in front of the camera.

The one minor flaw in the book is in the images that span two pages. Some of the beautiful details are lost to the spine of the book. That's a shame. The only other thing is that it would have been nice to know which bear appears in which photograph. A label might have been too intrusive, but a listing in the back of the book might have accomplished this nicely.

If I had to pick a favourite, it would be "Silly Old Bear". The photograph is wonderful, but the reference (Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh) makes it special.

Recommended. This book would make a delightful coffee table book.

For more information about this book, please visit the Hachette Book Group website.

For more information about the author and her other photography projects, please visit Jill Greenberg's website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at Hachette Book Group for this book.

Bear Portraits by Jill Greenberg, Little, Brown and Company, ©2009. ISBN 9780316031882(Hardcover), approximately 60 photographs.