Bugs Up Close: A Magnified Look at the Incredible World of Insects

My son LOVES this book. I happily watch him bring this along on car rides. The photos are stunningly detailed and so large! The text is short enough to keep an 11yr old engaged.

Bugs Up Close by John Hallmen has the best photos of bugs, but parts, their parasites, and great info on the creepy things too! I got the book on sale for free and assumed it was one of those 30-50 page books that might have a couple of good pictures but nothing much, but not was I wrong. This is a full sized book with lots of easy to understand information and pages and pages of high quality close up photos of a variety of bugs! Enjoyed it. Looking at them that close they look like something from outer space!

If you have ever been curious about those small creatures that really bug us, (sorry - I just couldn't resist) this book is a great resource. I learned lots of stuff, really fascinating! The extremely detailed photos of such tiny critters are such a joy to view. I find it hard to imagine the patience and time required to obtain such highly detailed results! My compliments to the photographer! You gotta see this book...

Amazing photos

I'm a long time fan of John's macro photography. He's a world-leader in high magnification insect photography, and has really pushed the envelope of what's possible. I make my own attempts at this kind of photography and I look to John's work as the gold standard. I've been eagerly awaiting the english translation of this book since it was first announced. It's a fantastic (big!) book of John's photos with informative captions provided by an entomologist. John's got incredible skill at capturing amazing close ups of live insects in the field. You can check out his flickr account (user name johnhallmen). If you like that kind of photography, or are just a fan of how what amazing little machines insects are, then you can't go wrong with this book.

This book, now available as an e-book via Amazon, is one of the richest and most enjoyable books about bugs and macro photography that I have read. Each macro photograph is unusually expressive as a photograph and the accompanying text is delightfully informative. It is also a great introduction to macro photography and/or entomology. Reading the book to young children would be lots of fun and educational. For those who enjoy macro photography and/or entomology as a hobby or special interest, this book is nothing short of inspirational.

I liked the book. I bought it for my niece, who is 11 for xmas. She normally like animal books and wants to read them to me over and over again. I thought this one would be good for her to learn about creepy crawlies. I especially liked the cover. I wanted her to have a shock value when she opens up the pretty box with pretty wrapping paper and then suddenly see this monster looking bug. I can see her expression now. I hope she wants to read this to me over and over again as well.

I bought this as a birthday gift for my 12 year old granddaughter who is fascinated with insects. There is not a bug in the forest, on the shore, or in the city that she does not stop, drop to the ground and examine up close. This book is a dream come true for a girl who could be a future entomologist. The photographs are absolutely stunning (if not a bit frightening in some instances). The whole family seems to enjoy it and it was in the center spot on the coffee table on my last visit.

Irre Nahaufnahmen gemacht von Insekten mit FokusStacking und begleitender Erläuterung + realem Größenvergleich und BIO Story. Perfekte Photos geeignet um den Nachbarn/Feind zu schocken. mit liebevollem Grussel - Euer Hartmut

Brilliant

Der Fotograf John Hallmén hat in der Makro-Szene bereits einen (sehr guten) Namen. Völlig zu recht, wie die meisterhaften Bilder zeigen. Es ist nicht nur die technische Qualität, die begeistert, sondern gerade die hervorragende Komposition der Bilder, die kaum zu übertreffen ist. Gerade die Aufnahmeserien in freier Natur verdienen höchstes Lob, da sie unter schwierigen Bedingungen entstanden sind: nichts darf sich bewegen, selbst der kleinste Windhauch ist fatal. John Hallmén vereint auf geradezu vorbildliche Weise das Wissen um die "Bugs" mit einer über Jahre entwickelten Foto-Technik, die der Perfektion sehr nahe kommt. Auch gefällt, dass nicht etwa nur einzelne "Viecher" zu sehen sind, sondern auch Bilder, die deren interessantes Verhalten oder tragisches Schicksal zeigen. Die englische Ausgabe entspricht dem schwedischen Original, nur die sehr interessanten und fachlich versierten Texte von Lars-Åke Janzon sind viel leichter verständlich ;-) Sie ergänzen die Fotos hervorragend und zeigen auf, wie vielfältig und abwechslungsreich die Welt der Insekten ist. Dieses Buch öffnet einem sprichwörtlich die Augen für die Welt der Insekten, die erst derart vergrößert für uns sichtbar wird. Daher spricht es den Fotografen ebenso an wie jeden, der schöne Bilder zu schätzen weiß. Fazit: Absolut empfehlenswert! Künstlerisch wertvoll.

Brillante Fotos, gute Texte, etwas mehr technische Informationen wären noch besser gewesen. Ein großer Bildergenuss. Ein lohnender Bildband nicht nur für Fotographen.