Product Description

A collection of famous and lesser-known works of historical significance, culled from more than a century of photography, is divided into geographical regions and includes a special section on space exploration.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10872 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 504 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Since the 10.5 million images in National Geographic's possession won't fit in a book, the 250 in this moderately glossy, minimally costly collection will do nicely. Through the Lens is a stunning collection of photos judiciously apportioned to represent the regions of the earth, the sea and outer space; humans and nature; and even the history of the medium--a few historic black and whites contrast dramatically with the eye-popping modern colour shots that dominate the book.

The aesthetic key to their impact is the use of big, emotional pictures with witty little captions and, whenever possible, startling juxtapositions, such as a Boston matron's faux-fur coat that looks just like her pet Dalmatian (the caption identifies them as "spots fans"); the world's widest street (in Buenos Aires) by night looks great next to a grassy highway overpass for grizzly bears in Alberta; and the famous green-eyed Afghan refugee poses in a purple burkha with her 1985 National Geographic cover. There's also a fuzzy shot of a 1907 inventor testing a multi-winged "Katydid" flying machine contrasts with a crisp 1974 shot of Skylab soaring far above fluffy clouds; newborns are lined up like bread loaves in Shanghai. This is a beautiful collection of photographs drawn from an amazing archive. --Tim Appelo, Amazon.com

Customer Reviews

Some outstanding human photography
As most should come to expect from the National Geographic this huge collection of high-detail photos deals very intimately with human nature and environment. It doesnt deal with wildlife and nature as much as it deals with the human world, looking with compassion and intimacy at developing countries and their many exotic and astounding traditions. Some genuinely inspired pictures.

I bought this book to give me some ideas with my own amateur 35mm SLR photography, and certainly this book is an excellent example of original photographic methods.

Outstanding.

huge, emotional
when i got this book i just couldn't believe how heavy and large it is, and each page carries with it pictures of people, or situations, or places etc which make you live the moment feel the emotions, smell whatever there is in the air, hear whatever therewas going on, it makes you part of the photos. Nearly all of these photos are fantastic, inspiring, some however probably don't belong to such a masterpiece but you can easily point them out. In short a book worth every penny and a must have if you have real taste for photographs.

A stunning book
This beautiful hardback is absolutely stunning, with amazing pictures from outer space to people close ups from all over the world. It is more than just a coffee table book and the perfect present for everyone form those who just like the picture and cant be bothered to read the text to those who love to travel and those who would rather travel from the comfort of their sofa!