kolbykirk.com

Sep

First Look: Animal Life by Charlotte Uhlenbroek

Filed Under graphic design, kahunna.net, photography

Did you watch the BBC nature documentary Planet Earth as if it was the newest action thriller? Are you fascinated by most programs on Discovery Channel? Do you read National Geographic Magazine? If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, then you need to read on.

I was at my local bookstore looking for a book on insect macro photography when I passed behind a man flipping through a book. Sounds like something that happens all the time in a bookstore, right? But this was the first time I passed someone where, in a blink of an eye, I had the desire to immediately purchase the book they were perusing.

I started a conversation with the man who, wouldn’t you know it, has a name. He goes by Thom Bluemel and he’s the brilliant creator of Bird Brains.

The book he was reading is called Animal Life: Secrets of the Animal World Revealed by Dr. Charlotte Uhlenbroek. Unlike other hefty encyclopedic tomes on animals, this one specifically covers animal behavior. But this was not what drew me to the book over a Thom’s shoulder. The 5.8 pound book is sweet, sweet eye-candy. Produced in partnership with the American Museum of Natural History and Doris Kindersley Publishing, every one of its 512 pages is visually stunning - both in design and in photography.

I’ll end my first look with photos I took of the spreads. The book retails for $50, but you should be able to find it for sale at about $35. Either way, it’s worth every penny.