Best Underwater Photography

The exuberant, exhilarating photographs of dogs underwater that have become a sensation From the water's surface, it's a simple exercise: a dog's leap, a splash, and then a wet head surfacing with a ball, triumphant. Included in O, The Oprah Magazine's holiday gift guide, Entertainment Weekly's best-selling gift books list, and The Star-Ledger's holiday gift guide. -- The New York Times Book Review's "Inside the List". "The arresting portraits in Seth Casteel's Underwater Dogs reveal what's happening below the surface. "Seth Casteel's photos of dogs diving into swimming pools in hot pursuit of neon tennis balls have been a sensation."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"A laugh out loud funny and sweet testimony to the awesomeness of dogs."
"If you are looking for an outstanding gift for a dog lover, these books are the ticket."
"One of the best coffee table books EVER for dog lovers."
"You get to see it all so clearly because he also demonstrates the skills and knowledge to light his moving subjects under water and what a particular lens' focal length matched with the right point of view can capture what matters the most in a fraction of a second. Thankfully, he also is skilled in how to control tone, color, contrast and depth of field masterfully to complement the composition and intentional distortion of the subject. The more established William Wegman is the undisputed pioneer and creative master of humor, gesture and novelty photography using dogs. The pool provides a way for the dogs to defy gravity while still allowing natural distortions created by water resistance from the force of the dive. Casteel is not trying to be Wegman, does make elaborate set-ups, props or wardrobe, and instead has carved out his own "underwater dog guy" identity quite well. Maybe shots of dogs diving through ice fishing holes on Lake Michigan can contrast with southern Californian pools."
"I think toddlers will love looking at the pictures and the verse that runs throughout the book is very entertaining."
"Whether you are a fan of photography or just a huge dog-lover like myself, you MUST own this book!"
"I like to give calendars as gifts because everytime the person looks at it they are reminded of you :)."
"Absolutely the best coffee table book everywhere."

Offering an extensive survey of the ocean’s many fascinating inhabitants, Blackwell presents incredible images of everything from whales to manta rays to seals to endless schools of fish to the creatures that reside in the deepest recesses of the ocean floor. Lewis Blackwell is the author of the bestselling The Life & Love of Trees , The Life & Love of Cats , The Life & Love of Dogs , and Rainforest .
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Each page has either a beautiful picture of sea life or poetic words that make you feel like you're a part of the sea."
"One of the most beautiful, if not THE most beautiful book with stunningly gorgeous photographs!"
"Saw this coffee table book in a store, while visiting the island of Maui."
"excellent product, excellent service."
"So glad I got this beautiful book for my coffee table."
"This was a gift but the recipient told me he loved it."
"Beautiful book with awesome ocean pictures and pictures of ocean animals."
"The pictures and colors in this book are so vibrant, some times displayed on both pages."

Featuring Austin's intimate images--some as detailed as a single haunting eye--that result from encounters based on mutual trust, Beautiful Whale captures the grace and intelligence of these magnificent creatures. Bryant Austin is a fine art photographer whose work has exhibited internationally including countries such as Norway, Japan, Spain, Chile, UK, and the United States.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I've loved whales since I was 5 and having purchased numerous books of underwater photography, I was starting to ask myself "are there any NEW ways to photograph a whale?" These pictures are so much more natural and organic-looking ; we see tiny sucker marks around a sperm whale calf's jaw, hair follicles inside a humpback whale's tubercules, the concerned eye of a mother whale keeping a close watch on this human interloper while her calf swims alongside, the fine skin texture of a Minke Whale - really, I could go on a while. If Bryant Austin ever does a Beautiful Whale II, I'd love to see some shots of Grey and North Atlantic Right Whales."
"The descriptive passages about the author's process of taking these photos, observing and relating to these individual cetaceans is haunting, moving and uplifting!"
"Anyone who loves whales will love this book. And if you don't love whales -- you will when you see this book."
"The book is absolutely beautiful!"
"Great gift for whale watchers and looks really nice on a coffee table."
"Amazingly beautiful giant book of beautiful giants!"
"Unique photos that demonstrate a real emotional connection to the whales."
"Absolutely stunning photography."
Best Landscape Photography

A stunning and unique collection of satellite images of Earth that offer an unexpected look at humanity, derived from the wildly popular Daily Overview Instagram account. "Absolutely gorgeous, yet utterly gut-wrenching" – Wired "Stunning, surprising and intriguing photographs of Earth from the skies." "Grant’s book...uses satellite photography to reveal both environmental wonders and suburban sprawl from a new perspective." – Smithsonian "The awesomeness of earth from above" – The Atlantic "Stunning" – Huffington Post "A tour de force of research and image presentation" – American Photo.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Despite my decades of work in the environmental sciences, this book provided new insights, showing man's ecological, architectural, and terra-forming impacts -- for better and worse -- in ways that I had never seen before."
"Have spent the past couple nights flipping through it with my kids and discussing fascinating subjects."
"It's really more than just a coffee table book - I found it mind-expanding; a combination of great beauty and deep truth."
"Great book and Pictures Amazing."
"A totally necessary and beautiful book."
"The images are stunning!"
"The kids loved to flip through it and got more ideas on how human being have intervened the Earth."
"Absolutely BEAUTIFUL book!!!!"
Best Plant & Animal Photography

The lush and unique photography in this book represents National Geographic's Photo Ark, a major initiative and lifelong project by photographer Joel Sartore to make portraits of the world's animals—especially those that are endangered. He has written several books including National Geographic's Rare: Portraits of America's Endangered Species , Photographing Your Family , and Let's Be Reasonable , a collection of essays from the CBS Sunday Morning show.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"In either case, the recipients were fascinated with the beauty of the photos and the description of the animals' name and survival."
"She loves the book."
"Gorgeous, large tabletop book."
"Beautiful book!"
"Absolutely amazing pictures and incredible record of species on our planet!"
"Beautiful beautiful book."
"EXCELLENT. 25 YRS OF WORK IN ATTEMPT TO PHOTO AND RECORD ENDANGERED SPECIE ON THI PLANET."
"Beautiful photos as are all NG photos."
Best Garden Pictorials

Carefully selected by an international panel of experts and arranged in a uniquely structured sequence to highlight thought-provoking contrasts and similarities, this stunning compilation of botanically themed images includes iconic work by celebrated artists, photographers, scientists, and botanical illustrators, as well as rare and previously unpublished images. As featured in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, The Daily Telegraph, Garden & Gun, Gardens Illustrated, The Guardian, Martha Stewart Living, Natural History Magazine, New Scientist, Newsweek, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Seattle Times, Smithsonian, The Sunday Times, Tatler, The Wall Street Journal, and on Atlas Obscura, BBC Focus, Goop, and mental_floss. "From the winning cover to the beautiful images inside, Plant is a complete pleasure covering centuries of botanical art. "The timeless pleasure of looking at plants: a new illustrated book examines mankind's fascination with making images of plants through the ages... Compton's fascination with what different people have done within the remit of botanical art jumps out of every one of Plant 's pages. "My award for sumptuous volume of 2016 has to go to Plant: Exploring the Botanical World , 300 works of botanical art from ancient times to the present in every imaginable medium... "Botanical art of all kinds, from a Minoan fresco of swallows billing among ocher red Lilium chalecondicum, painted circa 1600 B.C., to a hand-colored image from a scanning electron microscope of the seed of an alpine pincushion flower, its plum-colored skirts floating like a ballerina mid-jeté. "300 of the loveliest botanical images ever collated." "This beautiful new book is like having a botanical art exhibition on your coffee table."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Amazing and beautiful book."
"Bought for a friend and she is THRILLED."
"Great book!"
"Excellent Price Speedy Delivery."
"Two lucky friends will get this book and I know they will love it."
"Makes a great gift for those who appreciate art and gardening."
"My daughter loved this book!"