Hyper Nature

"Like the human eye, a camera can only focus on one thing at a time. But thanks to a process combining high-def digital photography, computer processing and years of painstaking work by photographer Philippe Martin, this limitation has been removed. Each bug, snake, flower or fish in this tome was photographed dozens of times, and the shots digitally overlaid so the entire depth of field is tack-sharp. Result: Over 170 pages of bug-eyed wonder that literally freeze time and let you pore over every scale of a dragonfly''s wing and every hair on a spider''s legs. The images are the main attraction, but the captions have their own nerdy appeal."
--Wall Street Journal

A revolution in nature photography, now in paperback.

Philippe Martin revolutionized digital nature photography by "stacking" images. To take one photograph, he will shoot a subject hundreds of times, stack the images into a composite, and then clean up the composite image pixel by pixel. The result is a "quasi-3D" photograph of nature with such sharpness and brilliance that surely it will leap from the page. What''s more, Martin takes the photographs in his subjects'' natural setting, including inhospitable jungles.

Hyper Nature is a portfolio of Martin''s stunning photographs of snails, orchids, dragonflies, snakes, frogs and many other creatures. The hyperrealism and large images bring the viewer into the heart of the scene, face to face with the subject, where he can discover the smallest detail. This is nature photography as never seen before. Martin also explains how he achieves his photographs, increasing readers'' appreciation and leaving a legacy for new photographers. The most recent exhibition of Martin''s photographs attracted one million visitors to the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. Hyper Nature is ideal for all photography and nature enthusiasts as well as photographers, naturalists, educators, museum specialists and scientists.