Bear Portraits - A Review by Toni

Bear Portraits, by Jill Greenberg

Full Description: (from the publisher)

A top celebrity portrait photographer, Jill Greenberg has a unique ability to coax powerful emotions out of her subjects - whether human or animal. Her portraits of bears, collected here for the first time, surprise and engage. We encounter cubs as cute as a child's Teddy, grizzlies that look like they might swallow you whole, and Polar bears seated in Sphinx-like tranquility.

Full-grown brown bears, grizzlies, black bears, Polar bears, and bear cubs are photographed on location against a portrait backdrop. The poses and facial expressions are at turns oddly comedic, pensive, terrifying, and sometimes unexpectedly human. Alive with Greenberg's signature lighting and seen through the unique perspective of her lens, these startling bear
portraits bring us face to face with our fears and fantasies.

About the Author: (From the publisher)

Jill Greenberg regularly shoots advertising and celebrity portrait photography for such clients as Dreamworks, Sony Pictures, HBO, Bacardi, Rolling Stone, Time and Newsweek. She is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and began her career in New York City. Jill now resides in Los Angeles with her husband Robert and children.

My thoughts:

Do you like Bears? Actually it doesn't matter if you love them or not because you probably will after reading this book. I love bears. I love to knit bears and just see them. Not that I'd want to run into a live one, but I do love them.

This book is chalk full of stunning Bear Portraits. Once again I jumped into the book to look at the pictures without reading the wonderful detailed introduction from the author. I had a lot of questions, when I went back and read all about the author and the bears the pictures meant so much more. The photos are stunning and there are a lot of celebrity/famous people quotes to flavor up the portrait viewing.

This is a wonderful tribute to bears. I really really enjoyed the book and I will enjoy it for a long time to come. I recommend this lovely book to anyone. It is a perfect gift Idea. Even for yourself.

Thank you Anna From Hachette Book Group for sending this great book.

Toni