A Kitschy New Book and Video Take Audiences On Safari
A new twist on an old technology brings Africa's wildlife to you.
Dan Kainen and Carol Kaufmann's Safari (Workman Publishing, $24.95) is kitsch—like something you'd find in a novelty store, only it serves a loftier purpose than the coolest snow globe ever could. In this "photicular" book about African animals, a cheetah dashes across the cover. On another page, a mountain gorilla munches on roughage. Elsewhere, a spindly-legged young zebra gallivants across grassland. (Click on the video player below to explore these pages, and more.) Photicular imaging is a twist on an old technology—lenticular photography, which incorporated a composite of interwoven graphics overlain with plastic lenses; the setup revealed an image that appeared to move, depending on an eye's angle. Instead of photos, Dan Kainen—an inventor, artist, and photographer—uses layered video stills to create each master image—"and it comes alive in fluid, film-like motion." Meanwhile, journalist Kaufmann describes aspects of each species' biology, ecology, and threats while also recounting going on safari in Kenya's Masai Mara national reserve. "Few experiences match watching a wild animal move," she writes. Safari is an imaginative interpretation of the real thing.
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Want a Safari for yourself? Find the book here.