Patterns in Nature

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PATTEBNSINNATURE Marcus Schneck With more than 120 full-color photographs Nature knows no bounds: she can create beautiful colors in solid rock, fancy lacework from frozen water, exotic patterns in fur and feathers. In every class of creature, in minerals, in fire, earth, and wind, in plants and in water, she has created a wonder of color, shape, and light that has been copied, but never surpassed, by humans. Throughout creation, there are various motifs which are repeated. Occasionally, in kingdoms far removed from each other, a creature will appear that looks strikingly similar to another object or creature. The zebra's well-known striped coat, for example, is echoed in the scales of the zebra fish. The sea anemone is named for the flower it simulates. Various corals look like tree branches, heads of lettuce, or even brains. While these similarities occur purely by chance, other look-alikes in nature are the results of eons of evolution. Many creatures, like the walkingstick,... Tovább

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PATTEBNSINNATURE Marcus Schneck With more than 120 full-color photographs Nature knows no bounds: she can create beautiful colors in solid rock, fancy lacework from frozen water, exotic patterns in fur and feathers. In every class of creature, in minerals, in fire, earth, and wind, in plants and in water, she has created a wonder of color, shape, and light that has been copied, but never surpassed, by humans. Throughout creation, there are various motifs which are repeated. Occasionally, in kingdoms far removed from each other, a creature will appear that looks strikingly similar to another object or creature. The zebra's well-known striped coat, for example, is echoed in the scales of the zebra fish. The sea anemone is named for the flower it simulates. Various corals look like tree branches, heads of lettuce, or even brains. While these similarities occur purely by chance, other look-alikes in nature are the results of eons of evolution. Many creatures, like the walkingstick, rockfish, and leaf mantis mimic aspects of their environments to aid them in hiding from predators. Other creatures, including somé frogs and butterflies, look like members of their orders that are poisonous, or in somé way distasteful, to hunters who might otherwise eat them. And of course, many animals have striped or spotted or mottled skin, fur, scales, or feathers that help them blend with their surroundings. But these are not the only patterns nature has created. Many shapes are used again and again for wide-ranging reasons. The circle, the hexagon, the sphere, the óval, and many others are all readily found occurring in nature. Beehives, snowflakes, tree rings, and eggs are all examples of the natural manifestations of geometric shapes. While nature does repeat herself, sometimes she creates a unique design that is unparalleled in its beauty. Rainbows, the auroras borealis and australis, the Painted Desert, and the patterns in petrified trees have no equal in creation. Illustrated with gorgeous full-color photographs that vividly show a variety of the similarities and contrasts that exist in the world around us, Marcus Schneck's Patterns in Nature illuminates and celebrates nature's marvelous designs. Index of Photographers Vissza