Eisner's World ─ Life Through Many Lenses

Tom Eisner's first forays into photography were the result of scientific pursuits. An early fascination for insects--specifically in the strategies that enabled these little animals to achieve dominance on earth--required a close look into their behavior, physiology, and ecology. Photography became an indispensable means of data acquisition. Dr. Eisner's creative eye was not to be limited, however, and his collection of some 20,000 images has come to include photos of organisms other than insects, as well as pictures taken by special techniques, or for special non-scientific purposes. The instruments he employed to achieve a wide variety of visual effects include 35mm cameras, compound microscopes, scanning electron microscopes, ultraviolet lenses, and a color copier. Eisner's World: Life through Many Lenses features 118 of these photos, selected for their innate natural drama, sheer beauty, and imaginative appeal.

Thomas Eisner was a world-renowned authority on animal behavior, chemical ecology and evolution, and the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Chemical Ecology at Cornell University.