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| Front cover |
Already having the first seven books of this collection in our library, I wasn't quite sure if this eighth edition would add something valuable. But it absolutely did! Once again, the photos in this high quality book are simply stunning. Most of them are for beyond what most will achieve in a lifetime, with a few exceptions.
Each of the over 250 featured photos in this publication belongs to one of the following categories:
- Best Portrait
- Birds in the Environment
- Bird Behaviour
- Birds in Flight
- Black and White
- Urban Birds
- Comedy Bird Photo
- Conservation
I was pleased to see that the category 'Creative Imagery', which was present in previous editions, has been omitted. In my opinion it didn't have much to do with the real art of photography, but rather showcased one's ability to work with digital manipulation software, which is fine, but not in this type of book.
One of the new categories, namely 'Conservation', does contain some shocking images which I honestly did not really enjoy looking at: dead or trapped birds, hunters. It might be good that this way the urge for bird protection reaches a wider public, but again, I wouldn't have included them in a photo book that claims to be a celebration of avian beauty.
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| © Gianni Maitan |
Apart from these little points of criticism, this book is a pleasure to browse through. If you take the time to appreciate each image and read the camera settings and the captures, it will easily take you several days to finish it. And in some future, you will want to open it again for sure. Whether you're an aspiring photographer or just a nature lover, you will certainly enjoy this book.
I was curiously looking for any photographer in this edition who used the Canon 90D, the one that still mostly use on our journeys, but didn't find one. It is clear that most photographers have now switched to mirrorless cameras.
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| © Peter Murrowood |
What I liked about it:
+ Truly amazing photographs
+ Excellent finishing quality
What I didn't like about it:
- The category 'Conservation' contains some rather shocking photos
Details:
Foreword: Gordon Buchanan
Number of pages: 256
Language: English
ISBN: 9780008649968
Dimensions: 22.6 x 2.5 x 29 cm
Year: 2023
You will not regret purchasing this book here.
Also check out our review of another publication in this series.