Now that I'm trying to get most of my books either on my Kindle or from the library, about the only books I'm allowing myself to buy are coffee table type books with photographs. This one was an impulse buy when I spotted it at McNallys. (Finding books like this is one of the reasons I hope bookstores like McNallys stay in business, and why I continue to buy from them.)
Apart from the photographs, I was attracted by the text which told the story around the photos, including some of the background on how they were taken. Obviously, this won't be of interest to everyone, but it definitely was to me.
I have to admire someone who has devoted a considerable portion of their life to taking photographs of one kind of bird. And despite the spectacular photographs, he still talks about how he needs to get better photographs. I guess you'd have to be a bit of a perfectionist to get to this point. I can only shake my head since his photographs (and the lengths he goes to get them) are way beyond me.
We have Belted Kingfishers in Saskatchewan (and much of North America) but they're not quite as colorful as the ones in the book. I've only caught brief glimpses of them. I'll have to keep a closer eye out for them.
If you get a chance, I'd recommend taking a look at the book. I see he has a new one coming out soon - Halcyon River Diaries. It's definitely on my wish list.
You can see some of his photos (including some of the kingfisher ones) on his website: charliehamiltonjames.com
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