Photographs from the Edge- Review

The beauty of God’s creation can be seen throughout the world in the variety of animals, habitats, and people groups to be found in abundance the world over. Photographer Art Wolfe, in collaboration with Rob Sheppard, has compiled an exquisite collection of the photos he’s captured in his travels throughout the globe in Photographs from the Edge- A Master Photographer’s Insights on Capturing an Extrordinary World. 

This isn’t your ordinary coffee table art book, although the artistry in each of the pictures is beautiful enough. It is so much more. Besides displaying countless breathtaking photographs of everything from river dolphins to Mt. Everest to thousands of hibernating cave bats, Wolfe has also included information on:

• details about the camera he used
• valuable background information on each of the subjects
• the story behind how he came to take the photograph
• tips for aspiring photographers on how to capture similar effects as those in the pictures

As you can see, there is much more information given than a simple caption for each photograph.

 

The reason I chose to review this book was because I have a son who is an aspiring wildlife photographer. I thought this book would provide some visual inspiration for him to keep in mind as he’s out taking pictures. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the book and saw all of the additional information provided to accompany each photo.

There is so much information, in fact, that I will be using it as a combination homeschool photography/science/social studies curriculum for him because it is exactly what he needs. Here are some examples of the details given in this wonderful resource:

“While hyenas look somewhat like dogs, they are more closely related to cats. There are three species of hyenas in the hyena family. All are very intelligent animals and live in family groups. The spotted hyena is the largest of the hyenas and will plery on antelope and wildebeest, though it will eat everything from birds to lizards to insects.” –Photographs from the Edge

“Many photographers are afraid to shoot with their lenses wide open at maximum aperture. Your maximum aperture can be an important tool when the light is low or when you want a strongly out of focus background.” –Photographs from the Edge

Those excerpts barely scratch the surface on the abundance of information given. This book would be so worth it for anyone who enjoys wildlife and nature photography, animals, indigenous cultures, or extreme geographical locations.

This isn’t just a photography book.

It’s a treasure, and I would recommend it to anyone.

 

Disclaimer- I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.