The Handbook of Bird Photography

This book is wonderful as a piece of instructional material (picking a shutter speed, mode, lens, etc.) and as a primer to the actual practice and business of being a pro bird photographer... birding hotspots, travel tips, concrete ideas for marketing and selling your pics, etc. They aren't afraid to recommend specific gear, specific hotels and tours, and even websites where you can sell your work. And most of the info, though centered around northern europe, is relevant to everyone.The authors understood that some of the gear they mention will be dated a few years after they wrote this, but you can figure out pretty quickly what you need and who makes it and where to get it. And the locations they recommend will probably still be great places to see birds in a hundred years.It's fascinating to read about their dedication, which includes making their own blinds, sleeping in a tiny tent outdoors in the winter, and even building their own homemade contraptions... one of the authors has made a remote control box to house his camera so it can rest in a marsh or snowy pine and capture pics of birds from distances that would otherwise be impossible. Imagine filling the frame with a bird using an ultra wide angle lens... how's that possible? This book will tell you.The photos blew me away and my only regret is I got this book the same way I get all my others these days... electronically, rather than buying a physical copy. But some of the photos really need to be seen in print, filling a big page, not as tiny jpegs on my phone screen. If you're reading this before buying, consider buying the print edition, even if you usually prefer the kindle edition of most books.

Wow...what a book. I am a photographer but bought this as a gift for a friend who is an avid bird photographer. The photos are fabulous and the background information and how to's are very enlightening. The 3 photographers that created this book are internationally recognized and rightly so. They are extremely talented and their work is incredible. This book is packed with over 300 pages of very beautiful and highly unusual shots of birds from around the world. These guys go the distance when it comes to capturing birds in action, or seeing them from a different and unique perspective. I would highly recommend it to any bird, or nature photography lover. Even though it is a soft cover, it is a high quality book that was more than worth the money that I paid for it. After buying it, I can honestly say that I am now a fan of Varesvuo, Peltomaki, and Mate.

Happy New Year. 2015First would like to thanks Amazon even we're thousands mile away and received the goods in time and good condition.The book is fantastic for bird photography. My country have only ones season (Summer) and approx. 80% of the birds shown in the book are more on 4 seasons country. That's not important as long the technique, recommendation, advice, tips and methods are mentioned/stated in the book are good enough for a "Middle class" photographer like me to upgrade to Professional Photographer.Bird photographing is just one of my hobby and my aim is to shooting and achieved a good quality photos on Swallow birds flying and catching insects. Is not easy because the bird is too small and fly every fast.This book to me is very useful and given 5 stars for this book.

I purchased this book with the intention of getting some hints on exposure and focusing settings to photograph birds in various circumstances. The book provided that information and so much more. The photos are an artistic treat in themselves; they also provide technical data on camera settings, how the photo was taken, and the equipment used. The photos will be useful to study when comparing my own photos to improve them. The book also describes how to get close to birds and best places in the World to photograph birds. The authors are from Finland, so the bird species and many locations will be unfamiliar to the North American reader.I purchased the kindle version since it was one third the cost. I'm very disappointed with how the photos and their captions are not kept together. I would recommend spending the money for the print edition. Overall a fascinating book, but may contain far more information than the casual bird photographer can use. If you are looking for inspiration and fantastic artistic bird photos, this book will not disappoint.

Although this book does not feature North American birds, I found the information very helpful. I especially liked that every photo in the book showed all the shooting data. Camera, lens, aperture, shutter speed and ISO listed for each and every one! Of course, I will never own an 800mm lens (unless there is a lottery win in my future) but that did not make the information less helpful. There are sections of the book that do not apply to me, for instance I can never see myself in a blind, but it was still quite interesting.All information is presented well with many examples. This is the most informative book I have purchased and would definitely purchase it again and recommend it to anyone who is not an absolute beginner.

This is by far the best book of bird photography I have ever read. It's truly a "Handbook" of this interesting field, full of true-life experience of three fantastic professional wild life photographers. What I liked most about this book, is its comprehensive coverage of all related technical subjects such as camera, lenses, tripods, etc... together with the techniques of photographing birds such as approaching birds, shooting flying birds, using flash, using natural light, etc...Very comprehensive guide indeed, and I highly recommend it.

Nothing groundbreaking, talks about birds etc. nothing technical or artistic input. Nothing you can't get in regular photography books. Ok.