Wildlife Photography by Stefan Ekernas - Nature Galleries and Fine Art Prints from North America and Africa

	Wildlife and Nature Photography Book Reveiws Having read a few too many books about photography, I've found quite a few to be of not much use. Below are books that I think are of good use, either because they present common material in greater clarity and depth than other books (see John Shaw's Nature Photography Field Guide) or because they present relatively unique material (see Galen Rowell's Mountain Light).
John Shaw's Nature Photography Field Guide, by John Shaw If you're starting to develop your photography and want a technical guide covering the basic "hows" of photograpy, John Shaw's Nature Photography Field Guide is the book you want. It covers all of the basics of aperture and shutter speed, depth of field, how your camera meters a scene, and it has fairly comprehensive discussions about different equipment choices. The book is well written, easy to read, includes some good tips, provides a relatively comprehensive guide about photography basics, and of course includes some nice pictures to illustrate examples. Be warned that it does not provide any particularly original insights about photography, and hence is best suited to beginners, but it's just about the best introductory book to photography that you're likely to find.
Mountain Light, by Garen Rowell Galen Rowell was an outrageously good landscape photographer, and this book provides quite a bit of insight into how he thought and worked. Some of the photos are truly magnificent, and he uses them very well to illustrate different points that he makes. It is not a how-to book; it is a book about how one photographer worked. The book is worth it for the pictures alone. Mountain Light is the only book by Galen Rowell that I have had the opportunity to read, so I can't comment on other works by him, but I've heard several other people recommend Galen Rowell's Inner Game of Outdoor Photography.
Learning to See Creatively, by Bryan Peterson There are many books that discuss how to make better photographs, but this is one of the best books I've read in teaching how to approach subjects from an original point of view. While it touches on how to make good compositions, it really does an excellent job of presenting mundane objects in new and interesting ways. It's suitable for both beginning and more advanced photographers. When my brother developed an interest in photography the two books I gave him were John Shaw's Nature Photography Field Guide and Learning to See Creatively.
The Art of Bird Photography, by Arthur Morris This is a real classic. I've read it a whole bunch of times for all sorts of tips about bird photography in particular, though much of what he says also applies to general wildlife photography. Perhaps my favorite part of the book is that he provides a detailed description of about 10 of the best places to photograph birds in North America, including when to go and directions for getting there. He also provides a state-by-state list (though not all states are included) of other worthwhile places to visit.
	John Shaw's Business of Nature Photography, by John Shaw So you've taken a whole stack of pictures, been steadily improving, and you get to thinking, "maybe I can sell these." You can, and John Shaw provides quite a bit of information about how and what you should know. The book was published in 1996 and hence does not cover things such as digital photography or the internet, but it nonetheless provides quite a bit of useful information about the nuts and bolts of professional nature photography, including topics such as model releases, how to sell to magazines, etc.
	Ecology Book Reviews I've read a few too many books about photography, but I've read WAY too many books about ecology. Ok, that's not fair, because I've enjoyed almost all of them. Below are ones that I think are most worthy of reading.
The World According to Pimm: A scientist audits the earth, by Stuart Pimm This book is pretty spectacular in my opinion. It's an entertaining read, summing up (quite literally) what people are doing to the earth. In the process it provides a very nice introduction to ecology, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and how and why we are degrading natural systems. In other words, if you've ever wanted to take a course on conservation biology (or, say, Global Ecology) but weren't willing to pay tuition or do any homework assignments, this is the book for you.
The Song of the Dodo, by David Quammen Another well written book about a subject that doesn't lend itself to entertaining writing. Song of the Dodo won't give you the ecological background that Pimm's book will, but it will teach you a lot more about island biogeography, which is a theory that in part explains why so many animals and plants are going extinct right now. There are some great stories woven in, and David Quammen is a masterful writer. If you like this one you might also like Monster of God: The Man-Eating Predator in the Jungles of History and the Mind, Quammen's book about what is happening to some of the world's largest predators.
A Primate's Memoir, by Robert Sapolsky This is certainly the funniest travel/ecology book I have read and one of the funniest books about any subject that I've read. Sapolsky pioneered studies on stress hormones in primates, winning a Macarthur Fellowship in the process (that means he's smart), and he provides some highly entertaining and insightful commentary about traveling and working in East Africa. The book bounces between his travels and his research on baboons, and his descriptions of baboons and primate research in general are quite phenomenal.
Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson It's a classic for a reason -- even at more than 30 years old it still resonates and makes you afraid of chemicals. It's also short and easy to read. What more could you want?
Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond This is one of the most fascinating books I've read in a long time. It's basically a story of human biogeography and why Europe and Far East Asia came to dominate the world so thoroughly over the last few hundred years. In short Diamond argues that it's because of geographical and environmental influences. These led to Eurasia having vast advantages in technology such as guns, germs, steel, and writing, ultimately leading Eurasians to dominate or eliminate people on other continents. The book is an impressive synthesis of evidence from a whole slew of academic fields, all of which points to his central thesis.
Intuitive Biostatics, by Harvey Motulsky The best statistics book ever. It teaches you why and when to use specific statistical tests. This book is certainly not about photography and only peripherally related to ecology, but it is such a darn good statistics book (and they're hard to come by) that I feel obliged to include it. I've read it cover-to-cover by my own free will. Twice.
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Wildlife and Nature Photography Book Reveiws

Having read a few too many books about photography, I've found quite a few to be of not much use. Below are books that I think are of good use, either because they present common material in greater clarity and depth than other books (see John Shaw's Nature Photography Field Guide) or because they present relatively unique material (see Galen Rowell's Mountain Light).

John Shaw's Nature Photography Field Guide, by John Shaw
If you're starting to develop your photography and want a technical guide covering the basic "hows" of photograpy, John Shaw's Nature Photography Field Guide is the book you want. It covers all of the basics of aperture and shutter speed, depth of field, how your camera meters a scene, and it has fairly comprehensive discussions about different equipment choices. The book is well written, easy to read, includes some good tips, provides a relatively comprehensive guide about photography basics, and of course includes some nice pictures to illustrate examples. Be warned that it does not provide any particularly original insights about photography, and hence is best suited to beginners, but it's just about the best introductory book to photography that you're likely to find.

Mountain Light, by Garen Rowell
Galen Rowell was an outrageously good landscape photographer, and this book provides quite a bit of insight into how he thought and worked. Some of the photos are truly magnificent, and he uses them very well to illustrate different points that he makes. It is not a how-to book; it is a book about how one photographer worked. The book is worth it for the pictures alone. Mountain Light is the only book by Galen Rowell that I have had the opportunity to read, so I can't comment on other works by him, but I've heard several other people recommend Galen Rowell's Inner Game of Outdoor Photography.

Learning to See Creatively, by Bryan Peterson
There are many books that discuss how to make better photographs, but this is one of the best books I've read in teaching how to approach subjects from an original point of view. While it touches on how to make good compositions, it really does an excellent job of presenting mundane objects in new and interesting ways. It's suitable for both beginning and more advanced photographers. When my brother developed an interest in photography the two books I gave him were John Shaw's Nature Photography Field Guide and Learning to See Creatively.

The Art of Bird Photography, by Arthur Morris
This is a real classic. I've read it a whole bunch of times for all sorts of tips about bird photography in particular, though much of what he says also applies to general wildlife photography. Perhaps my favorite part of the book is that he provides a detailed description of about 10 of the best places to photograph birds in North America, including when to go and directions for getting there. He also provides a state-by-state list (though not all states are included) of other worthwhile places to visit.

John Shaw's Business of Nature Photography, by John Shaw
So you've taken a whole stack of pictures, been steadily improving, and you get to thinking, "maybe I can sell these." You can, and John Shaw provides quite a bit of information about how and what you should know. The book was published in 1996 and hence does not cover things such as digital photography or the internet, but it nonetheless provides quite a bit of useful information about the nuts and bolts of professional nature photography, including topics such as model releases, how to sell to magazines, etc.

Ecology Book Reviews

I've read a few too many books about photography, but I've read WAY too many books about ecology. Ok, that's not fair, because I've enjoyed almost all of them. Below are ones that I think are most worthy of reading.

The World According to Pimm: A scientist audits the earth, by Stuart Pimm
This book is pretty spectacular in my opinion. It's an entertaining read, summing up (quite literally) what people are doing to the earth. In the process it provides a very nice introduction to ecology, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and how and why we are degrading natural systems. In other words, if you've ever wanted to take a course on conservation biology (or, say, Global Ecology) but weren't willing to pay tuition or do any homework assignments, this is the book for you.

The Song of the Dodo, by David Quammen
Another well written book about a subject that doesn't lend itself to entertaining writing. Song of the Dodo won't give you the ecological background that Pimm's book will, but it will teach you a lot more about island biogeography, which is a theory that in part explains why so many animals and plants are going extinct right now. There are some great stories woven in, and David Quammen is a masterful writer. If you like this one you might also like Monster of God: The Man-Eating Predator in the Jungles of History and the Mind, Quammen's book about what is happening to some of the world's largest predators.

A Primate's Memoir, by Robert Sapolsky
This is certainly the funniest travel/ecology book I have read and one of the funniest books about any subject that I've read. Sapolsky pioneered studies on stress hormones in primates, winning a Macarthur Fellowship in the process (that means he's smart), and he provides some highly entertaining and insightful commentary about traveling and working in East Africa. The book bounces between his travels and his research on baboons, and his descriptions of baboons and primate research in general are quite phenomenal.

Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson
It's a classic for a reason -- even at more than 30 years old it still resonates and makes you afraid of chemicals. It's also short and easy to read. What more could you want?

Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond
This is one of the most fascinating books I've read in a long time. It's basically a story of human biogeography and why Europe and Far East Asia came to dominate the world so thoroughly over the last few hundred years. In short Diamond argues that it's because of geographical and environmental influences. These led to Eurasia having vast advantages in technology such as guns, germs, steel, and writing, ultimately leading Eurasians to dominate or eliminate people on other continents. The book is an impressive synthesis of evidence from a whole slew of academic fields, all of which points to his central thesis.

Intuitive Biostatics, by Harvey Motulsky
The best statistics book ever. It teaches you why and when to use specific statistical tests. This book is certainly not about photography and only peripherally related to ecology, but it is such a darn good statistics book (and they're hard to come by) that I feel obliged to include it. I've read it cover-to-cover by my own free will. Twice.

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