Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Portfolio 12: Amazon.co.uk: Rosamund Kidman Cox: Books

Amazon.co.uk Review

Running since 1964, the competition that produces Wildlife Photographer of the Year gets bigger and better as the years go by. A collaboration between the BBC (through their own BBC Wildlife Magazine) and the Natural History Museum, the competition now receives around 20,000 entries a year, and stages exhibitions in places as far a field as Pakistan and China. The competition now boasts 17 separate categories, which makes browsing through this, the competition's latest portfolio of winning and commended work, a more than idle pleasure. The best sections work like a small visual essays around a theme: the pictures in "The Underwater World" and the chapter accurately (if cringingly) named "Animal Portraits" worked particularly well. By developing so many categories, the competition organisers are now able to cover a broad range of photographic tastes; everything from reportage to experiments in colour and form.

There's still room for expansion: "The World in Our Hands" contains photographs of our species' hapless stewardship of the natural world. But the relationship between the built and natural environment is so complex, this theme could be usefully subdivided and explored further: the inclusion of the enchanting section "Urban and Garden Wildlife" doesn't really cover all bases. This is a valuable document about an often forgotten form of fine art; one whose respect for representation and accuracy still leaves plenty of room for artistic innovation. --Simon Ings

Product Description

This is a collectable book for all lovers of wildlife and world-class photography. It is a new collection of stunning wildlife photographs that will represent the best images taken by top nature photographers round the world and submitted to the BG Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2002 competition. More than 120 unforgettable pictures, covering natural subjects from plants to endangered animals and underwater life to landscapes, will display the beauty of the natural world. Selected from more than 19,000 entries, representing at least 60 countries, these images will comprise the winning and commended pictures from the world's largest and most prestigious wildlife photography competition. Behind-the-scenes information for each picture is given in a short caption, which includes phtographic details. (The full collection of photographs will be available in June).

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good quality 26 Sep 2011

By Ph R. Unger

Regarding the price I had to pay for a new book, this was a bargain price: in good shape, slightly used, but more than acceptable.

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11 of 15 people found the following review helpful

Previous high standards maintained 11 Nov 2002

By "3rdday"

The latest in the annual series of books keep up the high standards set by previous editions. In fact, if anything I think this year's photos are even more stunning than before.

The only problem with this book is the same one that afflicted Portfolios 10 and 11 - too many of the photographs go across the spine of the book, spoiling their impact and enjoyment.

Still, good to see that the price still hasn't gone up, which makes the book pretty good value.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Previous high standards maintained 6 Nov 2002

The latest in this annual series maintains the high stndards set by previous editions. In fact, if anything I think the photographs in this year's book are even more stunning.

The only problem, which prevents me from giving it the full five stars, is the one which afflicted portfolios 10 and 11 - the design of the book means that too many photos are split across the spine, severely lessening the impact and enjoyment of these.

Still, good to see that the price still hasn't gone up this year, which makes this book pretty good value.

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