The decision to review the recently published National Geographic Ultimate Field Guide to Travel Photography (National Geographic Photography Field Guides) in The Well-read Naturalist was not one made lightly. After all, WRN is explicitly dedicated to books pertaining directly to the study of natural history in all its myriad forms. Would a book providing advice and instruction in how to be a better photographer, particularly as understood from the perspective of a traveler, or a photojournalist assigned to document the sights to be seen and experiences to be had in a specific geographic place, be of use or interest to naturalists? However after having read it and discovering that the information, advice, and inspiration it provided began almost immediately to influence my own field photographic work on natural history subjects for the better, I could not but help to record my impressions of the book here for the benefit of all. Read the rest of this entry »

Back in 2007 my family and I had the good fortune to visit the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria during its exhibition of artifacts from the Titanic. The exhibit was, without fear of hyperbole, extraordinary. Through the masterful curatorial skills with which the exhibition was planned, designed, and presented, the entire historic portrait of the Titanic, including the events of the voyage, sinking, and aftermath, was brought into clear focus for myself, my wife, and our then seven-year-old daughter. Although each of us had not only considerably different levels of interest in the subject, not to mention widely differing amounts of previous knowledge about it, we all came away from it with a better understanding of what had occurred, why, and its historical importance. Due to its multi-layered and highly effective style of presentation, memories of this marvelous exhibition were brought quickly to mind during my recent reading of John van Wyhe’s The Darwin Experience: The Story of the Man and His Theory of Evolution. Read the rest of this entry »

For the past decade, the subject of global warming has been a touchy one to say the least. To some it is a simple fact supported by reams of scientific data, to others it is fear-mongering fiction promoted by “environmentalist radicals.” However to many between these two extremes, it is a subject of which they have often heard or read, but that they have little understanding by which to judge the truth of the arguments swirling around them. Into this increasingly heated debate, Mark Lynas’ Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet shines some much needed light. Read the rest of this entry »