The Birds of North America

BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA A PERSONAL SELECTION Here is a book to savor and to return to again and again as a record of America's master photographer at work in capturing characteristic portraits of the continent's rich but elusive avifauna. Eliot Porter's work, as artist and writer, reveals the commitment of a man who recognizes the primary of wild lands and animals in our daily lives. His artistry transports us directly into the natural world and offers a special vision enabling us to see beyond familiar details to nature's intricate patterns and textures. In this elegant new work, the capstone of his art and the result of painstaking field work and photographic innovation, Eliot Porter penetrates the images of nature to identify the beauty and behavior of birds in flight or in repose. As always, his concern is for the perfectly composed portrait, never the quick impression. When Eliot Porter first photographed birds, the face of North America was largely nature's. In the intervening half century the land has become increasingly urbanized, and today many of our favorite birds are endangered. Mr. Porter's deep concern for birds and our remaining wild lands persuaded him to change careers - from medicine to photography. His warm and personal narrative records the adventurous life of America's contemporary Audubon and the special challenges and joys of hunting with a camera. Magnificently designed, this exquisitely - printed volume contains eighty pages of photographs including sixty-four pages in full-color.