29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
In Central Park without Binoculars, November 6, 2005
This review is from: Birds of Central Park (Hardcover)
Birds flying up and down the Atlantic flyway inevitably encounter a huge patch of concrete, asphalt and brick. In the center they see a large patch of green, with plants and insects. That's why Central Park in New York City is one of the best birding spots in North America. Several hundred avian species can be found there. In addition, there is another species there in large number, Homo sapiens birdwatcher and still another smaller subspecies, Homo sapiens bird photographer.
With all these birds, birders and bird photographers, there was a huge niche for a book called "Birds of Central Park". Cal Vornberger has filled that niche.
Vornberger has digitally captured the wide variety of birds that pass through Central Park. He presents these birds by season rather than in taxonomical order, which helps to give an impression of the bird life in the park the way that a birder would see it. Like all good photographers Cal is concerned with the light. But his style is different from those of other bird photographers, like Art Morris or Tom Vezo. Instead of being concerned with artistic composition, or deep focus to give a sense of the environment, the author seems aimed at a sense of intimacy with the individual birds. Most of the birds pictured fill the frame completely, forcing us to focus on the individual.
What is amazing is not only how close Vornberger has gotten to his subjects, but how he has caught them in the details of their daily lives. I have never seen so many photographs of birds with food, whether insects, berries or crustaceans, in their mouth. And he has caught many of these birds in flight, reminding me of the bird pictures of the great Eliot Porter. But the artist that Vornberger's portraits most remind me of is the great John James Audubon. There is this same sense of intimacy and presentation against a subtle background.
Occasionally, Vornberger brings his own special aesthetic to the book, as when he pictures a cardinal taking off in the snow on the face page to the winter section. The bird's wings are cut off, the bird faces away from us and the only way that the reader can tell that the white background is snow is from the white snowflakes that follow the bird's ascent. And yet this picture captures a moment better than most technically perfect photographs.
Vornberger's occasional remarks interspersed with the pictures often present a little known fact about the subject or give a hint to other bird photographers hoping to duplicate his accomplishments.
This book should not be considered a guide to Central Park's birds, although there is a convenient pocket guide in a slipcover in the back of the book. Instead it is a testimonial to the birds of Central Park. New York lovers, birders and photographers will want to page through this book to recall the avian pleasures of the park.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
City birding at its best., October 21, 2005
This review is from: Birds of Central Park (Hardcover)
Great photos inspired by true devotion. Charming and edifying to look at, satisfying to read. A work of love--for birds, for Central Park, for the city, for the quirky among us who bird wherever we are.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Combines the narrative of a dedicated birdwatcher and truly beautiful color photographs, October 12, 2005
This review is from: Birds of Central Park (Hardcover)
Birds Of Central Park combines the narrative of a dedicated birdwatcher and truly beautiful color photographs of an immense range of feathered friends visiting New York's Central Park, from birds of prey like the sharp-shinned hawk to songbirds like the black-and-white warbler and waterfowl such as the great egret. An accompanying pocket guide nestled within the back cover of this spectacular coffee-table book will facilitate the efforts of New York birdwatchers to spot and identify these marvelous creatures. The exceptional color photography is unique in that it captures birds at some of their most unique moments - a mallard taking interest in a turtle, a grackle just as it launches yet an instant before it spreads its wings, a northern flicker with its tongue out, and more. Birds Of Central Park is enthusiastically recommended, especially for dedicated bird watchers and ornithologists.
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