Photographing Big Bend National Park: A Friendly Guide to Great Images (Volume 47) (W. L. Moody Jr. Natural History Series)

The book is a fine guide for novice photographers, covering fundamentals and creating "assignments" to develop ones skills while photographing at Bend Bend National Park. It was not the best fit for me though, as I was looking for detailed information about specific shooting locations in the park to help me plan a trip where I could spend about a week in the park shooting landscapes. The title of the book led me to believe it might suit my purposes and the table of contents pages listed many specific locations within the park, but once I got the book and began reading, I found that many of the suggestions at specific park locations focused on plant life, insects, animals, etc. If that is your interest, the book could be a good fit for you. I had the impression that the author, perhaps a Texas resident, had been to the park many times and espoused a very casual routine there, chasing butterflies and such, but I planned to drive to the park from North Carolina and needed to fill my hours there more efficiently. In summary, I found it to be a good book and I did glean some useful information from it in conjunction with other sources.

This book is best for photography novices. The author spends a lot of pages providing basic camera instruction and guidance on how to take photos. If you're on your way to big bend and lack confidence in your technical skills, then this might be the book for you. For more advanced photographers, just be aware that you probably already know the basic photography skills that the author describes (can you describe the difference between shutter, aperture, and ISO?). As for where to go in the park, the author does point out some popular photo spots, what time of day might be best, and what lens might be appropriate. There is room for improvement, however, in the author's description of where the scenic spots are and how best to get there. All in all, it's an okay book.

I've been to Big Bend several times and was looking for a book that would point me to some photo ops that were not on the roadway and not on the free map you get on entry to the park. This book was NOT it.If you are a beginning photographer and it's going to be your first trip to Big Bend it's okay. But it lacks concise directions, good maps and, most importantly, offers bad advise. For instance, never use f22 or higher as she recommends. It's not the best f-stop for the sharpest image. Also, never use a circular polarizer on a blue sky with a wide lens, you will get one part of the sky that is deep blue and the other parts will be much lighter.

Kathy gets to the point with useful, helpful photography tips and information to capture better images of one of the most beautiful locations on earth. She covers the basics, provides simple, intermediate and advanced techniques for various locations and subjects. Also included is a section on Night Photography, a most useful map of Big Bend NP, and a glossary of photography terms, making this book a definite item to put in your camera bag. Novice to experienced photo enthusiasts will find this a handy reference.Kathy's beautiful images demonstrate her enchantment with all that makes up this amazing photo op location.

This book came on time and with no damage. The book is all anyone will need for photographing Big Bend. It has many beautiful pictures and a lot of photographic tips,is well organized and easy to read!!! This book will help me a lot on my trip to Big Bend National Park!! I would highly recommend it for anyone going to Big Bend,even if your're not taking pictures.

gives great tips

Easy to understand with good suggestions on how and what to photograh in Big Bend

Great book with a lot of go to spots (like the Kodak use to do in the theme parks). Even gave suggestions on how to take pictures of star trails with digital cameras instead of film.