National Geographic Books

Sad to say that though National Geographic claim that this is their most popular Photography Guide it is probably because of the misleading cover page.

On seeing the cover I thought "This is THE BOOK to have".

To say that I was disappointed is an understatement.  To me it felt that I was mislead and thus "stolen" from.  To make sure that I was not biased I asked another photographer to read the book and give me his impression.  Unfortunately this person said the following:  "The cover is misleading and this book is of a lower content quality than most other photography books. Nothing new in this book."

So now one has to ask yourself whether all the National Geographic Photographic Field Guides are the same?  I will never know unless I get a chance to page and read a copy of another photographer.

National Geography does have one other book that I bought that I`m not THAT disappointed with and that is the "National Geographic Photographing BIRDS" and only because there are a few good photos included.  There are the GENERAL tips about luring birds and which lenses to use for different situations but nothing that cannot be found elsewhere or is mainly common sense.  There are 2 pages on building a simple hide which is so simple that even a child could have thought that out.

QUESTION:  "Would I recommend these to books to even a beginner amateur photographer?

ANSWER:  Short and sweet.  NO !!!!

Next time:  A worthy photographic guide.