17 September finally saw Penguin Random House, under their Godwit label, release of The Brilliance of Birds, a unique New Zealand book celebrating fascinating facts about a wide range of our local birds. We have been lucky to share Edin’s journey in the process of having her first book published. Edin’s primary role was as photographer but the book includes an afterword that she wrote that beautifully captures her delight in the natural world. Skye Wishart took on the writing role and has done a thorough job of researching the species included and conveying the interesting information in an entertaining and engaging way.
Edin was able to draw on her significant archive of images from New Zealand including the Subantarctic Islands and Kermadec Islands but had a number of species that needed to be photographed specifically for the book. Her self-imposed rule was that all birds had to be wild, non-captive birds which makes iconic species like Kapapo a challenge. Fortunately her work as a seabird scientist in the Hauraki Gulf gave her the opportunity to photograph a Kakapo on Hauturu/Little Barrier Island that needed recapture for transmitter replacement.
South Island species had Edin occupied for a few months travelling alone in her car on her #birdventurenz and I was lucky to spend some time with her over a few weeks and 3 trips targeting specific birds. This makes The Brilliance of Birds extra special for me as many images I recognise from having been there when her images were made and often having my own images of the same birds. We had some very precious adventures together and I have already shared a couple of these in Unseasonable Weather and Black-fronted Terns. I am still working my way through images from these trips and will share more posts on the #birdventurenz in the future.
My contribution to the book was to take an author photo for Edin. In the end it didn’t make it into the book but is featured on the Penguin website page for The Brilliance of Birds which contains links to order the book from a variety of New Zealand suppliers. It is worth checking each link for the best price. For purchasers outside of New Zealand, Bookdepository, is an option with free shipping.
Copies of the book were available prior to release at the Going West Writers Festival on 15 September. A forum with the authors was followed by a book signing at the Arataki Visitors Centre.
Top photo with Fuji X100F and author photo with Nikon D810 and Nikon 300mm f4PF. Book signing with Fuji XT3 and 10-24mm f4 lens.
