-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Sketches or photographs (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter helenol
- Start date
pduxon
Quacked up Member
Hi Helen,
don't know about flowers or insects but for birds I much prefer artwork. The photoguides struggle to get birds in the best position best light etc. Birds like Gulls have loads of different plumages. I would like a good photoguide as a backup but have yet to find one that comes close to the field guide I use. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
There is an American Guide by a chap called Ken Kaufman where he takes photo's and enhances them with artwork.
don't know about flowers or insects but for birds I much prefer artwork. The photoguides struggle to get birds in the best position best light etc. Birds like Gulls have loads of different plumages. I would like a good photoguide as a backup but have yet to find one that comes close to the field guide I use. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
There is an American Guide by a chap called Ken Kaufman where he takes photo's and enhances them with artwork.
Charles Harper
Régisseur
Hi Helen, I think we did a thread on this not too long ago, but I can't find it now. It was quite interesting, so hopefully you'll get some similar answers again. I like to have both around, using the artwork illustrations for basic i.d. work because they try to show the typical and/or critical distinguishing features, and then the photographs are there for checking, especially jizz, which I think may be the most often misrepresented feature in artwork.
Elizabeth Bigg
Addicted member
Charles Harper said:
Shouldn't you mention Samuel Taylor Coleridge?
Charles Harper
Régisseur
I beg your pardon?
Elizabeth Bigg
Addicted member
Charles Harper said:
You failed to acknowledge part of The Ryme of the Ancient Mariner.
Edward
Umimmak
Charles Harper said:
I think Elizabeth is concerned, Charles, that the descendants of Coleridge may sue you for using their ancestor's poetry in your signature without crediting it. I think it's a long shot myself.
Re art v photos then art wins every time for me, largely for the reasons given by Charles. I enjoy looking at photos of birds as much as the next man but wouldn't particularly want to own a photo field guide. I looked at Kaufmann's guide for the first time last week during Iceland's Yank orgy and I thought it was hideous (the book not the orgy).
E
Last edited:
Elizabeth Bigg
Addicted member
Edward said:
I'm not bothered about his descendants - I just think credit should be given where it's due!
I find artwork easier to work with as a good field guide will show you all the different plumages, as someone has already mentioned, so therefore you have more chance of a correct id but I too find sketches harder to visualise as the bird tends to look nothing like I expect it to after studying a sketch!
Until I received my latest version of Sibleys guide for Eastern NA, I pretty much used Kaufman's digitally produced guide as an extremely good I.D. source. Sibleys drawings of different versions of the birds though is winning out over Kaufman these days.
Similar threads
