A leading wildlife photographer offers a fresh approach to photographing birds in this beautifully illustrated, indispensable guide.

Bill Coster carved out a niche taking photographs of birds in flight and has become one of the U.K.’s top wildlife photographers. In this inspirational guide, Coster shares the secrets of “creating good images of the birds you meet, going about their often complex and fascinating lives,” as he writes in the introduction. “The main thrust of the book is about using that most precious piece of photographic equipment—your creativity.”

Creative Bird Photography shows how to photograph specific aspects of birds’ lives, such as eating and drinking, courtship and flight. The author gives examples, demonstrating approaches for taking great shots of these daily bird activities as well as taking “mood” photographs at dawn and dusk. Each photograph comes with detailed technical data, information about locations, and advice about overcoming challenges to achieve the perfect shot. Coster also shares fascinating anecdotes about his encounters with the birds featured and provides up-to-date sections on bird photography basics, including equipment and storage of digital images.

“A master lensman.” — Bird Watching

“One of the world’s leading bird photographers.” — Outdoor Photography