Announcing my new book: BIRD PLANET

I’m excited to announce that I have just completed checking the proofs, and can now share that my new book “BIRD PLANET” will be published by Abrams in October, 2022.  As most of you know by now, bird photography has been a special passion of mine for a long time.  I have now pulled together my best bird images from my extensive assignments and travels around the world over the last 25 years into one volume celebrating the beauty and wonder of birds, and their importance as ambassadors for conservation of wild places. 

Below is a little teaser - an example of an image from the book that has never been published before, and the story behind it.  Hope you enjoy it.  And further down is a link to pre-order a special signed edition of the book that I’m offering to subscribers first, which is bundled with a 12-inch print. 

An adult roseate spoonbill preens in front of a group of lighter pink juvenile birds at the Alafia Bank Bird Sanctuary in Tampa Bay, Florida, USA. Bird bills come in all shapes and sizes, but the spoonbill’s bill is certainly one of the most unusual, and is used for catching prey by touch as the bird sweeps it back and forth in the water. We didn’t want to approach the birds too closely with our boat at the sanctuary, so I stepped into the water with my big lens on my tripod and started slowly wading towards them. This worked well, and I got close enough for this shot without disturbing the birds, but I was in over my waist in saltwater by the end, and taking a bit of risk with my equipment.

Behind the Scenes from BIRD PLANET:

By making a slow approach on foot instead of by boat, I was able to get close enough to skittish roseate spoonbills to get the above shot without disturbing them. Sometimes it is worth taking some risk to equipment (cameras and salt water don’t mix) in order to get the shot.  I am shooting with a Canon 1D Mark II and Canon 600 mm f4 lens, 2x converter, and Gitzo tripod here in 2007. Photo by Zafer Kizlikaya.

BIRD PLANET is off to the printers soon, and will be shipping on October 4, 2022.  Here is a sneak peak of the cover and full dust jacket, which is my image of scarlet ibises flying past the moon in Venezuela’s Orinoco River Delta, wrapped around the cover.

The book will be a 12x12 inch large format book, with 224 pages, and is organized geographically by region with chapter intros giving an overview of my fieldwork in each area.  Stay tuned for more details to come as the publication date approaches.  But in the mean time, I want to let you subscribers to Wildlife Diaries be the first to know that I am offering a signed copy of BIRD PLANET (personalized if you like) bundled with a 12-inch print for $100.  I’ll only have 100 copies to sell in this way, so you are welcome to per-order now if you would like to lock that in.  Books will ship after Oct 4.  Follow this link to see the offer for the Signed Edition of BIRD PLANET.

Thanks for tuning in!

Stay safe everyone, and be sure to get your dose of nature therapy!

Warmest regards,

Tim Laman

PS.  Just to let you know, next week I’ll be launching my Earth Day Fundraiser Print Sale for Bird Conservation featuring my BIRD PLANET collection.  So keep your eye out for that announcement and thanks in advance for your support!