Charlie Phillips (2) (1944–)

This book is a coffee table book with more than a hundred pictures, but it also has quite a lot of text compared to other books of this kind. They are organized in twenty-six chapters, each one dealing with a particular aspect concerning the dolphins or the experience of photographing dolphins. Thus, the book is a kaleidoscope of different topics and anecdotes. While I wasn't very interested in the technical details of photography - not being a photographer myself apart from quick snaps with a digicam or phone - I enjoyed some of the other stories a lot. Phillips writes about how he came to love the dolphins and how he became a wildlife photographer, he describes lots of boat trips and personal encounters with the dolphins, tells us about the people he met on such trips or through his work with TV and radio programs, etc. He is very honest and often depicts how the conditions are very harsh, his eyes stinging from salt, his equipment nearly breaking because it's so freezing and wet, but all without bragging. He really just comes across as a normal and very nice guy who happened to somehow get this dream job of spending his time with wild dolphins.
The book shows that he is foremost not a writer and the style and narration could be improved, but I didn't really care because like this, his voice comes through as very authentic and unaffected.
There is also a lot of information about the dolphins: Their social structures, hunting techniques, the areas they live in and prefer, their food sources etc. I wish there would have been even more info on that, but of course, it's not a biology book.
Towards the end of the book, when Phillips writes about the effect dolphins have on people and how they are one of the most beloved species, but on the other hand, how badly they are treated, I had tears in my eyes.
The pictures are of course just wonderful, and there is a good variety of many different shots and perspectives.
Although I wasn't lucky on that trip in Scotland, I was fortunate enough to see wild dolphins several times before that, in Australia, Ireland, and the Mekong river between Laos and Cambodia, and they radiate a magic and peace that is beyond this world. These memories came back so strong while I read this book, and in these bleak times that sometimes drain all the energy from me, this glimpse of light was what I needed.
I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of Chanonry Point on the north coast of the Moray Firth, where my husband and I went on our first Scotland trip as a couple. We only saw one dolphin quite far out, and from the book I learned that we were there in the wrong season and at the wrong time, but I cannot wait to go back one day and maybe spend a few days in the region to see the dolphins and also visit the research centers scattered along the coast. It was great to read the author's descriptions of that place and to think that we were there and stood at the exact same beach only fifteen months ago.… (more)