The Light of Spring: The Seasons of Yellowstone

Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: Having visited Yellowstone in spring several times, I can truly say that Tom Murphy's latest book The Light of Spring - The Seasons of Yellowstone captures this time of transition and rebirth in America's first National Park. This exquisite book of 144 pages includes 91 of Tom's finest photos. They range from the fourth image in the book of a robin's nest built in a forest fire, charred tree snag to grand landscapes of the Lamar Valley and Absaroka Mountains. The book is also filled with wildlife from a small house wren at Swan Lake Flat to American bison and their calves. In fact, the book is filled with images of all young wildlife that Yellowstone is know for - trumpeter swans, river otters, elk, moose, Sandhill cranes, and of course the grizzly bear.

The photos of this book are complemented with prose that is both entertaining and educational. For example, a picture of an American bison with eight cowbirds on its back reads "Brown headed cowbirds are insectivores, and they are often seen walking and fluttering around noses and feet of grazing ungulates. Localized disturbance by an elk or bison grazing in a clump of grass causes the insects to panic and scatter, creating an opportunity for the cowbirds to find and catch them. A huge, warm bison back is also very attractive as a perch and sometimes as a meeting place for the whole flock."

Rating:
Summary: Intimate portrait of the grandeur and subtlety of the park.
Review: The Light of Spring portrays a time of renewal and subtlety in a harsh and sweeping land. Few people understand Yellowstone as intimately as Tom Murphy. While the casual visitor speeds through the park hoping to get a snapshot of a bear or erupting geyser, Murphy takes the time to embrace and capture the park in all of its moods and diversity. The frontpiece photo is a prime example. I know this because I was there when the photo was taken. Passersby stopped and scoffed in bewilderment as Murphy photographed the subtle green and grey mosaic of grass and boulders in Phantom Lake without realizing that he was capturing the true "light of spring" in this wonderful place. From this first photo to the last, the book delights the senses as Murphy continues to demonstrate that he is the photo master of Yellowstone.