How can we best describe the National Geographic’s publication, The Photographs? Creative, aesthetic, unnatural perspectives, abstract, ultra realistic, surreal, vibrant, and the list of adjectives is endless! However, I guess what best sums up this book is that it constitutes one of the most important and impressive contributions to photojournalism.

It is in reality an excellent survey or synthesis of photo images that permits readers to follow the evolution of photography dating back one hundred years until today. In fact, as mentioned in the book, although the techniques may differ, some of the earliest photos still compare favourably with those of today.

This is quite evident when you view the 1902 photo shot by photographer George Shiras lll entitled Loon Lake, Ontario, Canada. Here we notice a lynx sitting proudly along the banks of the lake and unfazed by the photographer’s lantern that detects the glow of its eyes. However, as indicated, the lynx was alarmed by the flash photography. As an added detail, the reader is apprised of the fact that Shiras pioneered nighttime close-ups of wildlife and the use of remote-control devices. It is noteworthy to mention that scattered throughout the book are these very interesting tidbits pertaining to the history and science of photography.

Fast forward to the cover and back of the book where we immediately are exposed to the renowned photographer Steve McCurry’s spellbinding images of the young Afghan girl with the penetrating eyes taken in a refugee camp in Pakistan in 1984 when she was 17 years and rediscovered in Afghanistan in 2002.

In all of these instances we see the superb focusing of the lens on the subject matter and the reflection of someone or something. It is an encouragement of some sort of reaction or level of contemplation. Moreover, the creation of a great photograph lies in the photographer’s ability to use the full range of options at his or her disposal. It is these essential ingredients that are continuously prevalent in the multitude of impressive images contained in the five sections of the book dealing with such topics as science, astrology, archaeology, wildlife, underwater, and cultures.

What enhances the value of this spectacular book is the many captions, articles, essays and descriptions that have been contributed by the editor Leah Bendavid-Val and her many National Geographic assistants. Without these contributory writings the book would not have been able to effectively aid the reader in appreciating the moving and penetrating characteristics of the photographs, as well as following the evolution of the history of photography.