Nature & Wildlife Cinematography

NOVEMBER 2011. I was lucky enough to begin my wildlife film making career working on what was to become one of the favourite family films of all time, TARKA THE OTTER. In 1972 the renowned wildlife filmmakers, Ron and Rosemary Eastman, had given me my first experience of filming natural history for television by taking me with them on a three month shoot in Oregon, USA. Four years later they contacted me again to ask if I’d be interested in “helping out with the otters” for a few weeks on a film they were making for the cinema. The few weeks turned in to nearly two years, and as well as helping the film’s senior animal handler, Peter Talbot, with the otters and other creatures that appear in TARKA, I was also given the role of production photographer. My pictures appeared in magazines and newspapers, and in several new illustrated editions of Henry Williamson’s book that were published to coincide with the film’s release.

Now, 35 years on since we began filming TARKA THE OTTER in the actual locations that Henry Williamson described so beautifully in his novel, Peter Talbot has published a book telling the story of how the film was brought to the screen. In particular, Peter’s book tells of the two years he spent with the very special little otter who plays the part of Tarka in the film.

TARKA AND ME is available for download on Amazon from this week at
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tarka-and-me-ebook/dp/B0062IP3SS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320271923&sr=1-

OCTOBER 2010. The Pioneer Productions / FOX TV Studios / National Geographic  programme, IN THE WOMB - EXTREME ANIMALS, has won the Parthenon Entertainment Award for Innovation at the 2010 WILDSCREEN FESTIVAL in Bristol.

I filmed the sequences of Kangaroo joeys in the pouch for this programme.

MAY 2010.  The series will run on ITV 1 over four weeks, beginning Sunday May 9th at 7.00pm.
A DVD of the programmes will be available from May 31st.
A CD of the music used in the series, specially composed by Howard Goodall, is available from May 17th.

OCTOBER 2009.  Filming is now completed on the 4 x 1 hour nature series I've been working on for Tiger Aspect since Autumn 2008. Presented by Alan Titchmarsh and filmed in HD, the series will be aired at prime time on ITV 1 in 2010, dates to be announced.

25th SEPTEMBER 2009. The Disney Nature feature film, THE CRIMSON WING: MYSTERY OF THE FLAMINGOS, was released in UK cinemas today. I helped to film the sequence of a flamingo chick hatching from its egg. The sequence was filmed at Slimbridge Wildfowl Centre in Gloucestershire.

A link to the trailer of the film can be found here: http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi406454809/