Posts Tagged ‘Human PLanet’

Practical Alchemy in the Arctic

Greenland …We’ve all heard our fair share of urban myths.  Whether we ever get to test the authenticity of them is another thing, but I’m a firm believer that if you are presented with an opportunity to do so, you can enrich your life no end.  Obviously I share this belief with the producers of […]


Pink Snow and Blue Icebergs

Pink Snow and Blue Icebergs

Greenland …Greenland.  Oh my God!  What an amazing and extreme place.  This was the first time that I have ever been to the Arctic.  I don’t know exactly what I was expecting.  Cold? Yes of course, but I don’t think anything can quite prepare you for the astonishing panoramas that hide quietly around every frozen […]


Time Lapse Tutorial

Tips and techniques …Time lapse photography can be a lovely way to spend a quiet afternoon somewhere.  Whilst others might go fishing, I prefer settling down with a flask of tea and my tripod, giving myself the time to really appreciate the environment I find myself in. Time lapse is an important part of my […]


A Short Film Shot With My New Camera

Niger …Last year I was lucky enough to receive one of the first new Canon 5D mark II cameras when they came out.  Niger was to be the trial run for this new SLR which also shoots high definition film, something I am very excited about.  With the help of BBC cameraman Toby Strong and […]


A New Camera But No Clothes

A New Camera But No Clothes

Niger … My time in Niger didn’t start as planned.  After 4 days travelling from Ethiopia, via London to pick up a new camera, I arrived in the capital Niamey with some new bags under my eyes.  Unfortunately, they were the only personal bags I’d be seeing for a few weeks since my luggage never […]


The Joys of Camping

Ethiopia …Traveling to remote places involves a certain degree of hardiness on the part of our film crews. Isolated communities rarely possess the means to support large groups of outsiders and consequently, on these journeys, all of us are spending quite a bit of time under canvas.  The mountains of Northern Ethiopia were one such […]


Growing Up in the Mountains

Ethiopia …This, my second trip to Ethiopia for Human Planet was my most memorable experience thus far.  The simple reason for this was the lovely people we met there.  Our time was spent with a family in a very remote settlement, a long way from the nearest road, high in the mountains.  For the most […]


A Beach Holiday With a Difference

Spain …After our time in Ethiopia, it was just a short trip down to Southern Europe to meet some Spanish coastal dwellers with a very unusual and highly dangerous job.  Unfortunately I can’t tell you exactly what we were filming for fear of spoiling a surprise in the TV series. What I will tell you […]


My Scar Tattoo

Ethiopia …It was September last year when we spent time filming with the Suri Tribe in Southern Ethiopia.  Half a year on, and I still have one memory from my time there permanently imprinted in my mind.  Well, on my body actually… and semi-permanently I think .  Whilst we were there I had my shoulder […]


Phantom Fighters

Phantom Fighters

Ethiopia …In Southern Ethiopia, witnessing a Suri stick fight or ‘Donga’ was one of the most awe inspiring public displays of aggression I think I’ve ever seen.  Stick fighting is a brutal sport there is no doubt, but when you see it in the flesh, you realize that it is a very fair and honest […]


Human Planet, Planeta Humano

The Journey Begins …Welcome to the beginning of a rather extraordinary journey.  Over the next 20 months I will be accompanying BBC film crews on a groundbreaking voyage around Planet Earth to document the remarkable ways in which the human species has adapted to living within our world’s natural environments.  During this time, we will […]