latest tweet

latest blog entry

Notes on infra-red filming and photography

I hate working at night. I like to drink, eat too much and fall asleep in front of the TV - not freeze my nuts off trying to get a photo of an animal that probably isn’t going to turn up. So why do I keep choosing subjects to film and photograph that only come out at night? Well it’s a strange addiction I have with infra-red.

Read more...

Home

image of a Kingfisher image of Victoria falls at sunset image of a Kingfisher coming out of the water image of a hawksbill turtle with tourists swimming in the background image of a bay urang-utan image of a tarpon with a shoal of fish below image of Chalie Hamilton James and his family image of two cheetahs in monochrome image of a Kingfisher out silhouetted against a house image of a lion cub with a shadow of mother in monochrome image of a lioness image of a male lion image of a pride of lions on a rock outcrop in monochrome image of a roe deer leaping in the snow close up image of a barracuda image of a kingfisher emerging from a pond image of a female kingfisher with chicks in a nest image of a kingfisher image of Charlie Hamilton James in a landrover with camera gear image of giant otter cub dali image of giant otter Diablo eating a fish image of condor bull and matador at yawar fiesta macro image of a tree frog in Manu National Park image of a wild Eurasian Otter underwater at night macro image of a wood eating beetle in Manu National Park

Welcome to my site

I hope you enjoy having a look round. I've tried to make the site interesting and useful to everyone - amateurs and professionals alike.

I've also created a stock area for picture editors to buy images direct.

"My aim as a wildlife cameraman and photographer is to expose the brilliance of nature to the world.

I am constantly staggered and inspired by nature both in its design and its beauty, it's led to a life long obsession to understand it and document it."

other links

Link to Television page
link to blog
Link to Halcyon River Diaries page
Link to Careers advice page
Link to Tutorials page
Link to Your Pictures page
Link to Current Projects page

What's new?





White backed vulture on kill
































Eurasian otter split screen




































Aquatic scorpion






























Monkey tree frog



































Head Hole





















Dali































cushions for purchase









Vultures - Hell's Angels

'The Natural World' for BBC 2 and National Geographic TV. I love vultures. I think they're not just fascinating but beautiful too (in an ugly way!). I set out last year to make a film about them; so that I could show the world how wonderful yet misunderstood they are. The vultures didn't disappoint and the crew and I managed to get some incredible footage of them in Kenya and Tanzania. What I didn't realise however was just how much trouble vultures are in - currently the fastest declining family of species in the world! In east Africa, where we shot the film, the story is painful and depressing. Vulture numbers have declined drastically particularly in Kenya where they are being deliberately poisoned by poachers and landowners. I worked with one of the world's vulture experts Simon Thomsett who took me on a tour through the vulture world - he's a great guy and passionate campaigner. Vultures will be transmitted towards the end of the year.

National Geographic Magazine- Eurasian Otters

Eurasian Otters came out in the feb 2013 issue of National Geographic Magazine. I shot the images over two years in various locations across the UK. Getting decent images of otters, particularly underwater, was one of the greatest challenges I've faced when shooting images. Being National Geographic they obviously had to be good, so Hector and I had to reinvent the wheel a bit. I was very keen to try and shoot the otter images in fresh and exciting ways and really try to capture the essence of the creature in each photo. To achieve what we wanted we had to invent various bits of kit, including an underwater camera trap system that used a condom for waterproofing. The project was a life time dream for me - despite the long winter nights I spent freezing in a river! My good friend Adam Nicholson wrote the text and I must say made a damn fine job of it.

See the pictures- gallery coming soon...

check out the pics on the National Geographic website nationalgeographic.com /

I wrote a blog and shot a small movie about how I shot the pics. Check it out here nationalgeographic.com- blog /

National Geographic Magazine

My next assignment is Manu National Park in south east Peru. Manu is an incredible place and officially (according to UNESCO) the most diverse place on earth. I've spent over a year of my life in the Amazon, mostly in Manu and love it. The species list is incredible and encounters with creatures such as jaguars, tapirs and ocelots are pretty common. My favourite Manu resident is the giant otter so I'll certainly be making a trip to Cocha Salvador (an ox bow lake in the middle of the park) to photograph the resident family of otters. I'm kicking off the assignment over the next few months by putting several camera traps in place. Who knows what I'll get on them? I expect something from the 15 species of monkey, 8 species of cat and around 10% of all the bird species on earth! The shot here is of a presently undescribed scorpion - the only known aquatic species. I shot it using a UV light - scorpions glow fluorescent green under UV light.

I Bought A Rainforest!

New project 'The Digital Rainforest' and new BBC TV series... Coming soon!

Over the next year I will be spending a lot of time on some land I've bought on the edge of Manu National Park in Peru. I bought the 100 acres of rainforest in an attempt to help protect the park from loggers and poachers - they were using my little bit of land to access the park as it was at the end of a road. The aim now is discover more about what species I've got on my plot and document the creatures of the area - as Manu has the highest diversity of species found anywhere on earth. I'll be photographing and filming as many species as I can and will hopefully be discovering new species as I go. I'll also be using the time to find out more about the problems facing the Amazon, in my area its mainly cocaine, logging and gold mining. I'll be posting regular blogs and images from the Amazon as I go via satellite internet. The process of me buying the land and discovering more about it and the amazon is being filmed by Keo Films for a new 3 part series to air on BBC 2 early next year.

We're currently building the website and once it's up and running I'll post details of how to follow and get involved.

The Botfly Diaries- 4.5 million YouTube hits so far...

The Botfly Diaries is still going strong after going viral and becoming a massive YouTube hit. Shot days after returning home from one of our 'Giant Otters' Amazon shoots, this video follows my battle against a parasitic Botfly that had made his home in my head. TBFD has not only accumulated millions of hits, it has also been discussed on 'BBC Radio 2- Jeremy Vine Show'.

Watch it now if you think you can stomach it! YouTube- The Botfly Diaries /

Giant Otters

Giant otters of the Amazon – The Natural World series BBC 2. Hector (my assistant) and I spent last year shooting a film on giant otters in deepest darkest Peru. We followed a family of giant otters as they raised their cubs in a lake with 700 caiman living in it! I am a big fan of giant otters and had the privilege of making a film on them ten years ago in exactly the same location. Giant otters are truly giants (well in otter terms they are) growing up to 6ft long and able to put away 4kg of fish a day! They live in family groups and are by far the most playful animals I have ever worked with. That is of course unless you are a caiman - caiman might be large crocodilians but they are in trouble if they get on the wrong side of the otters. We shot the film in Manu National Park in southern Peru. Manu is a stunning area of Amazonian rainforest and considered to be the most diverse place on earth. Keep your eyes on the website over the next few months as I'll be blogging about our exploits in the Amazon.

Stunning new range of cushions...

Philippa Forrester and her friend Tina Price have made a stunning new range of cushions with some of my photographs on. They look great and seem to work everywhere in the house. You can buy them on their website https://halcyon-home-designs.myshopify.com /


The Photo Society

On a recent trip to National Geographic magazine in Washington, I was invited to join The Photo Society. This is a group made up of contributing National Geographic photographers who are, as the website states 'committed to telling the world's stories through pictures.' The pictures on the site are stunning and it's really worth a look. Check out the website http://thephotosociety.org/


Halcyon River Diaries DVD cover image

Halcyon River Diaries DVD

"A wonderful account of one family's interaction with the natural world" The Daily Mail

There's a saying in television -

'Never work with children or animals' in this series we did both. The results were hilarious. We shot this series for BBC 1 over a year and it follows the story of me, my wife Philippa and our three boys Fred, Gus and Arthur as we try to get to know our wild neighbours and learn more about them - otters, kingfishers, dragonflies, moorhens, dippers and many more. There's some lovely footage of the animals on the river and some dramatic and sad stories. What we like most about the series is that it's fun and honest and packed with information. It seemed to be a real hit with the public and it achieved what Philippa and I were hoping - to inspire and educate people about the natural World.