wildlife actuality – ‘Did you get that Gra?’

If I have been pigeon holed anywhere it’s right here. I do a lot of work where it is imperative to film what the presenter is seeing as if live. Often the filming conditions are far from ideal but we have to go with what whatever is happening. Without the wildlife shots to illustrate what a presenter is observing there is no sequence. The pressure is always on and missing the shot is not an option. I’ve worked with Iolo Williams and the Aden team for more than 11 years doing this day in day out for BBC programmes. After a frantic burst of activity when everyone’s on autopilot I’ll hear, ‘Did you get that Gra?’

marsh harrier prey pass

We had permission to work a safe distance from a marsh harrier nest.

waiting for a bittern

Although the target species was bittern, we will make a sequence of anything interesting that turns up – in this instance, otters.

still waiting for a bittern

We spent a lot of time waiting for bitterns to show themselves, but there was plenty of other wildlife to keep us interested.

at last - a bittern

After several sessions a bittern finally appeared. I spotted it flying towards us, it went past and carried on into the distance. One chance – in the can.

hunting and nesting kestrel

An enjoyable filming encounter as it was so spontaneous and lasted no more than half an hour in total.

there be dragonflies

Dragonflies are like greased lightning. The camera for the day only did 60 fps, but you wouldn’t want to slow them down too much, would you.