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The Big Thousand

 I’m very much a generalist when it comes to natural history. Wildlife filmmaking often means that I know a little bit of everything, with a few specific subjects that I know more about. But I have massive blind spots. I can’t tell you much about anything plant related, and I have only been rock-pooling a couple of times. Beetles, I’m bad at, and moths are a mystery. And those are the popular groups of species. Molluscs, Lichens, mosses, flies and more; these are all areas of ecology that are mostly ignored by all but a few people with niche interests. This year, I am hoping to cover it all. My resolution for 2026 is to record 1,000 species in the UK. Like every new year’s resolution, 1,000 is a soft target. If I was smart, the phrasing would be “to get better at my ID skills” or “record species whenever reasonable”, but there is something satisfying about big round numbers. I can break it down to 2.74 new species a day. I can confidently say that I am 7.2% of the way through my ...
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Listening to Winter Woods

 It’s been a weird November – this week felt like the first proper bit of Winter this side of the calendar year. With near-freezing temperatures, a clear day and a low breeze, I took myself out a couple of days ago for a bit of Winter parabolic dishing.  I have been to Ebernoe Common a couple of times to get drone photos for the Sussex Wildlife Trust. It’s a long way from anywhere, nestled between cosy villages and the twisty lanes that connect them. This is in theory a perfect location for audio recording as traffic is a concept that has yet to reach these parts of the county. Here, the constant drum of humanity is reduced to only the tinnitus in your own ears. In theory, at least. Parabolic microphones are odd contraptions. They look a bit like miniature radio telescopes, and they even work kind of the same way. When members of the public ask what on earth I could be doing with this weird white disk, I sometimes answer “Looking for aliens”. I jest, parabolic microphones are ...
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In Memoriam – Tilgate Park’s Nature Garden

 Tilgate is Crawley’s flagship county park. Standing strong at the top of a surprisingly steep hill is the walled garden, a quiet area surrounded by brick and mortar. What has been created in the walled garden is really impressive. Whilst it is not up to the same standard as the National Trust, it’s managed with a stretched council budget and is free to the public. The almost two-acre space somehow fits a maze, a small orchard, a community café, an ice cream shop, two long greenhouses, several flowerbeds, and a quartet of example gardens. One of these, and by no surprise my favourite, is the wildlife garden. The garden last winter This small space has been fantastic for nature. I’ve witnessed robins fight like gladiators to claim this little oasis as their own. And why wouldn’t they?   Spring orchids flower from the scraggly edges. Autumn fungi add their own splash of colour. In the centre sits a large pond. Not an ornamental pond with koi carp, but a true wildlife pond, bub...
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Camcorders - Wading Through the Anti-Hype

 Rejoice all ye camcorder lovers, for Panasonic are releasing two new models! But in the age of the phone, do they really have a place in the modern world? Well, not really, if PetaPixel is to be believed . But as someone with years of camcorder experience under her belt, let’s have a look at some of the current applications for the old all-in one. First of all, lets get something simple straight. I doubt that many people will be buying a camcorder as a budget Arri Alexa. Not everyone who buys a camera wants to be the next Rodger Deakins, so the idea that “zoom is dead in cinema” is not only factually inaccurate, (not every cinema lens is a prime), it is completely beside the point. There are, believe it or not, plenty of professional applications where a versatile zoom range comes in handy, and this gives us a good clue on why similar specs maybe appealing to amateurs. Professional broadcast cameras will often have big box lenses, capable of delivering high magnifications and c...
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Experiments with Swirly Bokeh - Helios 44-2

  Trying out a new lens is always exciting, especially when the glass is as unique as the Helios 44-2. This optical marvel was mass-produced in the USSR, and is probably best known for it's unique swirly bokeh, having a beautiful twirly blur. So when I was given a copy for my 20th Birthday, I knew I had to test it out immediately.   RSPB Pulborough Brooks  is a prime location for wildlife photography, with an array of habitats to explore. On a bitter December day, with only the Helios on my camera, I went to the reserve with the aim of capturing the elusive swirly bokeh.  The trip reinforced what I had read online. Getting swirly bokeh isn't particularly difficult with the right background. I found that branches look great with the Helios 44-2, giving a holloway effect.  The lens is particularly sharp at the centre, which combined with a minimum focusing distance of 50cm, it could prove a useful companion to my current 100mm macro lens from Laowa. Specifically, ...
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Contextual: Ramblings On Frozen Planet II's Minecraft Maps

  Ramblings on Frozen Planet II's Minecraft Maps is my first look at how video games can be a tool for wildlife communication. Specifically, I examine Minecraft 's free Frozen Planet II maps in the context of them being documentary tie media.    There are a few fun details in this video. Some of the screenshots of Minecraft were from a realm my friends and I used to play on. Derpus Birdus, the flamingo statue, did get blown up as suggested in the final video. Who blew Derpus Birdus up? I'm not going to say.   Mingo City in progress I'm particularly happy with the fade between Minecraft and documentary that I used to show the similarities between the two. I used Davinci Resolve's noise generator to make an uneven fade and I think the end result is fairly nice.   In the script, I asked for a Planet Earth III version of these maps, after all that is meant to be the next big BBC wildlife documentary. I misspoke, and said Frozen Planet III by accident. Oh well ,...
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Contextual: The Hedgehog Garden

  The Hedgehog Garden is a short documentary that holds a special place in my heart. Over the summer of 2022, I caught Covid-19. For my usual filming plans, this was a huge hindrance. However, by coincidence, a hedgehog family moved into our neighbourhood. Before this, I had never seen a wild hog before, yet alone young, that felt comfortable running over my toes. After a few nighttime filming sessions, I forgot about the footage I had captured and got on with my life.   About a month or so later, I decided to enter my Waders of Titchfield video into the Horsham Film Festival . But it faced administrative issues, meaning I couldn't guarantee permission to enter it before the submission deadline.   With only a few days till the cut-off date, I edited the hodge-podge footage together into a workable video. I got Hannah King to narrate it and I wrote the score in only a few hours. I even tried my hand at Foley again. The sounds of hedgehogs eating slugs is actually me sque...
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