“For me, wildlife cameramen don’t come much more special than Doug. There’s just no one else who knows these frozen worlds as he does” – David Attenborough

Did you ever wonder how to approach belugas underwater? Get up close and personal with polar bears without being eaten? Stop your fingers falling off from frostbite? And not lose that important dive hole when you’re diving under the ice?

Doug Allan is one of the world’s best known and respected cameramen, and in this presentation he’ll be giving his own personal insights about marine biology, diving, and filming at the poles. Illustrated with his own photographs and clips from his best-known series, and with a wealth of behind the scenes stories – Doug’s aim is to amaze, inspire and challenge. Because in the forty years since Doug first went to Antarctica, he’s witnessed first hand how the warming of the poles and the changing ice is affecting the animals north and south. What should we be doing to turn the tide? He’ll also be signing copies of his book Freeze Frame – A Wildlife Cameraman’s Adventures on Ice.

“What’s great about talking face to face is that it’s my chance to bring people right in behind the scenes. It’s like live TV only better, and it’s for all the family!” – Doug Allan

Doug Allan spent seven years in Antarctica as a research diver, scientist and photographer for the British Antarctic Survey, before changing direction to full time freelance filming in 1983.

Since then he has become one of the world’s best known and respected cameramen. He specialises in natural history, expeditions and science documentaries in some of the wildest and most remote places on our planet, particularly the polar zones. In his 35 year filming career, he’s worked for the BBC, Discovery, National Geographic and many others, filming for series like The Blue Planet, Planet Earth, Frozen Planet, Ocean Giants, Operation Iceberg, Wild Cameramen at Work, and Brian Cox’s Forces of Nature.

His photographic awards include eight Emmy’s and five BAFTA’s. He has three Honorary Doctorates in recognition of his camerawork, as well as two Polar Medals. He’s an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and of the Royal Photographic Society.

The Abingdon Science Partnership in collaboration with Science Oxford present.

This lecture was rearranged from Friday 2 March 2018