What is your name and where are you based?

My name is Eric Madeja, I live with my wife Cheryl and my two daughters Andria and Alaisha in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. We have been staying in Borneo for the past 12 years and considering it as our home.

What kind of films do you make? How would you describe what you do?

I'm the co-founder and owner of Treasure Images Sdn Bhd, an independent production company based in Borneo. I preferable work on films or projects portraying people living in and around the marine environment and the challenges and issues they are facing. However there are a multitude of other undertakings I do, from wildlife photography to location services for foreign crews and even managing CSR programs for large corporates.

Who or what inspires you in your photography and why cover nature and conservation issues?

I get my motivation from the people I meet while traveling through remote coastal regions, islands and atolls. Quite often it is their actions and sometimes even more their optimistic outlook on life that inspires me. Since my childhood I have a passion for the ocean and living in the heart of South East Asia has made me deeply understand how directly dependent on the sea a large part of the 7 billion people on this planet are.

What has been your biggest challenge filming in the field?

Explaining people who make five dollars or less a day why I want to document their life. I feel miserable bringing thousands of dollars worth of equipment into a tiny wooden hut where a family with eight kids stays without electricity or running water. On the other hand the positive attitude and impartial hospitality I experience in exactly these situations is what keeps me doing it.

Has technology hindered or enhanced your photography?

Technology definitely has made many things easier and provided new ways of filming. Think about tiny cameras like HD Hero and the stunning angles you can shoot with it. Than who would have thought that cameras like the RED, fitting in a small backpack, will mark the beginning of the end for shooting on film. On location my Macbook Pro has become an irreplaceable tool to watch dailies, back-up data, edit footage and to keep track of the shooting schedule.

What bothers me is that we become more and more dependent on a ubiquitous power source to recharge all our new gadgets. Has anyone heard about a solar- or saltwater powered broadcast quality HD camera?

What is your favourite place in nature?

15 meters below the surface on a healthy tropical coral reef

From your field experience, what is your biggest concern when it comes to the environment?

In my opinion it's wasting of resources. The corporate world is aware that only through deliberate wasting and discarding of surpluses they will be able to sustain the current system of having rapidly expanding and growing economies. It pushes many companies to close an eye towards the uncontrolled and inconsiderate depletion of our planet's resources. Unfortunately most people don't question the status quo and many more live in their own small world not aware of the bigger picture.

How do you think the media industry should be addressing environment and conservation issues?

I think its time for the media industry to take on more responsibility. Not only by reducing their own carbon footprint, but also by doing what they are really good in; promoting a certain way of living. Media producers of any genre should make sure that all their programs carry some kind of an "environmental awareness" message.

Soap operas for example are huge in my part of the world. Whole towns come to a standstill when a popular soap is aired on TV. Why not imagine cooperation between an environmental filmmaker and a drama series producer?

What are you working on at the moment?

One of my other passions is history and I'm currently researching some historical shipwreck stories around Borneo. Some "wreck hunter" friends of mine stumbled recently over a mid 19^th Century British merchant ship in the South China Sea. If the shipwreck can be positively identified as what the explorers think they have found, than it's an incredible story involving British aristocracy, pirates and large sharks. We are still looking for producers to get involved, please contact me if you are interested.

What advice to do have to someone wanting to break into the industry?

It really depends what the reason is you want to work in this industry. In most cases I would advice: "Set yourself a target but don't have too high ambitions. Work hard and be happy for every step you reach".

What would you like to be remembered for?

For being a good father to my children, teaching them that they don't have to accept what is not right.

Links:

www.treasure-images.com
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What is your name and where are you based?

My name is Carl Battreall and I live in Anchorage, Alaska.

What kind of films do you make? How would you describe what you do?  

I help local non-profits make modern looking and entertaining educational films. I also explore the relationship between artists and the environment. I work on a very local level. There are a hand full of major issues in Alaska that are covered by the big media groups and the famous photographers. And though these issues are very important, they over-shadow the many issues that concern Alaskans.

Who or what inspires you in your photography and why cover nature and conservation issues?

The son of two Forest Service employees, I grew up in and around the mountains. The wilderness inspires me, without it, I and the rest of this world would fall into chaos.

What has been your biggest challenge filming in the field?  

I usually work way off the beaten track, unsupported. So the biggest challenge is telling a complete story using a minimal amount of equipment. In Alaska, the weather is always an issue!

Has technology hindered or enhanced your photography?

I always wanted to make films. But that was impossible when I began my career, so I focused on still photography. Technology now allows me to create films as an independent filmmaker. When I started, twenty years ago, I was told I would need to risk everything and go in debt, borrow money from everyone I knew, just to make a movie. I wasn't willing to do that and now I don't have to.

What is your favourite place in nature?

On the tundra, right at the base of a towering peak or descending glacier.

From your field experience, what is your biggest concern when it comes to the environment?

The biggest issue is a lack of connection with the environment. Lots of people use the wilderness as a playground but they never make a bound strong enough with nature to change their ways of living. Even more discouraging is that many of the people I know have slowly lost their drive to fight. The burden is too heavy, the enemy too strong. They just recycle, donate to a few non-profits and call it good, they have given up.

How do you think the media industry should be addressing environment and conservation issues? And if you could give one message to the world's leaders on climate change, what would it be?  

I think the mainstream media industry is useless, their system is all about ratings and making money! How can anyone be honest and tackle the seriousness of the problems when you depend on advertising and you can't politely offend or challenge anyone? Same issue with the world leaders. My message is to the people: We have to change, we can't depend on the governments to save this planet!

What are you working on at the moment?

I just finished a project for the Bristol Bay Native Corporation titled a Day in Our Bay. Instead of a bunch of filmmakers filming the lives of the natives of Bristol Bay, I and a handful of local filmmakers went to remote villages and instead of filming, we taught them how to make their own films. So now they can share what is important to them, not what we think is important to them.

What advice to do have to someone wanting to break into the industry?  

Stay local and tackle issues that are important to the local population. That is where the funding is for indie and first time filmmakers and that is where real change can be made.

What would you like to remembered for?

Being a nice person who did his best and led by example.

Links:

www.photographalaska.com

What is your name? Jonathan Ali Khan, Wild Planet Productions

Where are you based? Dubai, United Arab Emirates

What kind of films do you make?

Natural history and conservation based multiple episode series for the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region as well as international TV markets. I follow the films up with educational outreach strategy to give these projects life beyond their TV moment.

My main passion is working underwater. I am obsessed with the science and wonders of the natural world around us and I have dived and filmed every nook and cranny along Arabia's coastline. I've seen some amazing sights, have witnessed distressing changes and am passionate about sharing my knowledge of this region and peoples through my films and education materials.

Who inspired you and why cover nature and conservation?

While I started as a photojournalist and commercial photographer, I grew up on a childhood diet of Jacques Cousteau and the magical world of diving. Underwater photography/videography gave me the opportunity to align my profession with my love of the sea.

It was the oil spill disaster after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait which was the catalyst for me to plunge into filmmaking and I set out to document the state of the marine environment from 1992-1998. No one had done the level of underwater exploration of the entire Arabian coastline as I did before, through my first project called "The Arabian Seas Expedition" and during the making of "Arabia's Cycle of Life".

Natural history TV is the key to safeguarding Arabia's natural world. The more people learn about their own natural world and the remarkable links between all living things, the greater the chance that people will become interested and motivated to reflect on how this aspects their own lives.

What is the favourite film you have worked on?

My favourite project to date is my current Sharkquest Arabia project which explores the relationship between sharks and the people of Arabia seeking to understand the challenges for the preservation of these apex predators in Arabian waters.

My most satisfying completed project is the 12 episode series; "Arabia's Cycle of Life". Two years in the making, travelling extensively throughout Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, the UAE and Jordan exploring and discovering unprecedented sites and even discovering a new species of fresh water fish. We covered more than 40,000 km filming mountain, desert and marine wildlife and ecosystems in the most comprehensive series ever conducted in the Arabian region.

What has been the biggest challenge?

As for many filmmakers funding is our most challenging issue. The Arabian culture has long-held a connection with the animals they relied on prior to the regions relatively recent wealth gained from oil, tourism and finance.

The significant influence that advertising and media sales has on TV content means we work hard to create awareness about our services and ideas with regional and international broadcasters. More recently, we are using social media and new media platforms through professional networks and other popular online social networks.

In the field, the extreme conditions create both significant logistical and physical challenges.

How has technology changed your job?

The quality of HD and ultra HD now being available in smaller and more affordable systems. Size and weight play important role in our expedition oriented projects. We have got the best out of SONY's EX XDCAM formats for our underwater work and topside with the interchangeable lenses. I am especially grateful for the ease of the fully digital workflow, cutting out the headache caused by tape. Social media platforms and viral broadcast platforms have also opened up fantastic opportunities to get more conservation information out there.

What is your favourite place in nature?

10 meters under the sea hanging suspended in clear water over the edge of a reefs steep drop off peering into the blue! The sense of wonder and joy of being immersed in a wild and unpredictable environment is heightened by the feeling of vulnerability and the unknown. In terms of place, it would have to be the Southern Maldives or the remotest offshore reefs of Southern Sudan.

What is your biggest concern about the environment?

My biggest concern is that people are disconnected from their natural world in this region (MENA), which means the drive for progress is favoured over the need to protect this fragile ecosystem.

As the world reacts to tackle global environmental issues, this region is beginning to participate in tackling some of these issues. Awareness of these issues in the MENA region is increasing.

The Arabian Peninsula has much to reveal about the natural world and I see this as an exciting time for filmmakers!

How do you think media industry should be addressing environment and conservation issues?

The Arabic language media plays little attention to the environment and conservation issues as a whole, giving priority to regional conflict issues and socio-economic news. The English language media here is very interested and keen to promote conservation or feature environmental issues. There is still a remnant of censorship being applied (whether self-censorship or state driven) in this region as the influence and power wielded by the oil and gas sector is omnipresent.

The real transformation in the international media and natural history world is the need for more conservation information within the films being made. I'm not a big fan of ‘grab the wildlife for a reaction' style of programming.

If you could give one message to the world's leaders about climate control, what would it be?

Listen to the right scientists! Stop letting the corporate sponsored lobbies cast doubt on the seriousness of the problems facing us. This is a time when decisions need to be based on the accumulated knowledge of mankind. Not driven by scales of economy.

What are you working on now?

I am currently working on a 3 part series and 2 part blue chip documentary featuring Arabia's shark story called "Sharkquest Arabia". I am also in development for a 3 part natural history documentary on the Sultanate of Oman's marine life called "Oman - The Realm of Light" and a 12 part series on the UAE called "The UAE's Last Wilderness".

What advice do you have for someone looking to break into the industry ?

Enjoy your formative years in the industry by getting out in the field at every opportunity, even if it means working as an intern for a while or taking a cut in pay! Nothing prepares you more than field experience. Learn field craft, study your wildlife, practice your writing, watch as many documentaries as you can and learn your camera inside out! But most importantly, treat this job as the greatest privilege in the world! That's exactly what it is!

What would you want to be remembered for?

I would like to be remembered as someone who cared enough about Arabia's wildlife to have tried to make a difference for the good of all by using whatever skills and means I had learnt from a full and challenging life. My wife would also like me to be remembered as someone who loved his wife, family and 9 cats! Which of course I do! Life just isn't worth living if it's not worth fighting for!

Links: www.wildplanetfilms.org

Showreel: http://youtu.be/cmKGt52znEI

What is your name: Linn Harter

Where are you based? Bozeman, Montana, USA

What kind of films do you make?

My first documentary is a cultural study of a fishing village on a small island in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico. It shows how closely the fishing community lives and depends on the sea and the difficulties of sustainable fisheries.

How would you describe what you do?

This was the first film I directed. My previous experience was in editing. I am interested in making films about people and feel strongly about protecting our environment. So projects that combine both these subjects interest me.

Who or what inspired you to work with film and why cover nature and conservation issues?

George C. Stoney, my documentary film instructor at NYU film school influenced me to make documentaries. Robert M. Young also inspired me as a great director of features and documentaries and a wonderful humanitarian. Conservation issues are important to me and films are a way to influence and educate audiences on the issues.

What is the favourite film you've worked on?

Directing my first documentary film, Here Lies My Heart - The Fishing Village of El Pardito Island was the most rewarding experience for me.

What has been your biggest challenge filming in the field?

Getting good sound in windy environments.

How has technology changed your job? Has it hindered or enhanced telling the conservation story?

There are definite advantages to the new technologies, but the fact that the equipment is obsolete in a few years is itself an environmental conundrum. Computers and cameras piling up in land fills makes me wonder if we're doing the right thing for the environment.

What is your favourite place in nature?

The mountains and the ocean are my favourite places in nature.

From your field experience, what is your biggest concern when it comes to the environment?

Over population and all the issues associated with it.

How do you think the media industry should be addressing environment and conservation issues?

Telling good stories that address the issues with the least amount of impact on the environment.

If you could give one message to the world's leaders on climate change, what would it be? We need to take climate change seriously and work toward solutions.

What are you working on at the moment?

A personal documentary about aging women, 90 and above leading healthy and inspirational lives.

What advice to do have to someone wanting to break into the industry?

Work hard, persevere and follow your instincts.

What would you like to remembered for?

Being a good person that tried to make the world a better place (corny, but true...J).

Links:

www.HereLiesMyHeart.org

What is your name: Herbert Brauer

Where are you based? Johannesburg, South Africa

What kind of films do you make? How would you describe what you do?

Until recently I was a wildlife cameraman with Aquavision TV Productions. I worked mostly on 2D wildlife docudramas with a blue chip angle, and lately some wildlife 3D. I've started freelancing this month and want to be more involved in shaping some of the projects I hope doing.

Who or what inspired you to work with film and why cover nature and conservation issues?

I used to be inspired by external factors.Certain events and some fantastic people also helped to shape my life.I'd never forget Des and Jen Bartlett who came to our school in Otjiwarongo, Namibia, and showed us one of their movies.I visited them six years ago the first time I've brought a digi beta along to film desert elephants. I'm realizing now that these events and people haven't influenced me butreally reminded me who I am and that there is a way to align my doing. I'm grateful for that.

What is the favourite film you've worked on?

The Last Lioness

What has been your biggest challenge filming in the field?

Being confronted to accept my own humanness. Many of us who are finding ways to live and work in nature, in remote wilderness areas, are not only drawn there, that'd be quite natural. Instead, we're running away from humanity. But I've learned. I won't give up on humanity.

How has technology changed your job? Has it hindered or enhanced telling the conservation story?

It really is a question of time and money. Filming is based and relies on technology. So it enables us getting footage that might not be possible to see with the naked eye or even to imagine what could be there, or how something looks filmed, not as in reality. It really is a question of budgets, equipment selection and deadlines. I absolutely admire footage taken with high tech equipment in challenging environments like the deep oceans, but prefer to keep it simple in my own work. I have experienced the most gripping storytelling, by the way, around small fires with the Bushmen in the Kalahari....

What is your favourite place in nature? I guess they're spaces / moments, rather than places. Liuwa Plains was special.

From your field experience, what is your biggest concern when it comes to the environment?

I'd feel a bit arrogant saying that I'd be concerned about our environment. Is she not a reflection of our perceptions? I am very concerned about our current superficial inner landscapes and even more about our resulting relationship with her. Nature's self generating healing power and her limits to that became beyond most of our understanding.

How do you think the media industry should be addressing environment and conservation issues?And if you could give one message to the world's leaders on climate change, what would it be?

No one in his of her right mind leaves their intimate relationships, i.e with their family, partners etc in the hands of their countries minister of social affairs. But many of us relinquished our relationship with our planet to our countries' ministers of environmental affairs, industry leaders and "others".

In order to rebuild a reliable environmental understanding in our industrialized "culture", we need to leave our mental and physical comfort and luxury behind every now and then and spend quality time in nature, ideally without distracting gadgets and paraphernalia. It would be even better to take part in multiple day hikes as organised by South Africa's Wilderness Leadership Schools for instance.Love and respect for our natural (and resulting human) environment needs to be learned (earned?) through experience in a system that has proven itself: wild nature. We all need to do that. Our leaders and decision makers need to do that too!Logic tells me they'd have to do that more than the followers. That is my message.

Books, films, talks etc deliver information, create and awaken (learned / familiar?) emotions, which rarely leads to wisdom. It stays somewhere "out there". I've received a lot of feedback that The Last Lioness has touched a lot of hearts, but I'm not sure about the extend to which my work has really deepened any one's connection to their environment, to be quite honest.

So as a filmmaker I work towards forming a strong enough link to remind the viewers who they are. Hopefully we can do that well enough so they can then turn their initial interest from watching a wildlife movie into going out to experience nature and finally a sustained commitment towards our environment.

What are you working on at the moment?

My show reel... And I'd love to film and learn from wolves.

What advice to do have to someone wanting to break into the industry?

Don't break nothing!!! Go for it!!! There's no one single way.

What would you like to remembered for?

Hopefully for having first recognized the human in every person I've met.

Links

www.african-parks.org
www.wildernesstrails.org.za
www.richardlouv.com

What is your name: Nick Upton

Where are you based?

Near Bath, UK

What kind of films do you make? How would you describe what you do? 

I've been researching, directing, producing, writing and consulting on wildlife documentaries and series of many kinds since 1987, often including lots of animal behaviour, but usually with some kind of human dimension from folklore to scientific, to indigenous peoples' links with nature, to primate rescue/rehab to showing conservation biologists reintroducing species.  My first role in film-making was as Sir David Attenborough's lead researcher on one of the "big" series, "TrIals of Life".  Since then I've made or contributed to numerous award winning films and series for major and minor broadcasters and conservation organisations across the world, often adding sound recording and sometimes additional camerawork to my usual roles and I'm taking a lot of stills these days as well. 

Who or what inspired you to work with film and why cover nature and conservation issues?

In my teens l  spent most of my holidays working on nature reserves or watching wildlife around Europe. I then did a first degree in zoology and ended up doing a PhD and some further research on animal behaviour before switching to film-making. Long before I worked with him, it was David Attenborough's  "Life on Earth" series and  "Wildlife on One" strand that really opened my eyes to how powerfully films could bring natural history stories and imagery to big audiences, and made me want to move from scientific research to film-making.

What is the favourite film you've worked on? 

"Trials of Life" was a massive, hugely rewarding 4 year experience, working in many different countries and environments with specialist cameraman of different kinds and seeing how various directors worked with Attenborough to record his pieces to camera, which often featured species and locations I'd scouted out. More personal favourites are two films I made for the BBC and Nat Geo way back: a quirky film about Trinidad's wildlife and folklore "Vampires, Devilbirds and Spirits", and "Beetlemania" which showed how amazing and valuable even insects can be. I've also enjoyed working in Europe on many films and series, especially Finland in recent years. Working in Taiwan on 3 films over the last 10 years has also been very rewarding, partly due to the challenges of working in difficult environments with people from a very different culture, and thanks to the hugely positive reactions to the films there.

What has been your biggest challenge filming in the field?

There have been so many that it's hard to single out the biggest - but I do like a challenge and keep getting drawn back to working in teeming bat caves, hot sweaty rain forests, finding ways to film shy wildlife in mountains and wetlands and to film tiny insects in intimate, revealing ways.  Filming terns in Arctic Spitsbergen proved quite easy by comparison!

How has technology changed your job? Has it hindered or enhanced telling the conservation story? 

Enhanced: new tools come along all the time and can really help bring stories to audiences in fresh and interesting ways.  I've always liked the perspectives of specialist lenses, the altered reality of slomo and timelapse photography, the sense of being in an environment that moving the camera on tracks, jibs and cables brings. I really like the revelation that infra red filming can offer at night or in caves, a technology I've used regularly throughout my career. I loved working with film, but HD and other video formats have proved good too with some pluses - low light sensitivity and less pressure on shooting ratios - and some minuses - the prohibitive cost of quirky lenses and true high-speed shooting for most budgets, and the risk of having too much footage when it comes to editing!

What is your favourite place in nature?

Again there are too many to single one out easily, but I loved Spitsbergen for natural ice sculptures and the constant thrumming hubbub from massive auk colonies, the Galapagos for richness of amazing wildlife all around, rainforests for endless surprising revelations, coral reefs for colours and diversity of fish and invertebrates, mountains for scenery and changing cloudscapes, bat caves for intense, intriguing activity, wetlands for density of birdlife, almost anywhere from my back garden to a Slovenian hay meadow to a rain forest for finding great insects to photograph.

From your field experience, what is your biggest concern when it comes to the environment?

Loss of wilderness generally, forests and wetlands especially, as human populations increase and more land becomes overexploited and biodiversity plummets, plus the many new threats to the health of reefs and oceans.

How do you think the media industry should be addressing environment and conservation issues?   

I think it should ideally be finding ways - across several platforms - to blow the whistle on the worst excesses and to highlight the best examples where people do coexist with nature without trashing it.  For TV it generally has to be done in ways that guarantee audiences, so commissioners take few risks these days with films they deem too worthy or gloomy or with no "star animal" appeal, but some brave commissioners have made things work on all fronts, pulling in good audiences and getting meaningful stories over in entertaining ways, often mixing positive messages with bad news or showing how problems could be turned around.  Traditional TV is not the only way to get stories out there, though, and many kinds of stories can be told in many ways through the internet, local film screenings, schools, museums, photo and art exhibitions, magazines, books etc etc.

If you could give one message to the world's leaders on climate change, what would it be?

Believe it, take it seriously, plan ahead, invest in promising sustainable technologies and don't listen to climate change deniers, especially those motivated by short term economic incentives. For their own grandchildren if no-one else, they need to look beyond the next elections and seek to be remembered and supported for having a realistic understanding of how we depend on the health of our planet and for offering a long term vision for protecting it and us.  I think they know all this really, but politicians have very mixed agendas and we need to vote for people who really will do the right things, not just those that say they will, and we must be prepared to pay the extra costs if necessary.

What are you working on at the moment?

A couple of films for the RSPB Film and Video Unit on Cranes in Europe and their natural return to the UK, now boosted by reintroductions.  I'm also taking masses of stills of many kinds, slowly getting more published and on the internet and am building up portfolios at a few stock agencies. I recently wrote a chapter on Cranes in Europe and supplied many photos for a book due to be published this year about the return of Cranes to the UK

What advice do you have for someone wanting to break into the industry? 

If you want it to be more than just a job and more of a vocation, you should seek to work with people who care about weaving meaningful messages into their films and avoid working on projects that seem banal or exploitative to you or take a negative view of "dangerous" wildlife to satisfy a target demographic.  Don't expect to do it for the money, unless you ignore all of the above, or are incredibly good at getting serious backing for films you really want to make!

What would you like to remembered for? 

For communicating a passion for nature - including little known and often unloved creatures -  through my  films, photos and writing and for revealing positive interactions between people and nature, not just negative ones.

 Links: 

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http://www.naturepl.com/  

http://www.rspb-images.com/  

What is your name: David Lindo (aka The Urban Birder)

Where are you based? London, England

What is it that you do in the film industry? How would you describe your job/s?

I'm a broadcaster and guerilla wildlife filmmaker producing pieces predominately on urban wildlife.

Who or what inspired you to work in film and why cover nature and conservation issues?

I had an innate interest in wildlife that quickly developed to an obsession by the time I was eight. I had no mentors until I was a teenager. Being based in a city I realised that many city dwellers are disconnected to wildlife. I made it my mission to take them on an expedition into the middle of somewhere.

What is the favourite programme or series you've worked on?

I have enjoyed most of the TV programmes that I have been involved with. To date, my experiences on BBC1's The One Show & Countryfile have been brilliant. The films that I have made independently or in conjunction with Birdguides have been great because they were often unplanned. We just ran out with a camera and started filming what we saw.

What has been your biggest challenge filming in the field?

Aside from getting the wildlife shots that might be needed, filming within cities throws up its own challenges, especially when you are in decidedly dodgy neighbourhoods!

How has technology changed your job? Has it hindered or enhanced telling the conservation story?

Technology has greatly enhanced the opportunities for anybody to tell a conservation story. You can now shot a movie on your mobile phone. What an incredible advancement!

What is your favourite place in nature?

I have no one favourite place in nature as moments of pure delight can happen as you walk out your front door in a city or in the middle of nowhere. When I'm in London, I frequently visit Wormwood Scrubs, an urban park in the middle of west London that is my local patch.

With all your field experience, what is your biggest concern when it comes to the environment?

My biggest fear when it comes to the environment is the wanton destruction of habitat that goes on from within the middle of urban centres to the depths of our jungles. My feeling is that the disconnected people that live in urban centres all over the world need to understand the importance of conservation. If they can learn to preserve the flowerpot on their window ledge, then they can conserve the world. It's as simple as that in my view.

How do you think the media industry should be addressing environment and conservation issues?

The media industry is getting better at addressing issues but they still have a tendency to trivialise things. I often get asked to comment on issues for current affairs programmes and I have to be strong to keep my message pure whilst fitting into the ‘and finally' format that I have been slotted into.

What are you working on at the moment?

At the moment I am finishing my first book. I hope to be shooting a birding film with Birdguides in April.

Where are you going next?

I travel the world visiting cities to write about the wildlife. Maybe I might be in yours next!

What would you like to remembered for?

Bad jokes, dodgy handshakes and for having a love affair with wildlife.

Links: http://www.theurbanbirder.com/