the art, and I wanted to get some shots of him on one. There was one shot in particular, where I’d be crouched in the snow as he zoomed past. David was having none of this, saying ‘I’ll kill you, and if I do, the paperwork would be a terrible inconvenience’.
“After much coaxing, I convinced him to fly by me, only metres away in the snow, and at full speed. And he did it, coming probably a little too close for comfort, so that even I got momentarily nervous, but all was safe in the end. I knew it was a big ask for him, especially for a man not used to driving. But the shot that we got – worth every accelerating heartbeat! And when the book to accompany the series came out, I asked him to inscribe it for me. He held the pen over the inside cover for an implausible amount of time, then wrote: ‘This is for Doug, who so fearlessly faced death by skidoo in Svalbard.’”
While Doug Allan’s experiences on land have been notable, his time both topside and underwater have been nothing short of remarkable. While Attenborough soaks up the acclaim, Allen has remained a staple, yet unseen component of the various teams responsible for some of the most wondrous wildlife documentaries ever produced, and in Blue Planet, Human Planet and Frozen Planet – the latter capturing an audience of nearly 12million people – challenges beneath the waves are considerably the most profound. In over 60 filming excursions, the first being with the British Antarctic Survey in 1976, the Scottish photographer has documented everything from orcas attacking grey whales off California, to killer whales washing seals off ice floes in Antarctica, all on-screen firsts, and captured as stills and film.
“The ocean offers so much more mystery,” says Allan. “While at times we can photograph clean, stunning waters and all manner of incredible, colourful creatures that are bewildering in their array; on other occasions the blackness can mean you can’t see something less than a foot away from you. As a marine photographer looking to help people explore what’s under the surface, often for the first time using modern equipment, that’s very exciting and the ultimate challenge.
“It’s the feeling that we’re at the frontier of something, and you don’t get that on dry land. Of course the other thing about marine photography and exploration is that it’s so much more difficult to do anything. You are in a foreign environment, and as much as we, as people, have done our best to embed ourselves in that environment, the reality is we just don’t belong there,” he laughs.
After graduating from Stirling University with a degree in marine biology, the lab held little attraction for a young Allan. A keen diver from an early age, he worked on several research expeditions in the Red Sea where his passion for photography was ignited. And it was during a regular summer stint with the British Antarctic Survey in 1981 that he first met Attenborough, then filming Living Planet. The meeting marked a turning point for Allan as he experimented beyond stills photography into filmmaking. “I was intrigued to see David’s crew at work – amazed by their goals and ambitions, and what they were looking to achieve. I wanted to be a part of that process.”
Yet charting the depths of sub-zero waters naturally comes with its disadvantages, to the extent now that being battered by the icy wages of the Antarctic Ocean or charged by polar bears is considered a common hazard. “This life is not for everyone,” he admits. “It takes a certain breed. The coldest temperature I
I would much rather feel my toes
going numb than sit all day being eaten alive by mosquitoes in the jungle. It’s just whatever you’re accustomed to.
endured was minus 55. I admit, that was cold! And sometimes we’ll be diving to depths of 75 metres under the ice. Neither of these conditions faze me really. I’ve the biological make-up to help me cope, which is what a photographer or filmmaker in this environment needs, without exception.
“At the end of the day, as far as wildlife recording is concerned, it just comes with the patch. And I would much rather feel my toes going numb than sit all day being eaten alive by mosquitoes in the jungle. It’s just whatever you’re accustomed to.
“The worst thing that happened to me was being taken in the jaws of a walrus which took a hold of me completely by surprise up in the Arctic. That’s exactly how they hunt seals - they wait until they’re underneath the seal bobbing at the surface so they can come up unseen to grab it. I was the unsuspecting seal that day, but luckily I managed to flash my arms around and hit out. That surprised him, and he let me go, but if he’d had a slightly tighter grip and dragged me down, that would have been the end for me.” It’s an encounter that’s stayed with the
78 | SUMMER 2021 | ONBOARD
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164
