 but I'll also be talking about the animals themselves and the way to approach them and and also I suppose also looking at the The issue of climate change and conservation things like that So we're moving around all kinds of things, but it's definitely a family show and you'll go away emphasis is definitely on the photography and the cinematography Those wee bits at the end of the shows Blue Planet or Planet Earth or whatever Yeah, they're my favorite. Well, that's the you know, I was gonna say they're my favorite bits of the show Well, I enjoy the shows, but I really really I love the bits at the end as well because you get a wee glimpse in behind and I'm sort of now at the stage where I'm watching the shows and I'm going I wonder which part will they pick out to feature at the end Well You know there are interesting stories about about all kinds of parts because the different kinds of photography that you'll see Demand different skills. It's very different if you're filming a very small animal as opposed to something big And then of course you've got underwater versus topside things like that So I you know I do topside and I do underwater and I do big animals big charismatic animals like polar bears And killer whales things like that. So I'll be pulling them pulling stories about them into into my show And sometimes, you know, you might be surprised an animal that you that you might think would be quite dangerous let's say is actually once you get to know it it can be and You know less dangerous than you think but on the other hand What can start off as a friendly encounter if you don't read the animal correctly then it may become You know a little bit more than you bargained for put it that way So I'll be talking about my time with polar bears killer whales, you know animals like that underwater and topside You didn't start out as a photographer you started out as a diver is that correct? Yeah, that's right. That was my first real big interest was diving I got into that at school And that took me in direction marine biology, which where I did a degree But by then I Wanted to do is I love the adventure side of diving and but I appreciated knowing about science So I began to look for expeditions where I could work underwater and with biologists And that that led me to the big big break in the way was going to the Antarctic I went to the Antarctic a way back in 1976 and I worked as a Scientific diver and as a biologist So I was looking after the diving equipment on the base and we dived all year round out of boats in the summer But then underneath the ice in the winter And of course the opportunities for photography were just amazing down in the Antarctic If you want somewhere to get a handle on photography That's not too difficult to be honest go to the Antarctic because the animals there there's no polar bears in the Antarctic So the penguins and the seals and birds and things are much easier to approach So anyway, that was where I got into photography But then having done I did one winter then I did two winters in the Antarctic And my next big stroke of luck was meeting David Attenborough meeting the great man in the Antarctic He was down with a small film crew and they were on a on a ship And they asked if they could come on to our base for a couple of days just to do some filming So I helped them over those two days and it was really quite simple by the time I finished those two days I was talking to the camera person that was with David and I was I was thinking what a job this man has You know, he's doing all the things that I like doing he did a bit of diving He was working with animals working with a small crew like David and doing something that felt very worthwhile And it was just also downright, you know, glamorous if I could call it that, you know, these guys were going From the Antarctic they weren't going back to UK after they came out the Antarctic They were going to go to Galapagos for three weeks and then on to somewhere else So I began to think, you know, how can I how can I get into that field and David and the others they were very helpful with their Advice and they also implied that the knowledge that I had working in the Antarctic knowing the cold knowing the animals That was pretty useful They hadn't met anyone who had that sort of background There were plenty of people they knew who knew all about Africa and African wildlife But I was the first person who knows something about the Antarctic So I decided when I started that I would play to my strengths And I got the chance to winter with some over at over winter with some MPR penguins And the footage that I brought back with that along with some other stuff that I was asked to get That set me off on the right track and in the way I played to my strengths But that's why I've done a disproportionate amount of cold Filming as opposed to jungles or corollaries. So it's been a very interesting 35 year career I've had visiting the Arctic and the Antarctic Well, it's been very interesting as well Sort of this side of the the TV screen Watching what you you film and watching what's produced and you've worked on on the really big ones The ones that were we were sort of all familiar with blue planet planet Earth the frozen planet and And from those little bits that we see at the end about how certain segments are made there just seems to be a lot of Waiting and a lot of discomfort and in very maybe very cold environments. We see they're very cold or very hot and Yep, and then you're out there for weeks or months at a time. So it's you need to be cut out for this supposed to Oh, yeah, you need to be Funny people often say you must be very patient and But in a way, that's why people are employing it. They're employing you for your patients But also for you for that sort of tenacity, which is almost like patients with a purpose You know, you really have to get you want to get your teeth into the sequence into the behavior that you want to see You really, you know, you got to feel this drive to bring back the images and of course this There's a big team of Researchers and producers who've done a lot of work to ensure that you're in you're in the best place at the best time So they have the best chance to film it and sometimes it is remarkably simple We just have to be there and be ready to film and as you pointed out There is an element of discomfort in a lot of natural environments There are many places in the world which are Which are easy all the time I mean, you know, you come to Ireland in August and you're out on the marshes or the Moors You're gonna get eaten alive by midges and things like that You go to the jungle and it's going to be humid. The fungus is going to start growing over the inside of your lenses There are leaches, there are mosquitoes, all that sort of stuff On the other hand, cold places, they are cold But with the right preparation of the equipment and the right clothing You can learn to cope with the cold Actually, you know, the environment itself is very healthy They clean those old bugs out there You know, if you're going to get a cold or get, you're most likely to get a cold It's when you're coming back from the Arctic or the Antarctic That's when you fall prey to the normal sort of bugs like flu and stuff like that And you pick it up on the plane, on your way back to civilization Because the time that you've spent in the Antarctic or the Arctic You just, it's so clean, you just lose all your natural resistance to these bugs in a way So I've chosen to take on the cold as my challenge And other people, well, you know, they prefer, as I say, the jungles or the deserts Or some other extreme environment But I just love the wilderness of the poles You know, I love the emptiness, I love those 180 degrees skies that are above you I love the fact that I've got the chance to spend a lot of time and try to film polar bears Where you can't hide from a polar bear If you can see a polar bear, the polar bear can see you And the polar bear can smell you a lot further away than it can see you And the fact that you're on a one-to-one with this top charismatic predator in the world The fact that you're out there sharing the environment with it out on the sea ice It's just a wonderful sense of privilege that you get when you spend time with these animals And watch them, watch them behaving, hunting the seals or out with their cubs You know, all this sort of stuff It's just a lovely, lovely place to be Speaking of top predators, there was a fantastic sequence a couple of weeks ago on Frozen Planet And this is where you fill them to killer whales And there was seals up on the ice and the whales have worked out a method Where they can wash them off the ice into the water so they can get at them And it was absolutely stunning It must give you great satisfaction when you're able to film something like that for the first time Or maybe film other animal behaviour that you know just hasn't been done before Well that's the holy grail really, isn't it, is to get onto a piece of behaviour which hasn't seen before And I've been fortunate that I've done a few things like that And two of them in fact did involve killer whales for Blue Planet Myself and Tom Fitz, we filmed killer whales attacking a grey whale for the first time And then later on myself and Doug Anderson, we did that behaviour with the killer whales Making the wave to wash the seals off the ice flow And that is a remarkable piece of behaviour When you think of all the coordination and communication and intelligence That needs to be in those animals in order to do something as complicated as that With the different roles that they play, you know, some are making the wave Some are in the water ready to grab the seal And then when it's in the water they've got different ways of disabling the seal You're making big beats with a fin or blowing bubbles, etc So it's very exciting, you know, when you see a piece of behaviour like that for the first time And when you've got the chance to capture all the elements of the behaviour, let's say But that's the advantage of working for big ambitious series Those series are expensive to make You need to be out there in the field for a long time Because you can't guarantee how long it's going to take you to see that piece of behaviour Sometimes you go out with the best of all in the world and the weather And the animals, they just don't cooperate and you make them back with nothing But as long as you've been there, as long as you've been out there, as long as you've been ready That's in a way as much as you can do But yes, it's the idea of bringing back something which no one has seen before The idea that you are there witnessing it for yourself That is a hugely satisfying And I'll be talking about examples of that in my talk Watching polar bears coming out of the den, for example Or underwater seeing things that no other people have seen It's just a great way to make a living It sounds like it, all right And if people want an insight and want to find out a bit more Well, you're on tour, I know it starts tonight in Slago, Continues in Dublin tomorrow night And here in Lerner, Kenny, in a green on the theatre this Thursday night Details about ticket availability from the box office Du Galon, thank you very much for chatting with us on the show And the best look with the tour Well, it's been a pleasure talking to you And thanks very much I'm looking forward to coming to Letters, Kenny Keep your ears peeled to Highland Radio We're giving away... Sorry, we're not telling you yet Yes, you heard right It's a secret, but stay tuned to The Nine to Noom Show for more details There's always a buzz in Dublin But there's something extra special about Dublin at wintertime Experience a whole lot of live entertainment this November From buskers and fans to theatres