I’m a 30-year-old British wildlife filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer. My career began when a childhood obsession with nature led to winning the title of ‘Youth Outdoor Photographer Of The Year’. After graduating in Zoology from the University of Bristol in 2014, I began assisting legendary National Geographic Magazine photographer Steve Winter. I’ve since produced and hosted 8 projects for National Geographic (‘Leopards at the door’, ‘Jaguar Vs Croc’, ‘Wild_Life’, ‘Resurrection Island’ and ’The Big Freeze’). Resurrection Island won best Television host at the Jackson Wild Awards 2019- Nature film’s equivalent of the Oscars. Alongside my projects for National Geographic, I shoot for the landmark BBC David Attenborough Series. I recently became one of BAFTA’s youngest cinematography winners for my work on ‘Seven Worlds, One Planet’. My latest series are both now streaming on Disney+ titled 'Epic Adventures with Bertie Gregory' and ‘Animals Up Close with Bertie Gregory’.
Behind the camera, I specialise in four areas of filming…
Drones- UK and USA certified with 1000s of commercial hours including Heavy lift, Inspire 3, Mavic 3 and racing drones. I enjoy filming pretty landscapes but my main area of focus is using long lens drones to reveal new animal behaviours.
Large gimbal tracking work- trained on GSS 516, 512, Shotover F1 and M1, Cineflex Ultra. Experience including vehicle, boat and helicopter mounting (including over 100 hours Heli time).
Long lens - hide or not with 50-1000mm/Red Raptor. Also trained and experienced on the Sellex Superhawk, Merlin and Horizon Thermal cameras, ME20 low light camera (Plus BCAP rope access).
Underwater- Red Weapon Helium/Nauticam housing owner. PADI Divemaster and rRevo Rebreather certified. Experience in Arctic, Antarctic, Tropics.
Alongside the specialities above, I’m comfortable shooting…
Mutli axis Motion control timelapse (moco rig owner)
8K Video camera traps - 2 years training from Steve Winter
Movi/Ronin Operator
Recent Cinematography Credits Include…
Planet Earth III (BBC)
Our Planet II (Netflix)
Frozen Planet II (BBC)
Seven Worlds, One Planet (BBC)
Hostile Planet (National Geographic)
Below are some images from the field. If you’re interested in my journey into the industry, please scroll down.
Despite the fact that I can barely grow facial hair and that I’ve only been in the industry full time for 10 years, I get a lot of messages asking how to get into wildlife film. I’m often not sure what to say as there’s no one set route in. It might sound obvious but I’d say the most important thing you can do is to get out and film wildlife. Take advantage of the fact that we live in a very cool age where cameras are relatively affordable and you can run your own broadcasting platform for free. This to me is the best way to learn how to sneak up on animals, what you need to edit a film and how to market your work. Beyond that, find out about wildlife film events and network your backside off. Meet people, be nice and create your lucky break. If you have an idea that you’re particularly passionate about, consider apply for a National Geographic Society Grant. It’s an incredible way to get a project your passionate about funded as well as getting your foot in the door with nat geo. More info by clicking here.
Since I was knee high to a grasshopper I have been totally obsessed with the natural world. I quickly realised that taking pictures of what I was saw was not only a great way to explain where I run off to, but also a great way to get other people excited about what I was excited about. Age sixteen, this early passion led me to win a spot shooting alongside the UK’s top 20 wildlife photographers on the 2020VISION project and a couple of years later, the title of Youth Outdoor Photographer of the Year.
In July 2014, I graduated in Zoology with First Class Honours from the University of Bristol. The next day, I boarded a plane to begin assisting Steve Winter in South Africa on assignment for National Geographic Magazine (I had met him a year earlier at a wildlife photography event in London). Following this baptism of fire, the project evolved into a television program. My task was to film Steve as he attempted to photograph the urban leopards of Mumbai and the jungle leopards of Sri Lanka. This one hour special premiered in the US on Nat Geo WILD in January 2016.
In 2015, I was named the Scientific Exploration Society Zenith Explorer of the year and a National Geographic Young Explorer. With these grants, I aimed to track down and film the illusive coastal wolf on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada. After some very sweaty pitches, this project then became my first solo assignment for National Geographic as they commissioned it to become their first ever online wildlife series. This 16-part series premiered in August 2016 and you can watch it here (please be nice, I was learning…). I then spent another year working with Steve, assisting him on his jaguar story for National Geographic Magazine. Meanwhile, I was shooting and producing a 1-hour tv special on the jaguars for Nat Geo WILD which premiered in December 2017.
In November 2016 I began the prestigious BBC Natural History Unit camera bursary with fellow cameraman Howard Bourne. I spent the following 2 years shooting on 6 of the 7 episodes for the BBC’s new David Attenborough Series, ‘Seven Worlds, One Planet’. You can watch the trailer here. I was fortunate to win a BAFTA for Cinematography on the South America episode of this series. I took two breaks during the filming of Seven Worlds to produce and host Season 2 and Season 3 of my Nat Geo online series, ‘Wild_Life: Resurrection Island’ and ‘Wild_Life: The Big Freeze’. The Big Freeze picked up two Webby Awards (coined as the biggest award in internet video) and Resurrection Island won the Best Presenter Award at the Jackson Hole Film Festival (coined as the green Oscars).
I then went on to make a series with Wildstar Films for Disney+ called ‘Epic Adventures with Bertie Gregory’ which is now available to stream worldwide. The next evolution of this series is called ‘Animals Up Close with Bertie Gregory’ which launched on Disney+ September 13th.
Updates on my latest work are on my instagram @bertiegregory.