Wildlife Filmmakers & Photographers
Sue and Doug are renowned specialists in their fields of documentary making, wildlife filming, cinematography and photography. They have travelled the globe working above and below both sea and ice levels, in extreme conditions, to obtain some of the most famous wildlife moments for groundbreaking natural history TV programmes such as the BBC’s Planet Earth and Blue Planet. Their talks and presentations, accompanied by their fantastic filming and photography, make for inspirational, entertaining and enthralling events and their unique experiences ensure the admiration of their audiences.
Sue has a degree in zoology and spent 11 years working at the renowned BBC Natural History Unit and was Associate Producer on the Blue Planet working on amazing sequences such as killer whales hunting in California, Polar Bears stalking Beluga Whales in the High Arctic (filmed for the first time), and glow-in-the-dark Squid in Japan. Her adventures on Planet Earth took her from camping at 40C in the High Arctic, being hit by a whale in the South Pacific, to crawling around in Penguin guano in the Antarctic. She has produced four films for the BBC: Polar Bears on Thin Ice (featuring the polar bears of Hudson Bay); A Boy Among Polar Bears (looking at the relationship between the Inuit and wildlife in the Canadian Arctic); Killer Whale Special and Life of Mammals – short about blue whale science.
In 2005 Sue left the BBC to pursue her wildlife photography career. She is now a professional photographer whose clients include the BBC, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and private corporate organisations. Her photographic highlights include diving with humpback whales in the South Pacific, face-to-face encounters with leopard seals in the Antarctic, filming Polar Bears in the Arctic, and photographing the wildlife of Namibia and Botswana. Her images have been published in the BBC Wildlife magazine, several BBC books, Geo Magazine, National Geographic books, National Wildlife in the US, and the national press in the UK, USA and worldwide. In 2008 Sue won the Art Wolfe award (Best of Festival) at the International Conservation Photography awards, along with 2 awards and 9 honorable mentions in the International Photography Awards. She was also awarded the Silver Medal of the Royal Photographic Society, for the Nature section in their 2008 Projected Image competition.
Sue enjoys relating her experiences of wildlife filmmaking, especially from a woman’s point of view, and regularly lectures for Quark Expeditions (in particular on board their Russian Icebreaker Expeditions to the North Pole).
Doug was key cameraman on Planet Earth and appeared on ‘Behind the Scenes’ segments, most notably when filming polar bears in the Arctic and snow leopards in the Himalayas. Doug also featured on-screen with Ewan McGregor in the Polar Bear documentary In the Wild – he has specialised in the Polar Regions for over thirty years, first as a scientist and latterly as a cinematographer. He was awarded the Polar Bear Medal by the Queen for his work in the Antarctic. His work as a wildlife and adventure cameraman has taken him to the Arctic, Antarctic, jungles, deserts, Everest, submarines under the North Pole and many other places besides. Sir David Attenborough wrote “Doug has a huge ability for getting the right picture . . . by a fusion of dogged endurance, determination, a great affinity with the natural world and a desire to get to places that others do not go”.
Doug’s work has won him a number of prestigious awards including three Emmy’s, three BAFTA’s and awards from the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival (USA) and Windscreen (UK). He has twice won the underwater category in the prestigious BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year (1996 & 2002), was awarded the Cherry Kearton Medal by the Royal Geography Society (1993) and was granted an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Stirling in recognition of his contribution to wildlife and polar photography (2007) and also by St Andrews (2008). Doug has presented at the Smithsonian Institute, the United Nations, and many other venues.
Sue and Doug often work together in the field and have had some incredible adventures – Doug actually proposed to Sue when they were adrift on an ice flow in the Canadian Arctic during the filming of Blue Planet (another first they believe!). They enjoy communicating their love and knowledge of the natural world to a variety of audiences – from inspirational talks to schools and businesses, to presentations that focus on their work in the Polar Regions and cover climate change.
Reviews and testimonials:
Doug Allan and Sue Flood brought peals of laughter to the audience by relating exciting (and hilarious) stories about their experiences working in the Arctic and Antarctic for the BBC (specifically, for the Blue Planet and Planet Earth series). Most of the talk used behind-the-scenes still photographs to show the audience what goes on during a typical shoot in Polar Regions. Sue told a story about accidentally peeing in her parka’s hood and then dumping its contents over her head as she boarded a helicopter (it wasn’t the only story about pee that she told), Doug showed an underwater photo he took of migratory birds feeding in the Arctic a mere 5 seconds before a walrus grabbed him from behind, and they both spoke of the circumstances leading up to Doug’s marriage proposal to Sue, which involved thin ice. The photos and stories were ones of true adventure and exploration. Appropriately, Doug’s parting words were, “well, I’ve got to catch a flight to the North Pole.” By the end of the show, and all I could see in the faces of the audience members around me were excited smiles. (Boston Sea Rovers Presentation - March 2007 – audience 1200)
We had a tremendous turn-out – which is a tribute to your previous talks I think, and it was great to hear the positive feedback as folk were leaving the building on this occasion too. People take the FFI evenings very `personally` and there is a `hard-core` who always let me have their views about the speakers – and you came out with flying colours! Personally, I love the mix of stills and video clips as this makes a very stimulating talk, and the exceptional quality of your work makes our hard work involved in getting these evenings organised absolutely worthwhile. (Flora & Fauna Preservation Society, Chester Zoo, April 2007)
Sue was not only a huge draw for our attendees -- everyone wanted to hear "behind-the-scenes" stories from Planet Earth -- but she was such a pleasure to work with before and during the event. Prior to the event Sue was always available to talk with media and help with pre-event promotion. During the event Sue jumped in at the last minute to help with our school program and was always available for media interviews. On top of it all Sue always had a smile and great stories in spite of the jet-lag she must have been feeling since she flew all the way to Maui for our event. I would recommend Sue again and again -- her presentations are both riveting and heartwarming; her presentation style is both entertaining and informational -- she has it all. (3rd Annual Whale Quest Kapalua, Mercedes-Benz Championship – February 2008 - audience 600)
