SubSeaTVPuffins swimming on Blue Planet II
Posted on October 29, 2017
Everyone loves a puffin: their expressive faces, colourful beaks, that waddling stride. Affectionately known as sea parrots, we love to watch their antics when they return to our shores each year.
Back in June 2016 I challenged myself to film puffins swimming underwater. Good footage of them swimming is rare. They’re nervous little birds, hard to approach, extremely fast swimmers, and can turn on a sixpence. I did my research and then developed a technique to help me capture the action underwater.
It gives me tremendous pleasure to announce that my puffin footage will appear in Blue Planet II episode 6: Coasts to be broadcast on BBC 1 on the 3rd December 2017. My contribution will amount to less than 30 seconds of the overall series, not enough to get me a credit at the end, but nevertheless a significant milestone and achievement. It means so much to have made a contribution to Blue Planet II, the most prestigious blue chip documentary about the underwater world. And my work will be narrated by my hero, the grand master, Sir David Attenborough.
So when you see a puffin swimming underwater in episode 6 it was filmed by me!
Special thanks to Miles Barton of the BBC for involving me and thanks to Nick Wilcox-Brown for the introduction. Also thanks to my sister Sue Jackson for her artistic talents.
This will be a fantastic ground-breaking series. I can’t wait to see the wonders that are in store for us – magical ocean stories captured by so many talented wildlife filmmakers. Here’s a link to the trailer for the series.
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Words by Andy
Cuttlefish buddy
Posted on October 23, 2017
In August we towed our 2-berth caravan to Cornwall and spent several days shore diving at a favourite site near Newlyn. I filmed cuttlefish at this site in 2014 and it was great to see similar numbers this year. I spent a long time hanging back from a small group, letting them get used to me. Eventually a female came over. Once she’d sussed me out, she accepted my presence and went about her normal cuttlefish day. I have deliberately not edited this footage; it’s a 20-minute magical encounter, end to end, with lots of different behaviour.
If you’re short on time or attention, give this one a miss or pop back later…
But if you’re interested in experiencing a real-time dive with an intelligent cephalopod, grab a cuppa and settle in. I think you’ll find this fascinating.
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Words by Andy
Plumose Anemones – Loch Fyne
Posted on October 19, 2017
I used to lead expeditions to discover new shipwrecks off the Yorkshire Coast. Our close-knit bunch of undersea explorers located and dived more than 200 virgin shipwrecks in the North Sea. It was thrilling to descend the anchor line and see an outline emerge from the murk, knowing you were the first human eyes to see this ship since the day it sank.
Our first glimpse of the shipwrecks was always a dark shadow highlighted with the bright colours of Plumose anemones – so numerous they covered every part of the wreckage. In wreck diving circles at the time Plumose anemones were referred to as cauliflowers. This welcome sight meant the anchor had found the wreck and it wasn’t a desert dive.
Plumose anemones hold a special place in my heart. They remind me of those pioneering wreck-diving moments, but also they are incredibly beautiful animals in their own right. I love filming their vibrant colours and movement in the current.
I’m working on a project to document the underwater wildlife at a small reef called “The Garden” just outside Portavadie in Loch Fyne. The first Plumose anemones I ever filmed were at The Garden, so this is a special place and project for me. Here’s a brief film of my work in progress – Plumose anemones shot during a single dive in September.
With thanks to Malcolm Goodchild of Loch Fyne Dive Charters.
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Words by Andy
A Remote Treasure
Posted on September 11, 2017
I’m just back from a ten-day Scottish expedition, taking in dive sites down the west coast. I started in the North West corner at Kinlochbervie, then headed south to Loch Carron, Loch Creran, and last but not least, Loch Fyne.
The trip included return visits to favourite dive sites where I filmed more sequences for ongoing stories, and the joy of discovering new sites full of potential for future films. At Kinlochbervie, I discovered a rich seam of underwater stories I’d love to tell. The tiny fishing village offers access to the open waters of the North Minch. The dive sites here are swept by heavy seas, the water is deep and clear, and the seabed is rock gullies, walls, and pinnacles. It’s a wild place and you need to be lucky to venture beyond the shelter of Loch Inchard.
Luck was with us and we made it out to Handa Island for our first dive. This is a superb location but it’s seldom calm here. There’s a constant underwater surge that makes filming very challenging. I’ve put together a series of clips to show you this very special place. These clips only scratch the surface of the amazing scenery and life that abounds in Handa Island. I can’t wait to get back and film some more!
With thanks to Chris and Cath Hollingdale of North East Dive and the Sea Search gang from Inverness Sub-Aqua Club.
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Words by Andy
Mackerel hunting Sardines
Posted on August 29, 2017
We’re just back from a lovely break on the Lizard and Lands End peninsulas in Cornwall. We shore dived at Porthkerris and Newlyn and I captured footage of two fast-swimming species I’ve never been close enough to film before: Mackerel and Grey Mullet.
The dive site near Newlyn had rocky shallows teeming with Sardines. From time to time they frantically broke the surface, making the water boil as they fled for their lives. As the tide rose in the early evening they took sanctuary in a gulley. The outcome seemed inevitable so I sat amongst the terrified Sardines and hungry Mackerel with the camera to see if I could film the spectacle.
I recorded this at 60 frames per second instead of the more usual 25 so I could slow down the action by nearly two and a half times. Even at this speed you will see that this is still very fast paced drama. Sit back and enjoy a glimpse of a what must be a very common life and death struggle we are seldom able to witness.
I’ll blog again soon about speedy Grey Mullet at Porthkerris.
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Words by Andy