Before Steve Irwin brought short shorts in Australian television documentarism to the world, there were the earworming
Leyland Brothers,
Malcolm Douglas, the
original and literal "Crocodile Hunter" who
combined conservationism with cooking, and the
dry humourist Alby Mangels, who
had his own personal filming curse,
interviewed Caribbean drug lords,
posed nude (SFW) for Cleo,
filmed through minefields and warzones, and
filmed more than 80 documentaries.
posted by Fiasco da Gama
on Jan 15, 2012 -
14 comments
Five years ago this week, the BBC started broadcasting one of the most extraordinary documentaries ever to grace television:
Planet Earth. The culmination of
five years of field work, it employed
the most cutting-edge of techniques in order to capture life in all its forms, from
sweeping spaceborne vistas to shockingly intimate close-ups -- including
many sights rarely glimpsed by human eyes.
Visually spectacular, it showcased footage shot in
204 locations in 62 countries, thoroughly documenting every biome from the snowy peaks of the Himalayas to
the lifegiving waters of the Okavango Delta, a rich narrative tapestry backed by
a stirring orchestral score from the BBC Concert Orchestra. Unfortunately, the series underwent
some editorial changes for rebroadcast overseas. But now fans outside the UK can rejoice -- all eleven chapters of this epic story are available on YouTube in their original form: uncut, in glorious 1080p HD, and with the original narration by renowned naturalist
Sir David Attenborough. Click inside for the full listing (and kiss the rest of your week goodbye).
[more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Mar 7, 2011 -
69 comments
Tuna’s End Adapted from the book "Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food" for the New York Times. A pretty bleak look at the state of world wide tuna fishing.
posted by chunking express
on Jul 13, 2010 -
55 comments
"When you see a wildlife photo or film that looks too good to be true, it probably is." Audubon Magazine's Ted Williams
investigates game farms and the widespread use of captive animals in wildlife photography. (
via)
[more inside]
posted by The Mouthchew
on Mar 18, 2010 -
45 comments
Twenty years ago this month, the nearly 700 mile border between East and West Germany started to disappear. "The fence is long gone, and the no-man's land where it stood now is part of Europe's biggest nature preserve. The once-deadly border area is alive with songbirds nesting in crumbling watchtowers, foxes hiding in weedy fortifications and animals not seen here for years, such as elk and lynx. But one species is boycotting the reunified animal kingdom:
red deer." According to the Bavarian National Forest Park Service,
scientists [link in German] have recorded nearly 11,000 GPS locations for 'Ahornia," a red deer who appears to never enter the Czech Republic.
posted by webhund
on Nov 4, 2009 -
22 comments
Great photographers:
Clark Little (surf photography),
Nick Brandt (mostly African wildlife),
John Hyde (mostly wildlife and Alaska),
Veronika Pinke (landscapes),
Dale Allman (miscellaneous; particularly beautiful are his Australian cityscapes and the HDR/DRI photos),
Ansel Adams (the undisputed master of nature photography who died in 1984; famous quotes: "You don't take a photograph, you make it.", "A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be contained in words. "),
Michel Rajkovic (mostly marine landscape, exclusively in black and white). And
again, as a tribute to a gifted artist who died far too early, the work of
Bobby Model (adventure photographer). Last but not least:
Onexposure, probably the biggest collection of quality photography on the net.
posted by Matthias Rascher
on Sep 21, 2009 -
9 comments
Have you ever wondered what New York was like before it was a city? Find out at
The Mannahatta Project, by navigating through the map to discover Manhattan Island and its native wildlife in 1609.
[more inside]
posted by netbros
on Jun 4, 2009 -
16 comments
Located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, tiny
Sable Island has a population of about 15 humans, assorted marine birds and seals, and more than 300 wild horses.
The island is a bastion of purity, wildness and beauty unmatched in the world.
[more inside]
posted by loiseau
on Apr 6, 2008 -
27 comments
What I Killed Today. I work with a lot of injured wildlife. Also not wild animals that are just in a lot of pain. Sometimes I have to euthanize them. I decided to record each animal I euthanize here.
posted by monju_bosatsu
on Dec 9, 2007 -
80 comments
"
This site brings together just a few of the hundreds and hundreds of new species discovered since the year 2000.
Hopefully, it will inspire us to see the world as a place still being explored, and give us the courage to conserve and protect the fragile, shrinking areas of habitat left on Earth...
areas which, as we see here, contain creatures we haven't even yet Imagined... " That, of course, makes
living in a low impact woodland home even more appealing or scary (you choose). Although I will admit that even the best of intentions can lead to perile, as in the case of
Timothy Treadwell (as previously discussed). He too wanted to be 'one with nature'.
posted by NotInTheBox
on Jul 24, 2007 -
18 comments
