It's like going to space.
Before working on Blue Planet, I'd never
even seen a submarine, nevermind dive in
one. You're well aware that actually what
you're trying to do is constant
pioneering, you're constantly pushing the
boundaries.
What inspired me about photography was
the ability to share the things you'd
witnessed. When I was ten, I went on a
school trip to Windsor Safari Park. My
aunt had lent me her Box Brownie, which
was a little film camera and the first
photograph I ever took was of that orca
right up out of the water hitting its
nose on a beach ball. There was something magical about taking that picture, that
one moment was frozen there for eternity.
Much as I loved art, I was bad at it,
so photography suddenly for me was an
outlet for the artist in me. It was like
somebody opening this massive door into
a whole new world.
So I've been very fortunate I've worked on
many iconic series you may have seen
like Planet Earth and Life, Life story.
Working in teams around the globe is one
of the greatest pleasures actually.
It might look like I'm doing everything
but for instance in this submarine, there's
a team of about nine or ten people around
me that enable me to be able to film
at the bottom of the ocean. To go to the
depths of a thousand meters is way, way
more complex than sending even, you
know, a Space Shuttle into space. It's
probably the most rugged habitat on our
planet. It's always an exciting place to
be able to see. Well the lights of the
sub will only reach eight to ten meters
so maybe what we could do is if we come
in both subs we can use the Deep Rover
as a lighting platform and actually
be able to backlight some of this stuff.
I think one of the visuals which was
really pleased with is the second
submarine on the opposite side of the
brine pool with its light shining down,
backlighting the mist of brine, almost
like a witch's cauldron. It's just
extraordinary. On that surface, the oceans
always look beautiful. Sea waves,
but it's all the hidden stuff underneath.
In a way you think why are we so excited
by traveling to Mars went under our feet
we've got things we've never seen before?
I think it's really exciting that
there's still a massive part of this
planet we know nothing about.
There's somewhere still yet to explore.
