Renowned wildlife cameraman and photographer Raymond Besant will visit Aberdeen Art Gallery later this month as part of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition programme.
Raymond will take to the stage at the Cowdray Hall on Saturday 28 September at 2pm for a talk which sees him share his journey from his early days as press photographer in Scotland, to a career filming wildlife all around the globe for clients such as the BBC, National Geographic, Netflix and Apple tv.
Born in Orkney, where he still lives, Raymond got his break with BBC’s Springwatch and has continued to work in wildlife TV production and filming over the last decade. He has worked on a variety of projects including the documentaries BBC’s Wild Isles and filming along the west coast of Greenland for Frozen Planet II, both narrated by David Attenborough. Wild China saw him working at heights of up to 16,000 feet on the Tibetan plateau. He is a two-time published author with his Naturally Orkney wildlife books and he continues to work on wildlife photography projects in his native Orkney.
In his talk Raymond will discuss how wildlife sequences are made, from concept to camera and the physical and technical challenges of capturing his subjects, allowing the audience to get up close with elephants, lions and otters in some of the world’s remotest locations from the comfort of the Cowdray Hall.
Speaking about his visit to Aberdeen Raymond said: “I've been fortunate to travel all over the world filming some of its most incredible creatures and I'm delighted to come to Aberdeen and share some of those stories as part of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year programme. Now more than ever the natural world needs our help and one of the best ways to help people to action is with inspiring imagery and footage. My most recent work has involved Forest Elephants but this summer I've been working closer to home on a new book, photographing the birds, flowers and invertebrates that call Orkney's farmland and freshwater its home."
Councillor Martin Greig, Aberdeen City Council’s culture spokesperson said: “We have had a great response to the Wildlife of the Photographer of the Year exhibition, which continues at the Art Gallery until 27 October. Visitors of all ages have been enjoying the stunning images by photographers from all round the world, which capture fascinating animal behaviours. We are delighted to have Raymond Besant as part of the programme. He has strong connections with Aberdeen having worked as a photographer in the city. We look forward to hearing how he shaped his love of the natural world growing up in Orkney into a career filming wildlife all around the globe.”
Raymond Besant’s talk takes place on Saturday 28 September, 2pm at Aberdeen Art Gallery (Cowdray Hall)
Tickets £8/ £5 concessions can be booked at https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/AAGM/whats-aberdeen-art-galleries-and-museums/raymond-besant
Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition from the Natural History Museum, London continues at Aberdeen Art Gallery until Sunday 27 October, Adults £8/ £5 concessions / children 16 and under free.