Doug Allan in 2013 by Christopher Michel 02

Douglas Allan (born 1951) is a Scottish wildlife

cameraman A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not imply that a male is performing the task. In filmmaking, ...

and

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

best known for his work in

polar regions The polar regions, also called the frigid zones or polar zones, of Earth are the regions of the planet that surround its geographical poles (the North and South Poles), lying within the polar circles. These high latitudes are dominated by flo ...

and underwater.

Biography

Allan is one of twin brothers born in Dunfermline in Scotland, the son of a photographer and photojournalist who ran his own photography shop in the town. As a child Allan became a keen snorkeller and

underwater diver Underwater diving, as a human activity, is the practice of descending below the water's surface to interact with the environment. It is also often referred to as diving, an ambiguous term with several possible meanings, depending on context ...

, which inspired him to study

marine biology Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifie ...

at the

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (, gd, Oilthigh Shruighlea (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built ...

. His first job was as a

pearl diver Pearl hunting, also known as pearling, is the activity of recovering pearls from wild molluscs, usually oysters or mussels, in the sea or freshwater. Pearl hunting was prevalent in the Persian Gulf region and Japan for thousands of years. On the ...

with Bill Abernathy, the last pearl hunter in Scotland. Allan then worked for eight years for the

British Antarctic Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of global issues, and to provide an active presence in the Antarctic on ...

in Antarctica as a research diver, scientist and photographer. Becoming a full time cinematographer in 1985, Allan has been a principal cameraman on many

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

wildlife programmes, particularly concerning extreme environments, including Life in the Freezer, Wildlife Special: Polar Bear,

The Blue Planet ''The Blue Planet'' is a British nature documentary series created and produced by the BBC. It premiered on 12 September 2001 in the United Kingdom. It is narrated by David Attenborough. Described as "the first ever comprehensive series on t ...

Planet Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surface ...

, and

Frozen Planet ''Frozen Planet'' is a 2011 British nature documentary series, co-produced by the BBC and The Open University. It was filmed by the BBC Natural History Unit. The production team, which includes executive producer Alastair Fothergill and series p ...

. Allan has won eight Emmys including "Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming in 2002, for Blue Planet, and in 2007, for Planet Earth. He has won four BAFTAs and in 2017 he won an outstanding contribution award at the British Academy Scotland Awards. He frequently gives illustrated lectures and talks, including at the 2016 Cambridge University Expedition Society annual dinner. In 2012, Allan was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the

Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is one of the world's oldest photographic societies. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as the Photographic Society of London with ...

References

External links

*
Thomas Tolkien Website
Living people 1951 births People from Dunfermline Scottish twins Alumni of the University of Stirling British Antarctic Survey Nature photographers Underwater photographers Scottish underwater divers Recipients of the Polar Medal BAFTA winners (people) News & Documentary Emmy Award winners {{UK-photographer-stub