question: How do shows like Planet Earth and Our Planet get shots of animals without disrupting their natural habitat?
comment: Answer: Lots of time and waiting. Yes, wildlife cameramen bring big lenses, but they also need to have incredible patience. I remember one photographer talking about how he had to basically wait for the same big cat to come by, make his presence known and show the big cat that he was safe and just there to observe. IIRC, it took a long time before the big cat didn't bolt or become aggressive and he was able to shoot the big cat going about its day. Basically, these photographers hike into the wild, make friends with these animals over a long period of time, then whip out the big lenses. Or camouflage.
passages: BULLET::::- "Eagle: The Master of the Skies" uses aerial photography to capture dramatic scenes of the birds, including footage of them dropping tortoises from a great height to smash their shells open. Fifteen of the world's sixty species of eagle were filmed for this programme.
  
  BULLET::::- A specially constructed, remote-controlled airship was used to capture aerial footage of humpback whales as they breached, scooping thousands of fish into their mouths, for "Humpback Whale: The Giant of the Oceans".
   Although the animals featured in the specials are frequent documentary subjects, the "Wildlife Specials" incorporate the latest filming techniques and scientific research to present the creatures in a new light, as described in the examples below:
  
  BULLET::::- During the production of "Polar Bear: The Arctic Warrior", the producer and cameraman were trapped on an ice floe for 20 hours, but managed to capture the first scenes of newborn cubs in the den.
  
  BULLET::::- In "Leopard: The Agent of Darkness", infrared cameras are used to reveal the cats' previously unseen nocturnal hunting of baboons.
   African bush elephants are filmed from the air as they negotiate a dust storm in the Kalahari Desert. June is the dry season and they must follow ancient paths passed down through generations to reach watering holes. A mother and calf are separated from the herd in the storm but manage to reach shelter. The matriarch leads the herd to a temporary watering hole, but they must share it with hungry lions and scavenger white-backed vultures. The lions are shown attacking a solitary elephant at night, when their superior vision gives them the upper hand. The herd times its arrival at the Okavango Delta to coincide with seasonal floodwaters which transform the desert into a lush water world.
   BULLET::::- Producer Kathryn Jeffs and cameraman Paul Stewart travelled to the remote Gaoligongshan mountains in western Yunnan and after a three-hour trek to a ridge overlooking the forest, managed to film a troop of bear macaques feeding on fruits in the canopy. A second sequence showing white-eared pheasants at a rarely seen lek was ruined when the birds were disturbed.
  
  Certain sequences could only be filmed using special techniques:
  
  BULLET::::- High speed cameras were used to slow down the action 80 times to show a songbird evading the lunge of a Pallas' pit viper on Shedao Island.
   BULLET::::- "Wild Costa Rica (2015)" - Wildlife documentary for Animal Planet; Produced by Warehouse 51 Productions; Producer/Director Ian Marsh
  
  BULLET::::- "Return of the Giant Killers: Africa's Lion Kings (2015)" - Wildlife documentary for BBC Natural World; Produced by Icon Films; Producer/ Director Steve Gooder
  
  BULLET::::- "Timeshift: Castles - Britain's Fortified History (2014)" for BBC4; Producer/Director Ben Southwell
  
  BULLET::::- "Africa's Fishing Leopards (2014)" - Wildlife documentary for BBC Natural World. Produced by "Icon Films". Producer/ Director Steve Gooder
   Gear for wildlife photography is very specialized and uses different lenses and equipment than most other disciplines. Most wildlife lenses have a very long focal length between 150mm and 600mm., allowing the photographer to get a tighter image filling the frame with their chosen subject. Some other specialized gear includes camera traps, hides, and flash extenders. While the majority of wildlife is shot with a long, telephoto lens, when a wide angle lens is used, it can be very striking.
  
  Section::::See also.
  
  BULLET::::- BeetleCam
  
  BULLET::::- Digiscoping
  
  BULLET::::- Escape distance of animals
  
  BULLET::::- High-speed photography
  
  BULLET::::- National Wildlife Magazine
   In 2010, the TV program "60 Minutes" filmed IAPF operations in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, which focused on conservation efforts for the black rhinoceros. In 2012, "60 Minutes" then filmed the IAPF using unmanned drones (UAVs) in Mozambique's Niassa National Reserve.
   BULLET::::- A time-lapse sequence of a remote Tibetan gorge was filmed using still images taken at intervals after the main filming camera broke down.
  
  BULLET::::- Infrared lighting enabled the team to film Francois langurs and bamboo bats covertly.
  
  BULLET::::- Thermal imaging cameras were used to show how the elephant yam uses convection heating at night to distribute its distinctive smell, which attracts pollinating beetles.
  
  In some circumstances behaviour was too difficult to obtain in the wild, and controlled conditions were required:
  
  BULLET::::- Bamboo rats and Roborovski hamsters were filmed in subterranean burrows with glass side panels in a studio set.
   BULLET::::- "Lions: Spy in the Den" was the first special to be commissioned from an independent production company. The filmmakers at John Downer Productions used their previous experience on ground-breaking films such as "In-Flight Movie" to develop a range of mobile, remote-controlled cameras. The "Boulder Cam" was disguised as a rock, and enabled the capture of the first footage shot inside a pride's den. This technique was developed further for the later "Spy in the ..." specials about elephants and bears.
   While living in Zambia in 2012–2013, Burrard-Lucas also developed high-quality camera traps for photographing rare and nocturnal animals. These camera traps were based on a passive infrared sensor and took photos using a standard DSLR or mirrorless camera. In 2015, his work with camera traps led to a collaboration with WWF to photograph elusive animals in Namibia.
  
  In 2014, Burrard-Lucas founded a company, Camtraptions Ltd, which produces BeetleCams and camera trap systems for photographers and filmmakers.
  
  Section::::Career.:Ethiopian Wolf Project.
   Section::::Production.:Filming.:Cinematography.
   The second "Survival" was filmed in the heart of East Anglia and featured one of Britain's rarest birds, the avocet. The series went international when Willock was despatched to Uganda to supervise the filming of a story about white rhino being captured and re-located to protect them from poachers.
   Local people sometimes use the same game trails as wildlife, and hence are also photographed by camera traps placed along these trails. This can make camera traps a useful tool for anti-poaching or other law enforcement effort.
  
  Section::::Placement techniques.
   leaving creatures… and they don’t have any way to protect themselves or
  
  even less to express themselves."
  
  On the challenges: "For one thing it was a challenge to shoot at these locations,
  
  we were working in high mountains and in very deep forests, every day we
  
  had long trajectory in getting there were we couldn’t take the crew
  
  & equipment trucks. Everyone would be carrying something. On another hand we had a very small budget, because of the political
  
  content and criticism we couldn’t receive any local support, nor
   In past interviews, Grant has indicated that the camera crew has him stop to prove where he sees tracks, and also has at times sent out false Prey and production staff to prevent him from just looking for the actual camera crew. Additionally, the Prey's camera crew often change footwear, and are expert woodsmen who often mask their presence in various ways.
  
  Section::::Episodes.
   Wildlife photography is all about capturing animals in their natural habitats. The animals are often photographed in action, such as eating, fighting, or in flight. Alternatively, more static portraits may be used to show detail of the animal or to depict it in its environment. Captive or controlled animals are often photographed instead of true wild specimens, although it is arguable as to whether this constitutes true wildlife photography.
   Martine Colette AKA Martine Dawson appeared as herself in the Samuel Fuller movie 'White Dog'. Part of the film was shot on the premises.
  
  The Wildlife WayStation was the focus of the first episode "Walk on the Wild Side" of Marcel's Quantum Kitchen on the SyFy channel.
  
  Section::::The future.
   The "Continents" strand on BBC Two has featured series on all the world's major land areas over the past eighteen years, including "Spirits of the Jaguar" (1996), "Land of the Tiger" (1997), "Andes to Amazon" (2000) and "Wild Down Under" (2003). Also on BBC Two, the annual "Springwatch" (since 2005) and "Autumnwatch" (since 2006) series have brought live pictures of British wildlife into millions of homes.
  
  Section::::History.:50 years of wildlife film making.
   Will Burrard-Lucas and his brother, Matt, returned to Africa in 2011 with two improved BeetleCams, with the aim of focusing on lions. During this project they created a set of pictures of feeding lions and playful cubs. This series was first released in 2012 in an article called "BeetleCam vs the Lions of the Masai Mara". BeetleCam Mark II used a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III.
  
  In 2012, Burrard-Lucas moved to Zambia and used a new version of the BeetleCam to photograph leopards and other animals, primarily in South Luangwa National Park.
   A half-hour series produced for primetime Sunday evening viewing on ITV found then Big Breakfast presenter Gaby Roslin on location to introduce film of some of the natural world's most successful predators. Each of six shows focused on a particular species; Roslin went on African safari to focus on lions, leopards and African hunting dogs and to North America where she sat in a snake-pit with 50 serpents, sailed alongside killer whales and came face to face with a grizzly bear.
  
  Mountain Gorilla - A Shattered Kingdom (1996)
   BULLET::::- 2012 Silver World Medal in the "History and Society" category at New York Festivals
  
  BULLET::::- 2011 International Golden Panda Nomination at Sichuan TV Festival
  
  BULLET::::- 2011 Gemini Nomination for "Best History Documentary Program"
  
  Beasts of the Bible 
  
  BULLET::::- 2011 Banff Rockie Awards nomination in "Wildlife & Natural History Program" category
  
  BULLET::::- 2011 Intermedia-Globe Silver Award in "Nature & Wildlife" category at World Media Festival
  
  BULLET::::- 2011 Silver Plaque Special Achievement for "Animation/Computer Graphics" at HUGO TV Awards
  
  BULLET::::- 2011 Finalist Award Winner at New York Festivals
  
  BULLET::::- 2011 CINE Golden Eagle Award
   The Cineflex Heligimbal gyrostabalized cameras was widely utilized in the production. It allows rock-solid closeups to be shot from a kilometer up, a height that does not disturb the animals being filmed. The series also uses the ultra-slow motion Phantom HD camera by Vision Research and the "beyond high-def" Red camera.
  
  Section::::Reception.
   In 2013, BBC Springwatch returned again to Cors Dyfi, and filmed the battles between the female birds to win the nest, after the previous two years' female, Nora did not return. In 2014, the programme moved to a new location at RSPB Minsmere, but still followed activity at DOP, broadcasting footage of the battle between Glesni Blue 12 and her cousin Blue 24, which had been taken from the HD cameras at the Dyfi Osprey Project itself.
  
  In 2016, BBC Springwatch sent a cameraman to Cors Dyfi to record the polygynous antics of Monty with the two females.
  
  Section::::See also.
   BULLET::::- BBC "Life" "Reptiles" – Photography
  
  BULLET::::- BBC Earth "One Life" Theatrical Release - Photography
  
  BULLET::::- BBC "Frozen Planet" "To The Ends Of The Earth" - Photography
  
  BULLET::::- BBC "Frozen Planet" "Summer" - Photography
  
  BULLET::::- BBC "Frozen Planet" "Autumn" - Photography
  
  BULLET::::- BBC "Frozen Planet" "Winter" - Photography
  
  BULLET::::- BBC "Frozen Planet" "The Last Frontier" - Photography
  
  BULLET::::- BBC "Africa" "Kalahari" - Photography
  
  BULLET::::- BBC "Hebrides" "Islands on the Edge" - Photography
  
  Anderson has also appeared in several "camera diaries" including:
  
  BULLET::::- BBC "The Blue Planet" "Open Ocean" Making Of: Diver filming Sei Whale on baitball
   In recent years, most traditional style 'blue chip' programming has become prohibitively expensive and are funded by a set of co-producers, usually a broadcaster (such as Animal Planet, National Geographic, or NHK, Japan) from one or several countries, a production company, and sometimes a distributor which then has the rights to sell the show into more territories than the original broadcaster.
  
  Two recent examples of co-productions that were filmed by the BBC are "The Blue Planet" and "Planet Earth", the latter being the first series of its kind to be made entirely in high-definition format.
  