September 12, 2026

This is really quite an astonishing collection of super 8mm film footage of the natural world that's been assembled by film-maker Ed Sayers. Just about everything from geese in flight to humpback whales feature as he takes us through some vivid and colourful cinematic photography that's grand, bright, juddery, pristine - indeed, just about anything that shows off just how difficult it can be to get that shot, but how rewarding it can be when you … read the rest.

This is really quite an astonishing collection of super 8mm film footage of the natural world that's been assembled by film-maker Ed Sayers. Just about everything from geese in flight to humpback whales feature as he takes us through some vivid and colourful cinematic photography that's grand, bright, juddery, pristine - indeed, just about anything that shows off just how difficult it can be to get that shot, but how rewarding it can be when you wait, patiently, to be in the right place at the right time. My personal favourite was the red sea dragon swimming amidst the coral, and that too served to remind us of the environmental impact of warming seas on it's world deep beneath the waves. There's also some footage of a rare white rhino resting in the heat of the day with it's game-warden protector using it as a giant cushion as he has an afternoon snooze too - another reminder of the precarious balance of nature when poachers all but eradicate an entire species. It's the very intimacy of the camerawork that helps this to glide along and it shows us just how skilfully these creatures can be captured on a large and small scale. On the downside, it's probably too long a film and his occassional narration borders on the soporific at times as he peppers the visuals with stories of his own inspiration. That's all compensated for at the end, though, with some charming footage of a seal dancing effortlessly beneath the waves that illustrates to us all that the vast majority of the animal kingdom is curious and friendly towards mankind - entirely unaware of the damage we have been doing to their ecosystems.

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