Doug Allan

Doug Allan is  renowned and  celebrated for his exceptional work as wildlife cameraman and photographer, in polar regions and beneath the world's oceans. With over 30 years of experience filming in some of the planet’s most remote and extreme environments, few people have seen and captured the natural world as intimately as Doug. He has been a principal cameraman for numerous acclaimed BBC wildlife documentaries, including The Blue Planet, Planet Earth, Frozen Planet, and Life in the Freezer, and has filmed many wildlife sequences that had never been seen before. 
 
He hosted the BBC / WNET series Ocean Giants about whales around the world, and his book Freeze Frame features many of his unique wildlife experiences from behind the camera.  His career's remarkable film-making exploits have included diving beneath the ice with seals in Canada, looking for narwhal with the Inuit, and hundreds of days in the company of polar bears.
 
Doug’s work has earned him many awards, including 8 Emmys, 5 BAFTAs, 5 Wildscreen Pandas, 3 Honorary Doctorates by UK universities, an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society and a Fellowship of the New York Explorers’ Club.  He has twice won the underwater category in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year and was awarded the Royal Geographical Society’s Cherry Kearton Medal for his wildlife images.  In 2024, Doug was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his outstanding contributions to broadcast media, marine conservation, and environmental awareness.
 
Beyond his film work, Doug is a charismatic and sought-after speaker, delivering illustrated lectures and talks that captivate audiences with his first-hand experiences in extreme environments, conservation and the impact of climate change to educational institutions, corporate events and expedition cruise trips to the Arctic and Antarctic. Doug’s storytelling is as extraordinary as the images he captures. His presentations not only entertain and inspire but also leave audiences with a deeper appreciation for the planet.

Illustrated Lectures

An Eye below Zero 
Doug takes his audience to the two frozen polar worlds - the Arctic and the Antarctic. Glorious pictures of the wildlife, polar bears, penguins and all the seals, the scenery and the people, with insights into how Doug prepares and copes with the short term of a six week film shoot at minus 30°C in search of polar bears. And quite different thoughts on survival of another kind during his two and a half year stint as a biologist on a British Antarctic Survey's scientific research station. What’s happening with climate change and how is that affecting the polar regions?

Underwater Camera 
Experience life on a coral reef in the Red Sea and Indonesia, under the ice with seals in Canada, and looking or belugas and narwhal with the Inuit at the ice edge. Nose to nose with mating Right Whales in Patagonia gives you a chance to rewarm before heading to Antarctica to discover the remarkable rich undersea life there. The show features behind the scenes stories and sequences from many of the best know BBC wildlife series.

Wild Images 
Adventures, encounters and insights from the cameraman whose TV credits include Blue Planet, Planet Earth, Life, Human Planet, Ocean Giants and Frozen Planet.In this show Doug takes you up close and personal with the animals that live in the wildest places on earth. Stories and pictures that will appeal to all ages.

In the Company of Giants 
Doug has filmed whales from Antarctica, through the tropics, to under the Arctic pack ice in the far north. The keys to successfully filming them are thorough research, skilled boat handlers, a special patience, and even a healthy dose of luck. Doug describes his most memorable moments in the company of giants.