Journeys in the Wild

The Secret Life of a Cameraman

By: Gavin Thurston, Sir David Attenborough

Narrated by: Gavin Thurston

Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's Summary

From Gavin Thurston, the award-winning Blue Planet II and Planet Earth II cameraman, comes extraordinary and adventurous true stories of what it takes to track down and film our planet's most captivating creatures.   

Gavin has been a wildlife photographer for over 30 years. During that time he's lurked in the shadows of some of the world's remotest places in order to capture footage of the animal kingdom's finest: prides of lions, silverback gorillas, capuchin monkeys, brown bears, grey whales, penguins, mosquitoes - you name it he's filmed it.   

From journeys to the deepest depths of the Antarctic Ocean and the wide expanse of the Saharan deserts, to the peaks of the Himalayas and the wild forests of the Congo, Gavin's experiences describe much more than just the incredible array of animals he's filmed. 

He invites you to come inside the cameraman's hidden world and discover the hours spent patiently waiting for the protagonists to appear; the inevitable dangers in the wings and the challenges faced and overcome; and the heartwarming, life-affirming moments the cameras miss as well as capture.

©2019 Gavin Thurston (P)2019 Orion Publishing Group Limited

Top read/listen!!

I bought it on audible the day it came out and listened to it on a road trip from home (Virginia) to Niagara Falls. My husband and I were gripped from beginning to end, on each story and tale he told. He was so descriptive, you couldn't help create little pictures in your mind of the scenes he was painting. We were amazed at the experiences Gavin has had, and probably learned a lot too!! I love that he narrated it himself as the comedy, seriousness and feeling came through in his voice. This is a top read/listen!! 10/10 from me! ❤️

Thoroughly Absorbing, Informative and Humorous

Not to mention, very well read by the author, himself. An amazing and enlightening string of adventure tales through the lens of one of Britain’s best nature cinematographers. A great piece of entertainment utterly impossible to set aside once begun. So good, in fact, that I read it twice this winter, and enjoyed it as much the second time around. If you can’t get enough of David Attenborough’s nature documentaries, you’re absolutely guaranteed to love Gavin Thurston’s book.

We often forget

9-5 jobs, food and health insecurities, routines, anxieties and stresses. We often forget that there is a broader world beyond what society has constructed for us. A world with endless unknowns, wonders and possiblities. This book is a beautiful reminder of just that.

-Ben

My favorite book.

Gavin's stories are incredible. Just an overall joy to read or listen to. He's also a fantastic narrator, and knowing most of the scenes and locations from the BBC docs helped me visualize his experiences in my mind. If you're a photographer, a traveler, or simply have an affinity for series like Planet Earth or Frozen Planet; this book is the ultimate companion.

I listened to it for the first time while traveling backroads in North Florida filming snakes and insects. I had just gotten into wildlife photography on a deeper level, and this book solidified my career path. I'm still an amateur, but I now know that this is what I'm going to do for the rest of my life.

Gavin, I can't thank you enough. Please write more books. You've got the chops for it.

Life snippets are too snipped!

He spends as much time telling us the map coordinates of where an event happened as he does telling the stories at each location. Could have been fascinating, instead it is maddening.

Just brilliant!

I can not recommend this book enough. Narrated by the author, this book documents the high and lows of Gavin Thurston’s work as a wildlife camera man. We follow Gavin’s career from working with Oxford Scientific Films to his incredible work on many of David Attenborough’s best loved wildlife documentaries. Written with passion, humour, humanity and a love of the planet and it’s animals and plants. This book occupied every spare moment I had and I’d like to extend a big thank you to the author for taking the time and energy to write such an enjoyable book.

Lovely book

Lovely book and nice personal memoirs.....one thing about the audible version that I found really irritating is the map references at the start of each chapter.....for some reason they really annoyed me...maybe because I just wanted to get on with the story....

Amazing

Loved every entry. Inspirational. Drives me to create and explore more. Defo worth a listen.

Thoroughly Enjoyable

If you have an interest in wildlife documentaries and/or enjoy wildlife then I recommend you listen to this book. What amazing adventures and events that Gavin has witnessed during his career. Well written and narrated.

A fantastic listen ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I absolutely loved listening to Gavin's tales and adventures of his life as a cameraman. It was so interesting and it makes you realise what a dangerous job being a wildlife cameraman is. If you love watching David Attenboroughs nature programs, especially if you like the end bits where they show you how they made them, then you will love listening to this. Gavin also has a great voice to listen to. The only thing I missed with the audible version is the photos!

A rare insight

If like me you wise you had become a wildlife film maker this shows what its like in all its many stages of creation i really enjoyed it nd hope it proves the way for others to tell there stories.

Truly magical.

Cannot begin to explain how enjoyable, fun and inspiring this was. my favourite Audible listen so far. Absolute 10/10.

what an adventure

Gavin has some great stories and reads exceptionally well. I've only been able to finish a couple of audio books but I'm already listening to this again.

brilliant, funny and important nature and human

sad this has finished. such an amazing, varied and interesting story of his life in the wilds throughout planet earth. it is funny and from the heart and you get a real connection with nature from this book.

very enjoyable, highly recommend

I think everyone should listen to this, and teachers should recommend their pupils listen and learn, so that we can protect this planet. I found this audiobook so enjoyable, amusing and at times very moving.