An Interview With Russell MacLaughlin

What To Expect From This Interview:

Russell MacLaughlin is a world-renowned & in-demand wildlife cinematographer whose recent credits include “Growing Up Animal” for Disney + & “The Year Earth Changed” for Apple +. However, we first met in India when he was filming “The Real Black Panther” with his wife Shannon Benson for National Geographic & we became firm friends. It’s always a pleasure to spend time with him & listen to his legendary stories of life in the bush. 

In my interview with Russell, we discuss the dream job of a wildlife filmmaker, the effects of COVID-19 on African wildlife & conservation, & how new technology in filmmaking is helping to refresh storytelling in natural history for networks such as National Geographic, BBC, and Netflix.

What started your passion for the natural world & how did you get your start as a cameraman?

Growing up as a kid I was in awe of the documentaries that I grew up watching, it was only a dream to become someone like that especially going up in the South African wilderness, this was an absolute dream which I pursued at every opportunity I got.

You’ve been continuing to film during Covid in South Africa & Kenya - Have you noticed any differences in animal behavior during this period?

Yes, I have, we have been incredibly busy right through all the lockdowns, one of the stories we actually did was on how animals were more active around the lodges in camps in the greater Kruger where we followed a particular leopard as he declared the lodge his own home.

There have huge tech improvements in camera equipment over the last few years & I know you are a RED ambassador - How has that changed the way you film & tell stories?

These cameras have just been unreal, we actually have been very fortunate enough to get prototypes of new cameras of late to field test them to actually add in our input on what we want - one being a dedicated wildlife filming camera which I am really excited about. What has been incredible about the RED’s is the form factor coupled with its modular design, resolution, dynamic range and variable frame rates make it the all-in-one camera for the work we are doing.

What’s on your bucket list in terms of filming - either place or species?

This is so tough but I think it would have to be tracking down and filming snow leopards - I am a sucker for big cats and the snow leopard is one I have not yet seen.

You have filmed projects for National Geographic, BBC, Disney Nature & Netflix- what has been your favorite project & the most challenging?

Most challenging of all has hands down been filming the black leopard in India for National Geographic but then again the most rewarding, even with a moment’s glimpse of that iconic cat.

Finally - you have said, “How I miss photography but how I hate the sound of a shutter”. Explain (!)

When you filming you take all the sounds in and I feel the firing of a shutter, you lose those moments - for example, sitting with a lion and they start to roar - something so powerful just drummed out by the sounds of shutters but with these new mirrorless cameras these days they are completely silent which I absolutely love more so for this reason :)

Collections

A series of photographic work, exploring wildlife from around the world. View the full collection here.

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