Perthshire cameraman born to be in the wild

When 28-year-old w i ld l i f e cameraman Fe r g u s Gill reflects on his life so far, he feels fortunate to have grown up in rural Perthshire where he had easy access to the local countryside.

It was here, growing up at Wolfhill, near Perth, that his photographer father L orne, who works for NatureScot, encouraged him to take pictures of wildlife in the garden and at local lochs and rivers.

A former pupil of Perth A c a d e m y, Fe r g u s won various wildlife photography titles as a youngster.

After attending university he has worked on various TV programmes since including Born To Be Wild and Wild ShetlandScotland’s Viking Frontier for the BBC, and Wild Way Of The Vikings for PBS.

Now he is looking forward to the broadcast of the latest wildlife series – which he is principal cameraman for – called Stormborn – which follows a cast of tenacious animals surviving and thriving in the northern edges of the Atlantic Ocean.

Made by Maramedia, the series, narrated by Ewan McGregor, features Arctic foxes, orcas, otters, grey seals and puffins in remote areas of Scotland, Norway and Iceland.

Filmed in often treacherous conditions, the first episode follows the animals as winter starts to release her iron grip.

Recording how the animals survive there was part of the appeal, however, along with the need for patience to get those shots.

“I always say that if things were easy you’d get them straight away, but then it wouldn’t be half as much fun putting in the time,” said Fergus.

While the weather in these harsh places was some times the biggest challenge, getting to the remote locations was often a challenge too.

It was similar in Scotland

when the y visited the Monach Isles off the Outer Hebrides.

“That was probably most spectacular for me,” added Fergus.

“No one gets to go and I was in awe that we got to spend some time there. There’s 10,000 grey seals come on to these tiny islands every year to pup.

“Part of the challenge was getting on and off. You could only get there from a rib (rigid inflatable boat). There’s no jetty, no pier.

“We were meant to be there for 14 days but had to come off after just seven with the forecast changing.

“The captain w a s n’ t convinced we’d get off within the next three weeks if we didn’t come off early, which is the reality of filming in these places.

“You just have to go with what the weather and everything it throws at you.”

• Episode one of Stormborn airs on Monday on BBC1 Scotland from 9-10pm.

SURVIVAL: A mother otter with her two cubs among the seaweed on the Shetland Islands, a scene from new wildlife TV series Stormborn.

Fergus Gill, who captures footage of Arctic fox cubs, right, and a pod of orcas, above, in their natural habitat.