Camera
Paul Atkins
From Antarctica to the tropical Pacific, Paul Atkins, ASC has filmed the world's wildlife and cultures for National Geographic, Disney, the BBC including such acclaimed series as Planet Earth, for IMAX screens and feature films. His cinematography and directing have earned numerous awards including Emmys, British Academy Awards and a prestigious Telluride Film Festival Tribute. Paul's passion for the ocean brought him to Hawaii in 1974, where he pursued a Ph.D in marine biology at University of Hawaii and began working in the film business as an underwater and wildlife cinematographer. With his wife and producing partner, Grace Atkins, Paul filmed and directed groundbreaking documentaries that challenged our myths and inspired protection of the natural world, including the Emmy-winning Hawaii: Strangers in Paradise (Nat Geo/BBC), Great White Shark (BBC/Nat Geo) and Dolphins: The Wild Side (Nat Geo). Paul was director of photography on Jean-Michel Cousteau's Voyage to Kure, the film that persuaded President George W. Bush to declare the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a National Monument in 2006. More recently, his work includes Disneynature's Dolphin Reed and Nat Geo's America's National Parks. Paul's narrative filmmaking spans numerous commercials, television series and feature films and he has worked with some of the world's most renown directors including Peter Weir on Master and Commander, Alejandro Inarritu on The Revenant, and Terrence Malick on The Tree of Life and other features. On a 40-day epic voyage around Cape Horn, he filmed for Master and Commander, which won the 2004 Academy Award for cinematography for Russell Boyd, ASC. His 2nd Unit shooting on The Tree of Life contributed to an Oscar nomination for cinematography, and Paul has continued to work with Malick on To the Wonder, Knight of Cups and as director of photography on his IMAX documentary about the evolution of the universe, The Voyage of Time.
Acting credits
7.0Diving Deep: The Life and Times of Mike deGruy, tells the story of Mike deGruy, an irrepressibly curious and enthusiastic underwater filmmaker who died suddenly in 2012. DeGruy filmed the oceans for more than three decades becoming as famous for his on camera storytelling as for his glorious, intimate visions of the sea and the creatures who live in it. Inspired to share his legacy as a filmmaker and storyteller, and to spread his mission for protecting the ocean, his wife and filmmaking partner Mimi deGruy returned to the edit room to produce Diving Deep: The Life and Times of Mike deGruy.
Diving Deep: The Life and Times of Mike deGruy
2020
NRBehind the scenes of the documentary series The Trials Of Life showing how some of the footage was captured and interviews with the experts that informed them.
The Making Of The Trials Of Life - Once More Into The Termite Mound
1990
Behind the camera
NRNearly 40 shark species live in the warm waters of Hawaii's volcanic islands, including white tip reef sharks, Galapagos sharks and tiger sharks.
Sharks of Hawaii
2021
NRThe most feared of marine mammals, it roams the seas in small pods, is extremely intelligent, and uses a sophisticated hunting strategy that allows it to kill prey six times its size, such as the gigantic gray whale. The orca of Monterey Bay, the largest marine sanctuary in the United States, is at the top of the food chain, unrivaled. This video takes us into the secret world of the Monterey orcas, where hunting seals, dolphins, and whales is the order of the day. A journey to discover a unique ecosystem, which is at risk of extinction due to a killer far more ruthless and cruel than the orca: mankind.
Secret Killers of Monterey Bay
2002
NRThe most feared of marine mammals, it roams the seas in small pods, is extremely intelligent, and uses a sophisticated hunting strategy that allows it to kill prey six times its size, such as the gigantic gray whale. The orca of Monterey Bay, the largest marine sanctuary in the United States, is at the top of the food chain, unrivaled. This video takes us into the secret world of the Monterey orcas, where hunting seals, dolphins, and whales is the order of the day. A journey to discover a unique ecosystem, which is at risk of extinction due to a killer far more ruthless and cruel than the orca: mankind.
Secret Killers of Monterey Bay
2002
NRThe most feared of marine mammals, it roams the seas in small pods, is extremely intelligent, and uses a sophisticated hunting strategy that allows it to kill prey six times its size, such as the gigantic gray whale. The orca of Monterey Bay, the largest marine sanctuary in the United States, is at the top of the food chain, unrivaled. This video takes us into the secret world of the Monterey orcas, where hunting seals, dolphins, and whales is the order of the day. A journey to discover a unique ecosystem, which is at risk of extinction due to a killer far more ruthless and cruel than the orca: mankind.
Secret Killers of Monterey Bay
2002
9.0Using revolutionary filming techniques we are given the opportunity to follow the great white shark into its natural habitats.
Great White Shark - The Silent Stalker
1995
9.0Using revolutionary filming techniques we are given the opportunity to follow the great white shark into its natural habitats.
Great White Shark - The Silent Stalker
1995
7.0Dolphins: The Wild Side follows these mammals in the wild as they fight for mating rights, hunt for food, and clash with other dolphin species. Thanks to some brilliant underwater camerawork, we're treated to the sight of dolphins hydroplaning through 10 inches of water after fish, ramming one other in a quarrel over females, and evading a group of hungry orcas in Alaska. (Killer whales are actually part of the dolphin family, but they feel no compunction about feeding on their smaller cousins--not a scene for the squeamish!) But perhaps the most impressive part of this documentary are the scenes of a dolphin pod working in concert to trap a shimmering, mammoth school of sardines. Through calculated use of air bubbles, tail slaps, and sonic pips, the animals corral their prey and have a feast. The clever, and at times ruthless, nature of these mammals is on abundant display in this entertaining documentary
Dolphins: The Wild Side
1999
7.5A team of experts travels to Shark Bay, Australia, to unlock the secrets of shark and dolphin combat; cutting-edge technology provides a window into this seldom-seen conflict.
Sharks vs. Dolphins: Blood Battle
2020
NRNearly 40 shark species live in the warm waters of Hawaii's volcanic islands, including white tip reef sharks, Galapagos sharks and tiger sharks.
Hawaii: Sharks of the Fire Goddess
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NRNearly 40 shark species live in the warm waters of Hawaii's volcanic islands, including white tip reef sharks, Galapagos sharks and tiger sharks.
Hawaii: Sharks of the Fire Goddess
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