About Paul | paulalistaircollins

A B O U T

I am a wildlife photographer and camera-man based in London,

with 18 years of experience in wildlife and documentary.

P H O T O G R A P H Y

I discovered photography at the age of 14 as a way of responding to nature's beauty. My first competition win in the 2005 WWT Young Photographer Awards gave me a boost to pick up a camera for good and go off in search of animals big and small.

Influenced by my time working in Edinburgh as a performance and events photographer, my photos focus on the light and fleeting essence of each moment I spend with a wild animal. I prefer to shoot at dawn and dusk to find the most emotive and dreamlike atmospheres that capture the imagination.

Photography has taken me from the cobalt glaciers of Alaska and the mangrove swamps of Florida to the remote caves of Slovenia and the fierce winter seas off South Africa. I am most at home however at my family's cottage in Normandy with the familiar animals that I first practised my photography on.

My work has featured in numerous publications, including: The Guardian, The Times, National Geographic Italy, Mail Online, The Irish Times, Edinburgh Evening News, RSPB Wingbeat, All Edinburgh Theatre and Threeweeks Unlimited Media. It has been exhibited at the SCOPE & Art Basel 2014 show in Miami, and I held my private exhibition of wildlife work, Spectrum, in 2012.

I have been fortunate enough to have successful in many prestigious competitions, which include:

2023 NatureTTL Photographer of the Year. 3x Finalist.
2023 Mammal Photographer of the Year. 2x Highly Commended.
2022 British Wildlife Photography Awards. Finalist.
2019 WWT Wildlife Photography Competition. Commended.
2015 International WildBird Photographer Of The Year. Finalist in "Birds In Landscape" category.
2015 International WildBird Photographer Of The Year. Finalist in "Artistic Visions Of Birds" category.
2015 Scottish Seabird Centre Nature Photography Awards. Winner of "Creative Visions Of Nature" category, and 4x finalist.
2014 Mammal Photographer Of The Year. 2x Highly Commended.
2014 Scottish Nature Photography Awards. Runner Up of "Student Award" category.
2014 RSPB Scotland Photographer Of The Year. Commended in "Wildscapes" category.
2013 Scottish Seabird Centre Nature Photography Awards. Finalist in "Creative Visions Of Nature" and "Landscape" categories.
2012 Scottish Seabird Centre Nature Photography Awards. Winner of "Worldwide Wildlife" category.
2011 International Garden Photographer Of The Year. Finalist in "Textures" and 2x Finalist in "Wildlife Havens" categories.
2010 International Garden Photographer Of The Year. Finalist and 2x Semi-Finalist in "Insect Beauties" categories.
2009 RX Digital Wildlife Photography Competition. Winner of "13-18yrs" category.
2008 British Wildlife Photography Awards. Runner-Up of "13-18yrs" category.
2006 WWT Wildlife Photography Competition. Commended.
2005 WWT Wildlife Photography Competition. Winner and Runner-Up of "Junior" category.

A bit about what I shoot with . . . I use a Canon 5DMkII and 550D (and a Fujifilm FinePix XP80 for the rare dips into underwater photography). I primarily work with prime lenses for their soft focus and low light capability - namely the Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 100mm f2.8 macro, Canon 75-300mm f4-5.6, Canon 400mm f5.6.

Photographers who inspire me include Vincent Munier, Michel D'Oultremont, Sandra Bartocha, Andy Rouse, Bence Mate, Joel Sartore, Tim Laman, Jasper Doest, Paul Nicklen.

Photo Galleries

T E L E V I S I O N

Find Out More About My Work In TV

Following an MA in Documentary Production at UWE Bristol (2015), I now work as a shooting researcher on a broad slate of documentary, adventure/travel and reality content for the BBC, ITV, C4, C5, History Channel and Discovery among other companies. Recent credits include SAS: Who Dares Wins, The Secret Life Of The Zoo, and Shooting The Mafia (screened at Sundance and Berlinale 2019). Whilst filming has taken me to the jungles of Panama and the Texan deserts, it is the stories closest to home that compel me most. In the long run I hope to progress as a Producer-Director on nature documentaries, binding my passions for wildlife photography with storytelling in film.

Under BBC mentorship, I devised iFox, a unique interactive VR documentary that immerses viewers into the world of the urban fox.

I am experienced shooting on a range of cameras, namely Canon C500 and C300, the Sony PMW range and Sony FS700, as well as using 360 camera rigs for VR and immersive film.