Jamie Unwin
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Jamie Unwin Kenya Natural History camera operator Kenya wildlife cameraman

aBOUT

​I'm a Natural History Cinematographer and National Geographic Explorer with bases in the UK and Kenya. My 3 main skills are long lens, drone and gimbal (handheld and vehicle-mounted). I also regularly film macro, phantom slow motion, moco time-lapses and on the shoulder obs doc. During 2022 I undertook the prestigious camera bursary/JCO at the BBC Natural History Unit (NHU). I love working in remote corners of the world and have recently worked on productions for the BBC, Netflix, Apple, NBCU, Channel 4 and Nat Geo.

I have a UK and US drone license, US iVisa and I own a wildlife filming vehicle in Kenya. Please see the car hire page for more information.

​Outside of my broadcast work I've filmed conservation stories with various NGOs including WWF, am a Scientific Exploration Society Grantee and have been awarded the Scott Pearlman film award by the Explorers Club. I founded the organisation Stand Up for Nature which shows wildlife films to remote communities on a bicycle-powered cinema.
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For a current CV and showreel please get in touch.
Jamie Unwin Kenyan wildlife cameraman filming snouted cobra with ronin 2 DOP Africa
Kenyan Wildlife Cameraman Camera Operator Africa
Kenya Natural History Cameraman Camera Operator Mongoose Africa


​MY BACKGROUND

In 2011 I was awarded 2nd place in the young category of the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition for a photograph capturing the moment a great tit took flight. This led to me becoming an imaging ambassador for Sony UK, and I have since worked as ambassadors for Canon, Manfrotto and DJI. 

In 2014 I then went to the University of Exeter to study Zoology. During my first year at university I successfully completed a self-generated expedition to a never-before-studied forest in Madagascar; we were told that we were too young but we managed to prove ourselves to the Royal Geographic Society who then supported the expedition. That Christmas, I then went to Malawi to make a film about elephants and the illegal ivory trade; it was during this trip that I realised a lot of people in Malawi and all across Africa don't have the opportunity to see Elephants! So I designed and built a bicycle-powered cinema and the following Christmas I went back to Malawi to show the film to rural communities - we managed to show 14,000 people the film in just 5 weeks. This was the beginning of Stand Up for Nature and in 2016 a friend and I founded the organisation (www.standupfornature.org).

Throughout 2015 & 2016 I worked with Steve Backshall (BBC Deadly 60 presenter) on four films including one for the BBC One Show.

In 2017, I was named a National Geographic Young Explorer, the Scientific Exploration Society Rivers Foundation Explorer of the year and awarded the Scott Pearlman field award by the Explorers Club. With their support, as soon I had graduated University I headed to Kenya for 5 months to make films about Kenyans doing remarkable things to protect wildlife.

In 2018 I entered life as a professional camera op, and have since worked for Plimsoll, Humble Bee, Offspring, John Downer, Maramedia, BBC and Channel 4. Filming highlights include: lions mating in the Okavango Delta, leopard slug mating, using a specially adapted camera to film CO2 emissions, dwarf mongoose mobbing a cobra and wild dogs hunting with a drone.

In 2022 I was delighted to get a place on the BBC's prestigious Camera Bursary/Junior Camera Operator where I worked on a major landmark series, The Americas for NBCU.

​Further Awards:​
  • 1st Place in International Young Garden Photographer of the Year
  • 20 further awards and commendations in competitions including; British Wildlife Photography Awards, International Garden Photographer of the Year, Landscape Photographer of the Year, Environmental Photographer of the Year, WWF Earth Hour Awards and New York Conservation Film Festival.
Wildlife Filmmaker Camera Operator NBC The Americas filming flamingos
Kenyan Camera Operator Cameraman Ronin Handheld Mongoose
Kenya Natural History filming car rental
Bolivia flamingos wildlife natural history cinematographer
Jamie Unwin Gimbal Cameraman
Kenya Filming Blackarm DJI Ronin Car Hire

JAMIE UNWIN WILDLIFE CAMERAMAN & OWNER OF KENYA FILMING VEHICLE


Gimbal Specialist
CAA & FAA Drone Op
Long Lens
Bicycle-powered Cinema
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