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WORK TITLE: The Man Who Climbs Trees
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://www.jamesaldred.com/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY: British
RESEARCHER NOTES: Children on home page.–DP
PERSONAL
Children.
EDUCATION:Malvern College, attended 1991-93; London College of Printing, attended 1993-94; Derby University, B.Sc. (Hons), 1997.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Cameraman, radio presenter, and writer. Cinematographer and photographer, 1997–, including projects for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), National Geographic, Discovery, and DisneyNature. Also presents occasional programs for BBC Radio, including
AWARDS:Emmy Award or Outstanding Cinematography: Documentary and Long Form (corecipient), 1994, for One Life.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
An Emmy award winning cameraman, James Aldred is also an adventurer and professional tree climber. He has traveled the world filming wildlife for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and various other networks and programs. In the process, he has been chased by gorillas and stung by African bees. Alfred’s love of the outdoors began at a young age, when he became in awe of the New Forest in England, which led him to become an avid tree climber investigating forest canopies. It ultimately led him to be a wildlife cameraman. Among his many assignments was safely transporting Sir David Attenborough to the 200-foot treetops of Costa Rica, Borneo, and Thailand during the filming of BBC1 show The Life of Mammals?
In his memoir, The Man Who Climbs Trees, Aldred recounts his breathtaking adventures in far flung locations as he climbs some of the most majestic trees on Earth. The memoir not only recounts incredible stories but also addresses how climbing trees has led him to develop a new way of looking at light. Aldred had no inkling to write a memoir until he was contacted by Jamie Joseph, the senior commissioning emoter at Penguin Random House in London. Joseph heard one of the BBC Radio4radio programs that Aldred served as presenter on and thought that Aldred should write about his experiences. Six months after initial contact between the two, Aldred had completed his manuscript. On his website, Aldred noted that he enjoyed writing which gave him the excuse to reprise old travel journals and relive some of his adventurous assignments.
“The Man Who Climbs Trees … is a vertiginous, white-knuckled adventure through some of the most spectacular forests in the world,” wrote Timothy R. Smith for the Washington Post. Writing in the prologue to The Man Who Climbs Trees, Aldred explains how one of the incidents he experienced as a young boy stoked his emotional attachment to trees. He had climbed an old oak tree in Stinking Edge Wood in England’s New Forest to get safely away from a herd of galloping horses. Aldred writes: “The relief I felt, once in the branches of that tree, had been immediate.” He goes on to note that, after the horses ran off and he saw some deer come into sight below, he “also felt an ancient connection to whoever had placed those iron pegs [which helped Aldred climb the tree to escape the horses] and sat in those same branches where I was now sitting, as if the intervening time had collapsed completely.”
The book’s introduction details how Aldred came to become a wildlife and outdoors cameraman. He then presents a series of chapters in which each chapter is devoted to one part of the world where he has worked. These range from Borneo and the Congo to Costa Rica and Morocco. He ends the book with a chapter about revisiting England’s New Forest in 2017.
In addition to detailing his successful exploits as a cameraman and photographer, Aldred also tells stores of when things went wrong, such as the time a poisonous hognose pit viper crawled into his camera bag unbeknownst to Aldred. On time in Boreno he was caught in a terrific thunderstorm while in a tree 250 feet above the ground. He also writes about getting cerebral malaria, maggots crawling under his skin, and a harpy eagle trying to peck his eyes as he filmed its nest.
“Aldred does two things particularly well: He avoids being unnecessarily macho, and he pauses to commune with the trees and to appreciate their history and the sanctuary,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor. Carl Hays, writing in Booklist, noted: “Everyone who loves reading about nature will enjoy … Aldred’s alternately frightening and exhilarating arboreal adventures.”
BIOCRIT
BOOKS
Aldred, James, The Man Who Climbes Trees, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Boston, MA), 2018.
PERIODICALS
Booklist May 1, 2018, Carl Hays, review of The Man Who Climbs Trees, p. 54.
Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2018, review of The Man Who Climbs Trees.
Washington Post, June 7, 2018, Timothy R. Smith, “Book World: He Has the Job Every Kid Wants: He Climbs Trees for a Living.”
ONLINE
James Aldred website, https://www.jamesaldred.com (July 7, 2018).
WELCOME
I am an Emmy winning cameraman specialising in wildlife and filming at height.
Highly experienced at working in remote wilderness locations, I am particularly passionate about filming in the rainforest canopy and have spent the last 21 years working regularly for industry leaders such as the BBC, National Geographic, Discovery and DisneyNature. I've been fortunate to work on many acclaimed productions along the way, including numerous David Attenborough projects, and have been BAFTA and RTS award nominated several times.
Alongside my film work I also present the occasional programme for BBC Radio, and am author of the book THE MAN WHO CLIMBS TREES published by Penguin Random House 2017.
FILMING
Core skills include long lens animal behaviour, aerial cable-cam systems, presenter-led sync and high-level technical rope access. I started my career on 16mm film, but these days spend most of my time filming in anything from 2 - 8K, regularly shooting on a variety of camera systems including Red, Sony F-series and Arriflex . The wildlife film industry is very proactive and forward thinking in its attitude to using new image formats and I love embracing new technology, especially when it comes to remote camera systems and gyro-stabilised cable cams. But ultimately, my enjoyment flows straight from the privileged feeling of observing animals in their natural habitat, filming and witnessing intimate behaviour that would otherwise remain unknown.
RADIO
Please click on the links below to listen to some of the programmes I've presented for BBC Radio 4 over the years. I've listed them in reverse order - with the most recent on the top of the pile. All of them were produced by Sarah Blunt, Senior Radio Producer, BBC Bristol. Sarah's skill at turning my ramblings into radio that people might want to listen to is a source of constant wonder to me.
The accompanying programme descriptions are taken from radio listings, so please excuse the dramatic third person pronouns (!) and the audio is streamed from a steam-powered server in the mid-Pacific so may take a few moments to get going.
I hope you enjoy listening, because each programme was an absolute joy to make!
BIO
The New Forest in England is a magical place of ancient beauty. It had a massive influence on me as a child, and still does as an adult. As a keen climber and photographer growing up there I became obsessed with exploring the forest canopy. Those formative years defined my future choice of career as a wildlife cameraman. They also taught me the basics of rope-work and field craft.
In 1997 I was given my first film job as an assistant on a series of Hollywood productions in Morocco, where I lived for two fantastic years. I was invited back to England to work at Shepperton Studios, but my heart wasn't in it. I was missing wildlife too much, so headed to Bristol to enter the world of natural history film-making.
In late 1998 I spent 6 weeks in Borneo, helping the BBC film in the rainforest canopy. Since then I've been involved in more than 100 filming trips to 50 countries. I've been back to work in the rainforests of Borneo twenty times, and spent at least three years of my life in the jungles of the Congo. I made the jump from camera assistant to full time wildlife cameraman in 2008 - ten years after I entered the industry. A long time by today's standards, but somethings are worth waiting for and doing properly!
Career highs include working with Sir David Attenborough and climbing a 380ft tall Redwood, the tallest known tree on the planet. Career lows include cerebral malaria, and having to flee an African civil war.
If I haven't quite bored you enough, you can scroll down to read my CV. Rather dull, but a good cure for insomnia.
Thanks again for visiting!
CV / RESUME
EMMY award winning and multi BAFTA / RTS nominated cameraman. Trained by BBC with 20 years experience specialising in natural history and filming at height in remote locations worldwide.
Skills
Multi discipline and multi format camera operation – I regularly shoot long lens, sync sound and hand-held observational; on a variety of formats including 8K.
Advanced cable cam rigging and operation – these rigs (horizontal or vertical) are a passion of mine. I enjoy doing them well and won an Emmy in 2014 for the cable cam sequences I shot for Nat Geo’s ‘One Life’ project.
Award winning natural history radio presenter for BBC Radio 4
Director of Canopy Access Ltd – safety at height logistics company: www.canopyaccess.co.uk.
IRATA Level 3 rope technician.
Schedule 1 permit holder for filming rare birds at the nest in UK
Dab hand at axe-throwing and traditional longbow archery. Just in case the zombies attack.
Training
BBC Natural History Unit Bursary Cameraman 2010
IRATA Level 3 – Industrial Rope Technician since 1997 [3/3367]
Hostile Environment and Trauma Training [Remote Trauma 2013]
Wilderness First Aid Training [Lifesigns 2012]
Bsc Hons (1st class) Biological Imaging Derby University 1994-1997
Media Foundation (distinction) London College of Printing 1993-1994
Music / Art Scholarship Malvern College 1991-1993
Selected Camera Credits 2011 - 2017
OUR PLANET - Silverback Films for Netflix, TX 2019
HOSTILE PLANET - Plimsoll Productions for National Geographic, TX 2019
DANCES WITH THE BIRDS - Silverback Films for Netflix, TX 2019
ONE STRANGE ROCK - Nutopia for National Geographic, TX 2018
THE FOREST – Blast Films for Channel 4, TX 2017
AMAZON VIRTUAL REALITY – Atlantic Productions for Greenpeace, TX 2017
H IS FOR HAWK: THE NEXT CHAPTER – Mike Birkhead Associates for BBC Natural World , TX 2017
ISLANDS IN TIME - Free Spirit Films for Terra Mater Factual Studios, TX National Geographic 2017
JUNGLE ANIMAL HOSPITAL - BBC Natural History Unit for BBC Natural World, TX 2016
FORCES OF NATURE - BBC Science (London) for BBC 1, TX 2016
EARTHS NATURAL WONDERS - BBC Science (Glasgow) for BBC 2, TX 2015
THE HUNT - Silverback Films for BBC 1, TX 2015
THE QUEENS GARDEN - Oxford Scientific Films for ITV, TX 2014
GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL - Arcadia Stage for Arcadia & BBC 1 TX, June 2014 (& 2013)
BATMAN OF MEXICO - Wildscreen and Jackson Hole award winner - Windfall Films for BBC Natural World, TX 2014
VULTURES - BEAUTY IN THE BEAST - Halcyon Media for BBC Natural World, TX 2014
GREAT BRITISH YEAR - BBC Natural History Unit for BBC 1, TX 2013
ORANGUTANS - THE GREAT APE ESCAPE - BBC Natural History Unit for BBC Natural World, TX 2013
HOW TO WIN THE GRAND NATIONAL – RTS nominated for camerawork - Oxford Scientific Films for Channel 4, TX 2013
AFRICA - BAFTA nominated for camerawork - BBC Natural History Unit for BBC 2, TX 2012
CHIMPANZEE - Great Ape productions for Disney Nature – worldwide cinematic release, 2012.
NEW FOREST: A YEAR IN THE WILD - BBC Natural History Unit for BBC 2, TX 2012
SECRETS OF OUR LIVING PLANET - BBC Natural History Unit for BBC 2, TX 2012
INSIDE NATURES GIANTS: JUNGLE SPECIAL - Windfall Films for Channel 4, TX 2012
HELIGAN: SECRETS OF THE LOST GARDENS - Halcyon Media for BBC Natural World, TX 2011
HUMAN PLANET - BBC Natural History Unit for BBC 1, TX 2011
MONKEY LIFE - Primate Planet Productions for Channel 5 / Discovery, TX multi-series ongoing
Selected Credits 2008 to 2010
THE MONKEY EATING EAGLE OF THE ORINOCO - Ice Wolf for BBC Natural World, TX 2010
LIVING WITH MONKEYS - Indus Films for BBC 2, TX 2009
LIFE - EMMY award for Outstanding Cinematography - BBC Natural History Unit for BBC 1, TX 2009
BRUCE PARRY’S AMAZON - Indus Films for BBC, TX 2008
CLIMBING THE GIANTS - Leopard Films for Channel 5, TX 2008
Selected Credits 1997 to 2008
PLANET EARTH – BBC 1 / LIFE IN THE UNDERGROWTH – BBC 2 / LIFE OF MAMMALS – BBC 1 / DEADLY 60 – BBC 1 / SPRINGWATCH – BBC 2 / DEEP JUNGLE – ITV / JUNGLES – BBC 1 / NATURE OF BRITAIN – BBC 2 / WILD AFRICA – BBC 1 / THE MUMMY Universal Productions motion picture – worldwide cinematic release
Book World: He has the job every kid wants: He climbs trees for a living
Timothy R. Smith
The Washington Post. (June 7, 2018): News:
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Full Text:
Byline: Timothy R. Smith
The Man Who Climbs Trees
By James Aldred
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 272 pp. $26
---
James Aldred is the man every kid dreams of becoming. He climbs trees for a living, rigging rope so photographers and filmmakers can reach the canopies of the tallest living things in the world. You might have seen the end result in National Geographic or in a BBC Earth documentary.
"The Man Who Climbs Trees," Aldred's new memoir, is a vertiginous, white-knuckled adventure through some of the most spectacular forests in the world. Each chapter recounts Aldred's climbing of a single and singular tree, such as Roaring Meg in Australia or Tumparak in Borneo.
Aldred's story is as much an education on the environment as it is on climbing. He scales a tree in England with "two skeins of ancient hawser climbing rope, two ragged harnesses, and a motley bundle of jangling carabiners - some of them clearly homemade," he writes.
He builds a treehouse in Gabon and films a baby harpy eagle in Venezuela. When he's commissioned to get Sir David Attenborough high into a tree in Costa Rica, his sister warns him: "For God's sake, don't drop him." No worries, Aldred knows exactly what he's doing.
And his story is even more thrilling when things go wrong. Aldred reaches into his bag and feels the scaly flanks of a hognosed pit viper. He rides out a Bornean thunderstorm 250 feet above ground. "Wind howled like a banshee through its branches," he writes, "and ominous bangs and thuds echoed up from deep inside the timber." He contracts cerebral malaria, gets jabbed by a hypodermic swarm of honeybees and - most stomach-churning of all - gets infested with botflies. (Far from a doctor, he digs more than 40 of those writhing spine-covered maggots from his own flesh.)
Each chapter is about 20 pages long, which makes "The Man Who Climbs Trees" perfect for a camping trip, to read aloud by the fire. If anything, Aldred's the sort of dude you'd want to meet over a pint, but he's probably faraway, climbing some mellifluously named tree, so his book will have to do.
---
Smith is a former Washington Post Book World staff member.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Smith, Timothy R. "Book World: He has the job every kid wants: He climbs trees for a living." Washington Post, 7 June 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A541709689/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=e96fa2f5. Accessed 24 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A541709689
Aldred, James: THE MAN WHO
CLIMBS TREES
Kirkus Reviews.
(Apr. 1, 2018):
COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Aldred, James THE MAN WHO CLIMBS TREES Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Adult Nonfiction) $26.00 5,
22 ISBN: 978-1-328-47305-9
An expert tree-climber and wildlife cameraman introduces readers to a handful of his favorite trees and
related adventures.
Aldred has vast filming experience with National Geographic and other outfits, and his specialty is climbing
massive trees to set up blinds or just get the shot that a particular scene demands. Here, the author highlights
10 serious climbs--from England to Borneo to the Congo to Costa Rica to Morocco to Peru--detailing the
lengths he and his colleagues have gone to arrange for such shoots. Each chapter is a stand-alone story in its
own right, with drama, shocks, grimy interludes, and unparalleled views. While Aldred is clearly obsessed
with trees, he also respects them greatly and takes all the caution necessary to climb trees that sometimes
reach more than 300 feet. The book wouldn't be complete without the author's facing plenty of physical and
mental challenges, including cerebral malaria, maggots crawling under his skin, and trying to get a footing
on the perfect, thorn-laden branch to get a photo of a harpy eagle nesting--as its mother attempts to poke at
his eyes. Aldred does two things particularly well: He avoids being unnecessarily macho, and he pauses to
commune with the trees and to appreciate their history and the sanctuary he finds in their sky-high branches.
"Whether the soft shimmering glow of a beech canopy in springtime, or the vast sun-blasted canopy of a
tropical giant," he writes, "each tree has a unique character, and it is the privileged feeling of getting to
know them a little better--of physically connecting with them, if only for a short while--that draws me back
into their branches time and time again." Truly connecting with these behemoths might mean encounters
with dangerous creatures or the pleasure of admiring a gorgeous poison-dart frog carrying its tadpoles on its
back "high up into the canopy to deposit them within water-filled bromeliads."
An addictive book for nature lovers.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Aldred, James: THE MAN WHO CLIMBS TREES." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2018. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A532700443/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=6ac8a4ea.
Accessed 24 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A532700443
6/24/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1529857991849 2/2
The Man Who Climbs Trees
Carl Hays
Booklist.
114.17 (May 1, 2018): p54.
COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
The Man Who Climbs Trees.
By James Aldred.
May 2018. 272p. HMH, $26 (9781328473059). 634.9092.
As an Emmy-winning cameraman for the BBC, Aldred has channeled his long-standing passion for
climbing trees into a career filming exotic wildlife hundreds of feet up in the leafy canopies of old-growth
rain forests. Looking back here on 20-plus years of shimmying up some of the world's most daunting
barkrimmed trunks, often spending the night in hammocks roped between branches, Aldred highlights in
vibrantly captivating prose 10 of his most memorable and challenging climbs. At 16, he experienced his
first taste of rigorous rope-aided tree climbing by scaling one of the largest sequoias in England, dubbed
Goliath. In remote Borneo, home to the most massive trees in the world, the author battled constant jungle
humidity while selecting an ideal perch to photograph fig-eating orangutans. During many of his climbs, in
countries like Australia, Peru, and Gabon, Aldred also survived harrowing encounters with snakes, sharptaloned
eagles, and poisonous tree frogs. Everyone who loves reading about nature will enjoy a wealth of
vicarious delights in Aldred's alternately frightening and exhilarating arboreal adventures.--Carl Hays
YA: YAs with a taste for wilderness adventures might relish Aldred's tree-climbing tales. CH.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Hays, Carl. "The Man Who Climbs Trees." Booklist, 1 May 2018, p. 54. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A539647328/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=5cb6be1d.
Accessed 24 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A539647328