I moved to Bristol in 2019 from New Zealand, for the sole purpose of trying to make it in the natural history industry, as the city is known internationally as the Mecca of natural history filmmaking;
I love wildlife photography and have always had an eye out for the little critters that live around Bristol, such as foxes, robins, crows, deer. My eye is always attuned to the light conditions around the city as well, so I often carry my camera with me when I’m out walking to capture any composition or bit of light that catches my attention.
Ashton Court is an amazing and accessible spot to go for wildlife and landscapes, with birds, squirrels and deer galore for a photographer to practice on. I’ve made it over for sunrise a few times to get some shots of the park’s famous red deer silhouetted against an orange Bristol morning sky.
I have a soft spot for robins in particular, as we don’t have them in New Zealand, and they are just so bold and inquisitive. They are a real dream to photograph as they will often let you get quite close without flying away! I must have taken hundreds or thousands of photos of robins and they never get old for me.
I’ve been wanting to capture a mass ascent of hot air balloons from the Balloon Fiesta for a number of years, and this year it finally happened, all the conditions came together. I got a few shots I was very happy with of balloons flying over the suspension bridge as well as a mass of hot air balloons ascending over the SS Great Britain down by the Floating Harbour.
One of my favourite places to head for a coffee is La Tazza on Whiteladies road, which is run by the loveliest Italian family, and also turns into an amazing wine bar/restaurant in the evening. One B on Cotham Hill is another favourite, they do amazing coffee and excellent pastries.
I think there are some amazing green initiatives in Bristol right now, including the floating gardens that are being installed down in the Floating Harbour to try and clean up the waterways and provide habitat for birds, insects and other wildlife. I’d love to see even more green initiatives like this around the city to try and beat back the grey concrete and make Bristol a more beautiful, clean and green place to live.
I manage a series of live talks called Wilderness Live that run over the winter months. This series gets speakers from all over the world to share their tales of adventure and exploration and is always an inspiring and motivating way to spend a cold, dark winter evening. We have an incredible lineup of speakers this year, ranging from someone attempting the highest wingsuit jump on record to the first person to cross Saudi Arabia on foot from north to south, and so much else in between. We try to keep the tickets as cheap as possible to make it accessible for everyone, to build a community of outdoor-lovers and adventurers and inspire people to embark on their own adventures.
For more information about Wilderness Live, visit the website at wildernesslive.com, and you can see Asher’s photos and more of his work online at asherflatt.com
Images provided courtesy of Asher Flatt
