Snarl for the Camera: Memoirs of a Wildlife Cameraman, by James Gray

Reviewed by Julie Falkner

In a bleak, icy landscape a man sits on a toilet bucket with a rifle across his knees. Is this your image of a wildlife cameraman? Perhaps not, but part of the appeal of James Gray’s captivating collection of reminiscences is that he’s thoroughly down-to-earth even when filming lovely, elusive golden monkeys halfway up the Himalayas.

In a gently humorous style, Gray relates his sometimes hilarious, sometimes scary experiences with exploding eggs, beer-loving pandas, and coiling anacondas. Yes, there are lions and polar bears, but some of the starring wildlife is surprisingly small: not everyone would be prepared to donate their own blood to feed a tribe of human lice. In one memorable chapter the focus is primarily on humans, describing funeral and reburial ceremonies in Madagascar. All these stories are enhanced by an intriguing collection of colour photos of some of the unwitting TV stars.

Naturally, the question in many a documentary viewer’s mind is: just how do they get those dramatic close-ups? Gray is happy to share the secrets of his trade, revealing that sometimes the exciting footage is the result of three patient weeks spent looking for a bear’s head in a snowdrift. Other times “camera courage” transforms a mild-mannered cameraman into a crazy operator recklessly filming the angry elephant rapidly bearing down upon him. And when all else fails, the solution is to manipulate reality. Some of the best sequences in the book describe Gray’s attempts to control wild creatures by, for example, doctoring flowers with a tempting dose of diluted honey.

Aspiring camera men and women will enjoy Gray’s account of how he got started in the business, and feel perhaps more than a little daunted on reading of the four long years devoted to his first project, a study of the humble but mesmerising damselfly. They will also appreciate the candid afterword in which Gray discusses the impact of his career on the environment and, more personally, on his family life. This provides a thoughtful and thought-provoking conclusion to an unforgettable collection of animal-centred adventures.

Buy Snarl for the Camera at Amazon.ca:
Snarl for the Camera, by James Gray

Buy Snarl for the Camera at Amazon.co.uk:
Snarl for the Camera, by James Gray