Neil Fairlie is a Zimbabwe-based wildlife cinematographer and Director of Photography who has spent more than a decade filming natural history across Africa.

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His work is rooted in patience, fieldcraft and a deep understanding of animal behaviour. Whether filming a sequence over days or months, working from a vehicle in extreme heat and extreme cold, following predators on foot, or waiting for a brief moment of behaviour that may never happen twice, Neil is at his best in the field.

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He specialises in long-lens behavioural filming, drone operations, technically demanding wildlife sequences, gyro-stabilised camera work and remote-location production, with experience across Southern and East Africa.

 

Over the years, Neil has worked on major natural history productions for BBC, Netflix, Disney+, National Geographic, Apple TV+, ITV, Love Nature and Animal Planet, both as Director of Photography and cinematographer.

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Neil’s work has included sequences on cheetah, elephant, wild dog, jackal, vulture, ostrich, bat-eared fox, fish eagle, quelea and some of Africa’s most iconic landscapes and ecosystems.

 

Through Reel Life Productions, Neil also works closely with producers and directors on access, story development, logistics, specialist wildlife sequences and natural history filming across Africa.