As we celebrate Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday – a milestone that feels as much a victory for the natural world as for the man himself – we reflect on the century of wonder he has shared.
He stands as a pre-eminent voice for our planet, reminding us that life is both precious and precarious, and that as custodians, we have a collective responsibility to protect our environment rather than degrade it.
Visual storytelling – encompassing both stills photography and cinematography – is central to the wonder Attenborough shares. Interestingly, his esteemed career was profoundly shaped by a pioneering photographer Cherry Kearton and his naturalist brother Richard, who served as his foundational influences.
Shoot to preserve – not to kill
Photo: National Media Museum
In an era when 'wildlife preservation' usually involved a rifle and a taxidermist, Cherry Kearton chose a radically different path.
At the turn of the 20th century, he swapped lead for light, becoming the first to photograph birds in their nests and animals in their natural habitats.
Kearton was the architect of the 'blind' – or the 'hide', as we know it today. To capture the candid reality of nature, he famously hid inside a hollowed-out, stuffed ox to get close to his subjects.
It was an exercise in extreme patience and 'slow photography' long before the term existed.
This dedication to waiting for the moment, rather than forcing it, became the DNA of every landmark documentary Attenborough would later front.
Kearton also proved that hunting with a camera instead of a gun could pay dividends.
Attenborough's inspiration
In Attenborough's memoirs, Autobiography – Life on Air (2002), he recounts attending a lecture at the Leicester Museum (now the New Walk Museum) in 1934. At the age of eight, he watched a presentation by Cherry Kearton that included footage from a 1930 film The Island of Penguins.
He describes being "completely enthralled" and notes that it was the first time he realised one could travel the world to film animals as a real job.
Furthermore, Kearton also shaped Attenborough’s storytelling by showing how to anthropomorphise (attribute human traits or intentions to animals) subjects to captivate viewers.
Attenborough realised this bridged the gap between scientific fact and public engagement. By watching Kearton find drama in nature without sacrificing integrity, he gained the blueprint for his own legendary narrative style.
When we watch the sweeping, cinematic sequences of Planet Earth, we are seeing the modern evolution of Kearton’s philosophy. He proved that the thrill of the chase could be captured on film, and that a photograph of a living creature was infinitely more valuable than a mounted head on a wall.
He moved the needle of public consciousness from exploitation toward conservation, a baton that Attenborough has carried with unparalleled grace for decades.
An educator's spirit
The influence of Kearton on Attenborough also extended to the art of the 'breakdown' – the ability to take highly technical biological subjects and translate them into a narrative that felt both urgent and intimate. Kearton was a master of the lecture circuit, using his lantern slides and early moving pictures to educate a public that had never seen a penguin, let alone a lion in the wild.
Attenborough took this educator’s spirit and combined it with the burgeoning power of television. However, the core principle remained Keartonian: the belief that if you show people the beauty of the natural world with enough clarity and honesty, they will feel compelled to protect it.
As we honour Sir David, we are also inadvertently honouring Cherry Kearton.
Happy 100th Birthday, Sir David. And a quiet thank you to Cherry, for showing us where to look.
You can read the original Cherry 1898 book (online version) titled With nature and a camera; being the adventures and observations of a field naturalist and an animal photographer here.
Or watch nearly four hours of top David Attenborough moments here.