Andrew Cooper wildlife filmmaking exhibition opens at Newton Abbot Museum

Andrew Cooper wildlife filmmaking exhibition opens at Newton Abbot Museum

An exhibition showcasing the talents and trade secrets of BBC wildlife filmmaker Andrew Cooper has opened at Newton Abbot Museum.

The month-long Golden Age of Wildlife Filming display features equipment, footage, scripts, paintings and other artefacts from Mr Cooper’s long career, some of which has involved filming in and around his home town of Newton Abbot.

It was officially unveiled by Mayor Cllr Louise Cooke who said Mr Cooper’s work had opened the eyes of more than one generation with his love of nature and the environment.

‘Looking at wildlife photography now, we can all experience the wonder of the natural world because close up we can see how it works,’ she said.

‘Sometimes how awful it can be, how sad, but also how wonderful and how important it is.’

Highlighting Mr Cooper’s work, and that of his colleague Sir David Attenborough, she said: ‘I think your photography, and the work of David Attenborough, has given us so much of a broader view of our world.

‘It’s absolutely wonderful and I thank you very much for that.’

Mr Cooper shared tales from his worldwide travels, including one about the risks of only keeping eyes on the subject he was there to film.

‘There are some very dangerous locations in the wild and when you’re concentrating on the subject, sometimes you don’t realise that something else is creeping up on you from behind,’ he chuckled.

He said it was an honour to stage an exhibition in the town he’d always called home and expressed delight that it now boasted a museum large enough to do justice to its long history.

Curator Joanna Eccles thanked her staff and volunteers for the ‘care and professionalism’ that had gone into staging the event, and to Mr Cooper for allowing his personal collection to go on display.

The exhibition runs throughout August and concentrates on the work of the BBC Natural History Unit filmmaking during the golden age of wildlife documentaries from 1980 - 2000.

Admission is free and museum opening hours are 9.30am - 4.30pm Tuesday - Saturday.

Photo shows Cllr Louise Cooke with Curator Joanna Eccles and Andrew Cooper

For more information email joanna.eccles@newtonabbot-tc.gov.uk or call 01626 201121.