Canberra cinematographer Daniel Hunter has been filming dingos for nearly a decade, with his work featuring in some of the biggest wildlife documentaries ever. Photo: Daniel Hunter.
For nearly a decade, Daniel Hunter has been filming dingos and showcasing them to the world through programs like Sir David Attenborough’s Seven Worlds, One Planet.
Mr Hunter has observed the vital role that dingos play in Australia’s ecosystem, including controlling invasive species and reducing overgrazing in Namadgi National Park.
“I completed my PhD focusing on dingos in the Greater Blue Mountains area. I studied them closely for about four years and gained a pretty good understanding of them and how they existed in the environment,” Mr Hunter said.
“At the same time, I was really pursuing a filmmaking career. I had filmed a few things with dingos, but then around 2018, the BBC reached out and asked if I could do some filming for a David Attenborough documentary series.”
Mr Hunter worked with the BBC for several months to film the dingos back in 2018, resulting in footage that had never been captured before.
“We basically spent a month trying to figure out how to film them out at Namadgi National Park, which was very cool because they really hadn’t been filmed professionally out there at all, and they certainly hadn’t been filmed hunting kangaroos.
“We were able to get the very first footage of them hunting kangaroos in the wild, naturally, which was awesome. Ever since, I’ve been heading to the National Park about twice a year to go film.”
Mr Hunter’s footage of the dingos can be seen on episode four of Seven Worlds, One Planet (2019).
One of Mr Hunter’s images illustrated by artist Lillian Webb. Photo: Supplied.
Since first filming dingos, Mr Hunter said he has learnt more than he could have imagined, but it’s the animals’ appearance that has shocked him the most.
“I think the biggest surprise, when I tell people what I’ve been doing and show them the footage, is when people see that a lot of white dingos and black dingos are right on Canberra’s doorstep,” he said.
“For me, it’s been really cool to be able to study the family units over a really long period of time and watch how family-committed they are.
“As siblings, they really support one another, and it’s quite special to see that interaction play out.”
Now, the cinematographer and biologist is taking what he has learnt about Australia’s iconic native dog and is teaming up with wildlife illustrators, Field Edition, to share just how special dingos are with a new audience.
“I’ve partnered with a really talented natural history illustrator. Her name’s Lillian Webb, and she’s based in Newcastle.
“I’ve basically used some of the photos and videos that I’ve captured over the last sort of 10 years, and given some of those images to her to basically create a natural history plate, similar to artworks used by the first European colonisers when they arrived in Australia.
” I’ve used a white dingo as the sort of main feature, but a lot of people aren’t aware that dingos come in all different colours, and they’re completely purebred, even if they’re white or black or anything in between.
“I’m really proud of this project with Lillian, and we’re really excited for people to see some of the works.”
Field Editions artworks can be seen and purchased here.
