In an essay published Aug. 31 in High Country News, Erin Espelie examines how nature films and documentaries have colored our perceptions of wildlife and outdoor settings. "We demand to see the whale spout, the Komodo dragon spit, the booby dance, the monkey swoop, the African lion make the kill — even though those moments never look quite as good as they did on TV in HD, in the 10-second “money shot” that took a cadre of cinematographers four years of frostbite and celibacy to obtain," Espelie writes.
To read the full essay, visit High Country News. Espelie is a filmmaker, writer and assistant professor in the Department of Critical Media Practices. Her writing and filmmaking investigate scientific research related to human environmental impacts, environmental history and our expectations of the moving image.