Paul Atkins

Personal Info

Known For Camera

Gender Male

Paul Atkins

Biography

From Antarctica to the tropical Pacific, Paul Atkins, ASC has filmed the world's wildlife and cultures for National Geographic, Disney, the BBC including such acclaimed series as Planet Earth, for IMAX screens and feature films. His cinematography and directing have earned numerous awards including Emmys, British Academy Awards and a prestigious Telluride Film Festival Tribute. Paul's passion for the ocean brought him to Hawaii in 1974, where he pursued a Ph.D in marine biology at University of Hawaii and began working in the film business as an underwater and wildlife cinematographer. With his wife and producing partner, Grace Atkins, Paul filmed and directed groundbreaking documentaries that challenged our myths and inspired protection of the natural world, including the Emmy-winning Hawaii: Strangers in Paradise (Nat Geo/BBC), Great White Shark (BBC/Nat Geo) and Dolphins: The Wild Side (Nat Geo). Paul was director of photography on Jean-Michel Cousteau's Voyage to Kure, the film that persuaded President George W. Bush to declare the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a National Monument in 2006. More recently, his work includes Disneynature's Dolphin Reed and Nat Geo's America's National Parks. Paul's narrative filmmaking spans numerous commercials, television series and feature films and he has worked with some of the world's most renown directors including Peter Weir on Master and Commander, Alejandro Inarritu on The Revenant, and Terrence Malick on The Tree of Life and other features. On a 40-day epic voyage around Cape Horn, he filmed for Master and Commander, which won the 2004 Academy Award for cinematography for Russell Boyd, ASC. His 2nd Unit shooting on The Tree of Life contributed to an Oscar nomination for cinematography, and Paul has continued to work with Malick on To the Wonder, Knight of Cups and as director of photography on his IMAX documentary about the evolution of the universe, The Voyage of Time.

Known For

Camera

2023
May December

as "A" Camera Operator

2017
Voyage of Time: Life's Journey

as Director of Photography

2016
Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience

as Director of Photography

2015
Point Break

as Camera Operator

2015
Knight of Cups

as Second Unit Director of Photography

2015
The Revenant

as Second Unit Director of Photography

2014
Wild Hawaii

as Director of Photography

2008
Heatstroke

as Director of Photography

2007
Aztec Rex

as Director of Photography

2005
Tsunami - Killer Wave

as Director of Photography

2005
Tides of War

as Director of Photography

2004
The Land Has Eyes

as Director of Photography

2002
The Life of Mammals

as Director of Photography

1999
National Geographic: The Filmmakers

as Director of Photography

1997
Night Orchid

as Director of Photography

1994
1990
The Trials of Life

as Director of Photography

1990
Trials of Life

as Director of Photography

1983
Aliens From Inner Space

as Director of Photography

Director

2011
The Tree of Life

as Second Unit Director

1999
1995
Great White Shark

as Director

1983
Natural World

as Director

Producer

2021
Sharks of Hawaii

as Producer

1995
Great White Shark

as Producer

Crew

2015
The Revenant

as Second Unit Cinematographer

1995
Great White Shark

as Cinematography