I was filming in Southern India... it was getting dark and we were heading back to camp when three elephants blocked the road. Rather than startle them we switched off the engine and waited... They moved closer and closer. The tiny calf was sandwiched between the colossal flanks of the two adults and it seemed pretty carefree as it swung its trunk around, occasionally resting its head against the side of one of its guardians. It was a real privilege to see such intimacy. As they exchanged caresses, their trunks touching and stroking each other. We were lost in the moment. #EarthOnLocation #BBCEarth #EarthCapture #Elephant #India #Baby #Wildlife
I was filming in the ancient Mauretanian town of Chinguetti, at the heart of the Sahara. 1,000 years ago this was a major outpost on the trade routes across North Africa. It prospered from the exchange of goods, culture and knowledge, but in the 15th century its fortunes were changed. Christopher Columbus's discovery of the circular patterns of the atmosphere and the reliability of particular winds, fuelled the rise of ocean trade routes. Chinguetti was eclipsed as the wealth moved to the coast and ports easily reached by Europeans. Today only a few hardy nomads continue to use Chinguetti as a place to rest, and it is slowly being swallowed by the shifting sands of the Sahara. #Chinguetti #Sahara #BBCEarth #BBC #EarthOnLocation #Camel #Desert #Mauretania #History
I was filming in South Dakota... Phil Connor, the last resident of Capa, showed me around and recalled the story of his little town. Once a thriving corner of the Dakotas Capa attracted thousands of people from the East, who came to farm the fertile plains. It wasn't long before the effect of intensive agriculture took its toll. The land lost a lot of its fertility, and stripped of natural vegetation, it was exposed to the wind. In the 1930s much of the top soil was simply blown away. It forced the residents of Capa to abandon their town, never to return. Today Phil, now lives in the house his grandparents built, surrounded by crumbling buildings, old cars left to rust, and a railway that hasn't seen a train for most of his life. #GhostTown #BBC #EarthOnLocation #BBCEarth #USA #Dust #Weather #People #Portrait.