Jen Bartlett

Jen Bartlett first became involved in wildlife filmmaking after marrying Des Bartlett in 1956. With her father, a very keen stills photographer, used to processing all his own film, Jen already had a grounding in the field and quickly learnt a lot from Des after they got married. Jen had been an up-and-coming Australian tennis star before she married Des, and had even played at Wimbledon. However, she easily adapted to life on the road, and became a brilliant stills photographer, working alongside Des. Jen also had the very important task of bringing up their daughter, Julie, and overseeing her schooling by correspondence in the field until she was 12-years-old. Lessons took place wherever they happened to be -- often sitting in a Land Rover or a tent in the middle of the African bush. Jen's partnership with Des produced many award-winning films, but it did mean that their working life was spent 'on safari' filming and photographing the world's wildlife. Their hugely successful film Flight of the Snow Geese (1972) involved more than two years' work of filming from the Canadian tundra to the Gulf of Mexico, and won them many awards, including two Emmy Awards.