Sue Flood is an award-winning nature photographer, zoologist, conservationist and adventure travel leader with a lifelong fascination for the polar regions and the wildlife that lives there. Her journey began in a small village in North Wales, inspired from childhood by Sir David Attenborough and determined to find a way into the world of wildlife filmmaking.
After studying zoology at Durham University, Sue eventually joined the BBC Natural History Unit, where she spent 11 years working on landmark productions including The Blue Planet and Planet Earth, as well as the Disneynature movie Earth. During those years she had the extraordinary opportunity to work alongside Sir David Attenborough.
Since leaving the BBC, Sue has built an international career as a photographer, expedition leader, lecturer and author, with a particular passion for Antarctica. Her adventures have included camping in the Arctic winter, diving with leopard seals, travelling on icebreakers and spending weeks photographing emperor penguins in the Weddell Sea. She has also worked across locations including Madagascar, the Galápagos, Zambia, Japan, Canada and Siberia.
Her photography has appeared in publications including National Geographic, BBC Wildlife and Geo, and she has received recognition from competitions including Travel Photographer of the Year, the International Conservation Photography Awards and the Royal Photographic Society. Her book Emperor: The Perfect Penguin, with a foreword by Sir Michael Palin, was a runner-up in the International Photography Awards Nature Book category.
In January 2026, Sue was awarded an OBE for services to conservation, science and the natural world. Today, she continues to combine photography, conservation, polar storytelling, expeditions and teaching, while living in North Wales.
Related Episodes
"Sue Flood: And Now for Something Completely Wild (Part 2)"
Welcome to the Adventure Emporium. Antarctica? Penguins? Michael Palin? Shackleton's Hut? We seem to have the lot. Sadly, we're completely sold out of comfy couches 😄 If Part One was the story of how photographer Sue Flood found her way into the BBC, Part Two is where things get seriously wild! We ...
"Sue Flood: And Now for Something Completely Wild (Part 1)"
Sir David Attenborough. Sir Michael Palin. And a beluga whale. No, this isn't a Monty Python sketch... it's the amazing life adventure of our next guest 🐋😂 In Part One of my conversation with nature photographer Sue Flood, we go back to the very beginning of a career that eventually took her from ...



