D3 • Predator Eyes & Sunset Lies 🐫
Kimberley, Australia Expedition Day 3 of 14
Written by Scott David Martin | May 1, 2023
The Dash [ — ] goes behind the lens of a real expedition brand campaign — 14 days in the Kimberley, Australia's most remote wilderness frontier. Twelve locations. One lean crew. Zero safety net. This is what cinematic brand storytelling looks like when a high-stakes video production partner operates at the edge of the world. Luxury expedition content, earned frame by frame.
Dinosaurs in the water at Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Center
©SEABOURN | 📷 C . Trantina
I’m kneeling behind a telephoto lens.
Sweat drips into my eye.
I whisper to the croc…
Just blink. Just once.
I can feel my heart pounding.
The mission is clear:
Perfect light.
Perfect timing.
Broome, Australia 17.9618° S, 122.2370° E
The Shot Clock is Always Running
We need three things to line up:
The crocodile
The sun
The handler
The payoff is a razor-close frame of a croc’s eye opening.
We arrive early.
Scout angles, prep rigs, and read light.
But with wildlife, luck is sometimes the best-case scenario.
And the biggest liability.
WABU Director Scott capturing crocs with Arri Alexa Mini
Still, we don’t gamble blindly.
WABU lives by a code:
"On time is late."
A habit drilled into me by my high school baseball coach.
I can hear him now.
We’ll get more done in 2 hours than other teams will in 4…
Because we hustle.
That stuck.
Anywhere WABU goes, WABU hustles.
Our clients don’t show up with unlimited budgets or infinite schedules.
They show up with problems. And trust.
But trust has a clock.
WABU Writer & Production Manager Andrew with Crocodile Handler Doug
Enter Doug: Croc Whisperer
Doug, our handler, greets us with a grin and a tone that says:
You're about to see some stuff.
He waves toward the water…
“We’ve got 70 crocs in this pond.
70 in the other, and 40 more in the pelican lakes.
You tell me what you need…I’ll make it happen.”
Game on.
We get the eye shot, quickly.
Precise. Beautiful.
But we had a decision to make:
Head to Roebuck Bay with the talent as planned…
Or stay and push our luck?
Drone vs. Predator
From the sky, crocs look like shadows stitched into the water.
Still. Silent.
I look at our drone pilot, Chris.
His eyes say everything.
He’s ready to fly.
We’ve flown drones on six continents.
But around crocs…this is a first.
We lift off.
The crocs immediately sense a trespasser.
Chris nudges the drone in for a better angle.
Closer…
Closer.
BAM!
A croc launches out of the water like a missile.
His mouth opens violently.
He’s inches from impact.
Chris’s voice crackles over the radio:
“Holy s—we got it.”
Another shot in the can.
✅ Crocodile Jumping
✅ Extreme Close Up of Crocodile Eye
Bloody Americans & the Art of Letting Go
Doug had one last surprise.
“You seen our Americans yet?”
We follow him to a second enclosure.
Alligators. Dozens of them.
I stand beside Andrew and watch Doug in awe.
He walks up to full-grown American alligator like it was a Labrador.
He kneels. He pets it.
My jaw is somewhere near the ground.
He leans in and smirks:
“Absolutely terrifying. Bloody Americans.”
We all laugh, half from the joke,
half from the fact Doug is still in one piece.
Cable Beach: The Shot That Wasn't
The final stop of the day:
World-famous Cable Beach at sunset.
Locals told us early in pre-production…
The sunset at Cable beach is almost guaranteed.
There is only a handful of days each year with cloud cover.
But apparently, we found one.
Clouds roll in. The light never really hits.
No golden glow. No silhouette camels. No magic.
Disappointed? Sure.
Defeated? Not even close.
WABU driving local-style, 4X4 on the beach
WABU Day 3 Lessons:
Nature plays by its own rules. Always.
Sometimes the shot we miss teaches us more than the ones we nail.
Urgency isn’t pressure, it’s respect for the time you’ve been given.
These Water Buffaloes know exactly what it takes to show as world-class teammates.
Up next on The Dash (—):
Tomorrow, we board the Akiko.
That’s when the real expedition begins.