James Frazier ACS (26 November 1940 – 17 September 2022) was an Australian inventor, naturalist and

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

who invented the

Frazier lens The Frazier lens is a special camera lens designed by Australian photographer Jim Frazier. The Frazier lens provides an appearance of a massive depth of field, allowing the foreground and background of an image to be in focus. Frazier's lens ...

. He won many Australian and international awards for his work, including an

Academy Award for Technical Achievement The Technical Achievement Award is one of three Scientific and Technical Awards given from time to time by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. (The other two awards are the Scientific and Engineering Award and the Academy Award of Me ...

and an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

. He is known for filming documentaries for

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...

together with his long-time collaborator Australian naturalist, photographer and writer

Densey Clyne Densey Clyne (born Dorothy Denise Bell, 4 December 1922 – 21 May 2019)
Accessed 25 July 2007

. Clyne and Frazier formed a partnership known as Mantis Wildlife Films and their work including Webs of Intrigue,Webs of Intrigue
/ref> has won numerous international awards. David Attenborough asked the pair to work on his series

Life on Earth Life on Earth may refer to: Science * Life * Earliest known life forms * Evolutionary history of life ** Abiogenesis Film and television * ''Life on Earth'' (film) (''La Vie Sur Terre''), a 1998 Malian film * ''Life on Earth'' (TV series), a 197 ...

The Living Planet ''The Living Planet: A Portrait of the Earth'' is a BBC nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the UK from 19 January 1984. The sequel to his pioneering ''Life on Earth'', it is a study of th ...

and

The Trials of Life ''The Trials of Life: A Natural History of Behaviour'' is a BBC nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the United Kingdom from 3 October 1990. A study in animal behaviour, it was the third i ...

. Frazier and Clyne contributed 55 minutes of footage to Life on Earth.Jim Frazier Living in Earths True Eden
/ref> Frazier's career as a wildlife cinematographer spread over more than 40 years, with an Emmy, 3 Golden Tripods,Australian Cinematographers Society
/ref> a US Industrial Film & Video Gold Camera Award, an Honorary Science Doctorate and over 40 national and international awards for his work that include the acclaimed Cane Toads: An Unnatural History. Frazier was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in the 1995 Queen's Birthday Honours List for "service to wildlife cinematography". He was winner of a Technical Oscar in 1997 for his invention of the

System, which has revolutionised the international film industry, an ingenious lens that provides an extended depth of field and an ability to have both the foreground and background in focus. The lens has been used by leading filmmakers including Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and in television commercials. In October 1998, Jim was presented with the John Grierson International Gold Medal The John Grierson International Gold Medal Award Winners
/ref> for pioneering work in micro/macro cinematography of invertebrate animals leading to the design of the

System. Frazier also worked on a lens that promised to have a similar impact, being simpler and needing much less light. He also designed and tested 3D capture using a single lens.Global Bionic Optics
/ref> He also created crystal artworks, that were developed through the growth and manipulation of crystals on glass plates. The crystals are shaped with the use of sound tones, energy fields and heat to make brilliant compositions and captured by special photographic techniques. They are featured in private collections around the world including those of

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

and

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

. Frazier died on 17 September 2022, at the age of 81.

References

External links

Jim Frazier
at the Encyclopedia of Australian Science
Jim Frazier
- profile at Focus Australia {{DEFAULTSORT:Frazier, Jim 1940 births 2022 deaths Australian cinematographers People from Armidale Academy Award for Technical Achievement winners Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia