Photographer Charlie Hamilton James chronicles his days ditching high school to hide out by the river near his home in Bristol, England, to snap photos of brilliantly plumed kingfishers dive-bombing for fish—“delinquent behavior” that somehow led to a job making films for the BBC and eventually to National Geographic.

For more information on this episode, visit nationalgeographic.com/overheard.

Want more?

You can see some of Charlie’s stunning photos of vultures in this story about vulture poisoning in Kenya.

 Check out Charlie’s photographs of kingfisher’s in this article from the magazine “Blaze of Blue.”

Also explore:

Look through Charlie’s lens to get a glimpse into the lives of indigenous peoples of the Amazon.

Charlie’s also photographed the urban animals that live alongside us: rats.

If you like what you hear and want to support more content like this, please consider a National Geographic subscription. Go to natgeo.com/exploremore to subscribe today. 

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