BREATHTAKING natural spectacles in Dorset have been captured by a young wildlife photographer for the new BBC series The Great British Year.

From filming diving swallows to tracking the movements of wood ants, 22-year-old Sam Stewart has played a crucial role in creating stunning time-lapse sequences for the four-part series.

The Wimborne-based cameraman, who studied marine and natural history photography at Falmouth, filmed several of the sequences at the Arne RSPB nature reserve in Wareham.

He said: “This programme has been about trying to capture wildlife in a unique way which is easier said than done.

“We’ve been using military-grade thermal cameras and equipment, which allows us to film things that no one has seen or captured before.”

Sam has been working on the series, which finished screening yesterday, since February 2011, first as a camera assistant and then as a cameraman.

He said: “I started out as an assistant carrying tripods, but the producers started taking more and more of my ideas on board. I suggested the shots of swallows skimming the water of a stream near Blandford, which I visited regularly while growing up.

“It was mind-blowing seeing the swallows filmed in super slow-motion, HD quality by a professional.” The Great British Year is a portrait of the dynamic nature of Britain over the course of one year and is narrated by Joseph Fiennes.

Sam said: “It’s a seasonal portrait of the British Isles and it really shows Dorset at its best.”