Paul Atkins (cinematographer)

{{Short description|American cinematographer and director}}

{{Infobox person

| image =

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| birthname = Paul Atkins

| birth_date =

| birth_place = Mobile, Alabama, U.S.

| nationality = American

| occupation = Cinematographer, Director

| education = Florida State University
University of Hawaii at Manoa

| years_active = 1982–present

| organization = American Society of Cinematographers

| awards = British Academy of Film and Television Arts
1991 The Trials of Life
1994 Life in the Freezer

}}

Paul Atkins, ASC, is an American cinematographer and director specializing in natural history films. Atkins is known for the footage of killer whales preying on seal pups in the BBC's The Trials of Life (1990), for which he won a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award. Atkins also was the director of photography for the Cape Horn unit for the feature film Master and Commander, which won an Academy Award for Cinematography by Russell Boyd. Atkins has been nominated for an Emmy award numerous times, winning it for his work in Great White Shark (1995) (Cinematography), and Hawaii: Strangers in Paradise (1991) (Cinematography, Outstanding Cultural Programming). Recently he has formed a partnership with Terrence Malick, serving as a second-unit director for The Tree of Life (2011), and as director of photography for Malick's eighth feature Voyage of Time (2016).

Atkins' union affiliation is with IATSE Atkins resides in Hawaii, where he has also worked locally such as shooting commercials for Hawaiian Electric Company and U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye. He works together with his wife, Grace Atkins, in their company Moana Productions.