THERE are probably very few people who can claim to have captured images ranging from war atrocities in former Yugoslavia to coral reefs surrounding Bermuda. Veteran cameraman and television producer Robert Zuill has truly seen it all from his singular vantage point behind the lens.

Mr. Zuill, 40, owns Land and Sea Video, a Bermuda-based video production company. However, Mr. Zuill's long career in television has taken him far from the peaceful pastel scenes he routinely captures in Bermuda. Indeed, he has travelled everywhere from the war-torn Balkans to the California coast.

"My background is as a TV producer for Cable News Network," Mr. Zuill explained. "I also did a lot of shooting and editing. I did news magazine shows, documentaries, and series for CNN for ten years."

As a cameraman for one of the world's top news organisations, Mr. Zuill has been credited as the first person to capture a civilian massacre in Kosovo on film, providing evidence of Serb atrocities.

"I covered the Kosovo crisis for CNN," he said. "I was in a helicopter shooting images of refugee camps.

"During that time I got a video of a massacre at a place called Izbica. It was the first hard evidence that Slobodan Milosevic had been massacring civilians."

Mr. Zuill's work took him south of the border to Mexico, where he captured drug cartels at work.

"I did a lot of stuff on drug traffickers in Tijuana, Mexico. It was dangerous work. There were times that I was scared. Obviously you don't go doing stupid things. We weren't embedded or anything like that."

Despite his long, distinguished career in television production, Mr. Zuill has never received formal training. After finally deciding to embark on a career behind the camera, Mr. Zuill landed an internship at the prestigious 24-hours-a-day news channel. He learned the ins and outs of television production while working his way to the top of his field.

"I tried several different things and finally decided to pursue what I'd always wanted to do, which was to make documentaries. I started as an intern at CNN during the Gulf War and went up from there," he explained.

"I never stopped working there. There was so much work to do and they desperately needed people who knew what they were doing. I was pretty good at it. I got all my training on the job.

"You really need an awful lot of training, especially for news. If you're going to do video well, you need a lot of training. I can handle the production side of things too." Upon returning to Bermuda to take care of family business, Mr. Zuill started Land and Sea Video.

While life here is admittedly tame in comparison to the war-torn, crime-ridden countries he visited while working for CNN, Mr. Zuill continues to shoot documentary films.

He is currently working for Bermudian film-maker Lucinda Spurling, capturing endangered species on film.

"Lucinda has hired me for a lot of the excellent work that she's doing. She's doing a really good job and it's a great topic. It's been great to work on that. I'm shooting cahows."

For Mr. Zuill, a seasoned producer of nature documentaries, filming wild animals is not a new experience.

"While working for CNN, I did stuff on whales in Baja, California and environmental pollution. I've really covered a wide variety of events, including presidential elections. I saw the elections in 1992 and 1996 ? George H.W. Bush and Clinton, and Clinton's re-election."

Now back in Bermuda and doing freelance work, Mr. Zuill promises that "anything anybody requires to do with video" is within his capabilities. In fact, Land and Sea Video can capture images both on shore and underwater using high-tech equipment.

"We do underwater stuff. Underwater video is not any more difficult, although you have to be careful," Mr. Zuill explained. "If it's dangerous, I'm not going to do it.

"I have the sort of equipment the US Coast Guard and the US Navy use. It's very high-end and it produces very good pictures. It's a lot of fun and I really enjoy doing it and so far I've come up with some very good results."

far as underwater filming is concerned, Mr. Zuill has had one particularly interesting job. "I did a wedding!" he laughed. "Well, not really an underwater wedding, but a video for a wedding of some divers that are friends of mine.

"I've shot an awful lot of wrecks, reefs, and stuff like that. Bermuda isn't the ideal place for underwater stuff.

"To really make a profession of it, you have to travel a lot, and go all over the place. You have to be at the top of your field."

In addition to video production, Mr. Zuill enjoys a variety of outdoor activities, including windsurfing, sailing, and swimming.

"I like to go hiking, but you can't do a lot of that in Bermuda!" he laughed. In his downtime, Mr. Zuill plays the guitar.

Mr. Zuill hasn't had any really bizarre requests thus far, and spends much of his time shooting weddings, promotional material and theatre productions. However, he welcomes most proposals. "I'll shoot anything ? within reason!" he said.

"I do very high-end video for a reasonable price, a price you can afford."

To contact Mr. Zuill, call Land and Sea Video at 238-8042. He can also be reached on his mobile at 505-0561 and by e-mail, at robertzuillnorthrock.bm