THOMAS P. PESCHAK – www.thomaspeschak.com
Thomas P. Peschak is the chief photographer for the Save Our Seas Foundation and travels extensively in pursuit of marine wildlife and underwater stories. He was born in Germany but has led a near continuous nomadic existence and today spends the 100 or so days when he is not on the road in his adopted home of Cape Town, South Africa. Formerly a marine biologist specialising in kelp forest ecology and the impacts of illegal fishing, he left science to pursue a life in environmental photojournalism.
He began his career photographing Africa’s marine and coastal biodiversity and has photographed and written three books on the subject: Currents of Contrast: Life in Southern Africa’s Two Oceans, South Africa’s Great White Shark and Wild Seas, Secret Shores of Africa. He has recently broadened his geographic scope to include
the wider Indian Ocean region and has worked extensively in the Maldives, Seychelles and Middle East.
For the Save Our Seas Foundation, Thomas photographs primarily shark and ray research and conservation projects all around the world. Probably his best-known photograph shows a great white shark following a researcher in a small yellow kayak. His photographic feature stories have appeared in many publications, notably National Geographic, BBC Wildlife and Africa Geographic.
His images have garnered many awards, including category wins at the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year and Fujifilm Photographic Awards, as well as the grand prize at the Festival Mondial de l’Image Sous- Marine in Antibes.
Thomas is a dedicated conservation photographer who has spearheaded campaigns to proclaim marine reserves and end abalone poaching and illegal shark fishing. His most recent project for the Save Our Seas Foundation has been to secure the removal of the nets that ensnare and kill sharks and other marine creatures in the name of bather protection off South Africa’s east coast. He is an associate fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers.
Visit his website: www.thomaspeschak.com.
Thomas, I followed a link to your website from Ali fowlers facebook page (I was a friend of hers from school). I must admit it was mostly idle curiosity but I have seldom seen more beautiful photos and a more inspiring cause. My wife and I went to Maldives for our honeymoon in 2000 and it’s tempting to think the beauty is inexhaustible and the ecology robust. How wrong I was. Really inspired….maybe one photo at a time is possible!
Keep it going.
By: colin gradwell on August 29, 2009
at 11:11 am