Thomas Peschak continued

See Thomas Peschak's complete blog post on shark conservation as well as his beautiful images that tell a compelling story...


http://www.saveourseas.com/blogs/thomaspeschak/2646

A quote from my previous blog on Thomas Peschak.

I photograph sharks not just because I 'like' doing it; I photograph sharks because I love and admire them as one of the most ancient creatures of our planet.

With the help of the internet I try to make my images available as widely as possible hoping that they will reach those who are not aware of the existential threat sharks are facing in our fateful times.

The very purpose of this blogspot, created by Felix, is, indeed, to show that sharks are not dangerous but that they are endangered and, thus, need to be protected from humans.

"Not dangerous but endangered."
Photo: Wolfgang Leander

Click on image to enlarge

To see that there are so many others who for one reason or another feel that strong, almost visceral urge to preserve the animals we shark conservationists love gives me great satisfaction and much encouragement to go on. I guess that we are all cut from the same cloth.

Here is what Thomas sees as the quintessence of his mission as a professional conservationist photographer; it is, basically, what drives me in my quest to spread the message of shark conservation, or in Thomas' words, "....create images of sharks that will inspire people to go out of their way to help protect and save them from extinction."

Thomas Peschak: "The legendary conservationist George Schaller wrote: ‘Pen and Camera are weapons against oblivion, they can create awareness for that which may soon be lost forever’. (...........) I spend an average 8 months a year on assignment documenting shark conservation projects all over the world. Schaller’s words are my mantra and especially in times when all hope seems lost they inspire me never to give up.

Photographs are one of the most powerful weapons in the marine conservation arsenal and it has become my life’s work to create images of sharks that will inspire people to go out of their way to help protect and save them from extinction."

Thomas Peschak: Marine biologist, author, photographer, conservationist.

Thomas Peschak "at work" - it is not risky, but it ain't for the faint-hearted.
Photos: Wolfgang Leander (Aliwal Shoal, 2007)
Click on images to enlarge

In his field, wildlife and shark conservation photography, Thomas is, in my and many others' opinion, one of the best - world-wide.

I will not say more than that about him. Instead, I invite you to read one of Thomas' most recent blogs. That will tell you, in his own eloquent words, what kind of a guy this young South African is:


SHARK: Saving the most important fish in the sea

Welcome to the new IMPACT online exhibition, a project exploring the internet as a venue for insightful photographic work. In an effort to remind viewers of the important role photographers play around the world, we invited an array of imagemakers to share galleries on their blogs (like this one) that comprise 12 images representing an experience when they had an impact on or were impacted.

By clicking on the links below the IMPACT logo, you can move through the exhibition, viewing other galleries by different photographers. You can also click the IMPACT logo to be taken to a post on the liveBooks RESOLVE Blog where you can see an index of all participating photographers. We hope that by linking different photographic visions of our first topic, “Outside Looking In,” we can provide a multifaceted view of the topic as well as the IMPACT individuals can have on the world around us.

An estimated 73 million sharks are killed every year around the world and as a result 50 species are listed as vulnerable or in danger of extinction. Vast fishing fleets comb our oceans catching sharks primarily for their fins, a sought after commodity used in shark fin soup. One of the greatest challenges in marine conservation today is to instill in people a sense of wonder in the ocean that will not only awaken a feeling of ownership but also foster responsibility towards its inhabitants, especially sharks.

The legendary conservationist George Schaller wrote: ‘Pen and Camera are weapons against oblivion, they can create awareness for that which may soon be lost forever’. As Chief Photographer of the Save our Seas Foundation I spend an average 8 months a year on assignment documenting shark conservation projects all over the world. Schaller’s words are my mantra and especially in times when all hope seems lost they inspire me never to give up. Photographs are one of the most powerful weapons in the marine conservation arsenal and it has become my life’s work to create images of sharks that will inspire people to go out of their way to help protect and save them from extinction.

For me the biggest reward comes when my photographs achieve real world marine conservation successes. Over the years I have had the immense privilege to have my images play a role in the proclamation of marine reserves and achieve changes in fisheries legislation. However the greatest joy and satisfaction comes in the form of the e-mails I receive from people whose lives were touched by my photographs and in turn created their own conservation projects in form of grass roots activities, petition sites or facebook cause groups.

The Senegalese philosopher Baba Dioum said ‘In the end we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, we will understand only what we are taught.’ Every person who gains an understanding of and love for sharks will bring us one step closer to putting a permanent end to the destructive activities of the shark nets, long-liners and trawlers that are collectively killing millions of sharks and ultimately destroying two thirds of our planet in the process. The ocean is our planet’s switch of life and in more ways then we care to acknowledge, we too, just like sharks depend on a healthy marine realm for our own survival.

Thomas P. Peschak
Chief Photographer
Save our Seas Foundation

Visit Thomas' website.

Remove the Nets

Free tiger shark - Photo: Wolf Leander

Just saw over at Shark Diver's blog the post about Thomas Peschak photos and story about the killing of sharks in South Africa together with Save Our Seas Foundation. What really caught my eye was the launch of a new campaign (and website) Remove The Nets.

Several organizations are involved to bring an end to the shark nets in South Africa, great initiative and I hope it creates some awareness to the problem to facilitate the negotiations with the government (phase three of the campaign?) - that is where the change will happen in the end - if any.

Take some time and get acquainted with the site - and sign the petition.

Old but new to me

I was going through my blog feeds today and came across the photo above. First thought was "this is a fake" - but that was before I saw the copyright: Thomas Peschak. My dad had met and dove with him in South Africa. I emailed him the photo and he told me that it is in fact "untouched" - part of a whole series actually. Thomas wrote a post on his kayaking with white sharks experience and mentioned the amount of inquiries he received because of the photo.

On a side note, my boss kayaks - I sent her this photo and she was gun-ho to do it - MAN UP!

Thomas is putting a Tiger in his tank...

Thomas Peschak and Michael Scholl wrote a fantastic book about South Africa's Great White Shark (that's also the title of the book which was first published in 2006). Not only is it fun reading but scientifically rock solid as well (both Thomas and Michael are marine biologists).

And you should see Thomas' photography - absolutely stunning!!! In fact, I believe Thomas is setting new standards as are other young South African photographers (e.g. Roger Horrocks, Fiona Ayerst). After having seen the book about Great Whites - the Blue Wilderness team gave it to me as a farewell present last week - I urged Thomas to publish a book dealing with Tigers Sharks exclusively.

He didn't say 'yes' or 'no', but looking at the the pics I took of him photographing a beautiful tiger girl near Aliwal Shoal, you will agree with me that he appears to be dead serious about that new Tiger Shark book. So much so that he seems to want to find out in the most personal way possible how forgiving tiger sharks can be.

Getting as close as 20-30 cm to the big tiger girl to shoot a nice portrait ain't enough for Thomas - his scholarly interest in the behavior of tiger sharks goes as far as letting the charming tiger lady nudge him in his tummy with her mouth half open.... Now, THAT I call professional enthusiasm!

Tiger Sharks have a very bad reputation, and yet they are the most gentle sharks I have ever been close to. It is thus very important to dispell the myth of the sneaky man-eater, and give the tigers the dignity they deserve. That is the reason I asked Thomas to publish a book about the magnificent Tiger Sharks of South Africa, the Bahamas, and the rest of the world. So, Thomas: You will just have to do it again!!..... :-)

A little to the left...

The photograph was taken by Sijmon de Waal, a free-diving photographer and member of the incredible Blue Wilderness Tiger Team. The guy on the left who is photographing me (also free-diving, what else??...) is Thomas Peschak, a scientist by training, at the same time a passionate adventurer, and a very talented author - though South African to the bone, Thomas is a citizen of the world...