Thomas P. Peschak – Biography July 2011
Thomas P. Peschak is Fellow of the ILCP (International League of Conservation Photographers) and a contributing photographer to National Geographic Magazine. He leads a near continuous nomadic existence and spends 300 days per year in the field on assignments around the world. He was recently named as one of the 40 most influential nature photographers in the world.
He trained as a marine biologist and specialized in kelp forest ecology, shark conservation and the impacts of illegal fishing. He retired from science to pursue a life dedicated to environmental photojournalism after realizing that he could have a bigger conservation impact with his photographs than statistics.
Thomas began his career specializing in photographing Africa’s marine and coastal biodiversity and produced three books on the subject: Currents of Contrast, Great White Shark and Wild Seas Secret Shores. He has since then significantly broadened his geographic scope and in 2009 his book Lost World on the marine environment of Aldabra was published. His latest book Sharks and People is set for release in 2012 and chronicles the relationship between people and sharks at more than two dozens locations around the world.
A dedicated conservation photographer he believes strongly that photographs are one of the most effective weapons in conservation today. His feature story on manta rays of the Maldives appeared in National Geographic magazine in 2009 and resulted in the proclamation of a marine reserve and protection for these rays. He is presently spearheading campaigns to make marine reserves more effective in Africa, stop unsustainable shark fisheries and raise awareness of manta ray conservation in Sri Lanka. In 2010 he was part of a small team of photojournalists that traveled to Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest to create a photographic legacy to prevent the construction of an oil pipeline from destroying this unique coastal wilderness forever. He aims to return in 2011 to continue the fight.
Thomas believes that the combined force of photojournalists, conservation NGOs and local communities is very powerful. He has worked as the official photographer of WWF-SA (World Wide Fund for Nature) and for four years spearheaded the Conservation Photography Unit as Chief Photographer for the Save our Seas Foundation.
Thomas is a multiple winner in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards and in 2011 he received a World Press Photo Award for his work.
Visit his website: www.thomaspeschak.com