A book review by Cape Times chief  photographer Andrew Ingram:

Awesome. Amazing. Inspirational. There are a handful of wildlife photographers on this planet who can really be called masters. David Doubilet and Frans Lanting spring to mind. Both are extremely knowledgeable about their subjects, both artists with their cameras and both live for their work. Thomas Peschak’s name after the release of his latest book Wild Seas Secret Shores takes a well-deserved place alongside these talented photographers. His work is simply awesome, amazing and inspiring.  For anyone who has a love for nature, this book is a must, and for the diving community its compulsory reading.

The Times (London) January 8th 2008 

I was interviewed by Radio Europe earlier today about my photography, in particularly my work with sharks. I had a great 20 minute conversation about shark behaviour and conservation issues, such as finning and overfishing. Apart from one slightly agitated gentlemen caller who believed that sharks were put on this earth to devour people, the program was very balanaced and really emphasised the importance of sharks in our oceans.

Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper (Circulation 1.8 million, 10 million + readers) published my photograph of a blacktip shark (the cover of my latest book Wild Seas Secret Shores of Africa) this week. Unlike so many newspapers, which often use shark pictures as an excuse to sensationalise and tell the same tired old JAWS story, Bild am Sonntag instead put together a very exciting, yet informative and factual feature on sharks. Bravo to Andreas Timme and the team for avoiding sensationalism in favor of portraying sharks as they really are, as fascinating, complex and important dwellers of our oceans. They even used the term shark accidents instead of shark attacks !!!

On January 3rd 2008 the Daily Mail, Britain's second most popular daily newspaper (2.3 million copies sold) published my white shark kayak photograph as a double page spread. The publication resulted in 70 000 different people visiting my website in just 24 hours and many hundreds of e-mail enquiries. I am thrilled about the continued interest in the image and even happier that it seems to have inspired so many people to see the great white shark in a different light, as a majestic and beautiful animal, rather than a mindless killing machine.

Today, the Cape Argus has published a excellent review of my latest book Wild Seas Secret Shores of Africa written by award winning environmental journalist John Yeld:

 The book is, without exaggeration, simply superb. It contains the finest and most varied collection of underwater pictures that I have ever seen in a single volume. The subjects range from numerous shark species, whales, dolphins ,otters and seals to sea anemones, seabirds, seagrass, coral reefs, kelp…; each of his pictures is worth a thousand words or more. You’ll need to look at them yourself and I can promise you, you won’t be disappointed.

The December issue of BBC Wildlife Magazine has a excellent review by BBC NHU producer John Ruthven of my latest book Wild Seas Secret Shores of Africa:

Thomas P Peschak is one of those rare people who successfully balances art and science, the “two cornerstones”of civilization, as he puts it. In his hands, the technical achievement of underwater photography and the artistry of beautiful composition combine to stunning effect. The freshness of Peschak’s work is also helped by the novel subject – he concentrates on the ‘secret’ southern and eastern reaches of Africa’s coast. It doesn’t seem to matter that he misses out more commonly photographed areas like the Red Sea, since such diverse habitats, from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, are covered. For the diver and naturalist, there’s much to reflect on. From Peschak’s images, I was amazed to realise how similar the kelp forests of Africa are to those of California, and wondered anew about nature’s solutions to conquering every habitat on Earth. Though it might have broken the spell of marine beauty, I would have liked a map of dive locations, as I found myself playing that enjoyably frustrating game of ‘where exactly is that?’ But, by way of compensation, there are some great notes at the back on how Peschak took these photos. His aim is to “transport the viewer into the heart of the ocean” – and he doesn’t disappoint. 

Today I had the great honor of opening the 17th Biology of Marine Mammals Conference held in Cape Town with a visual presentation showcasing Africa's Wild Seas, this time with a strong emphasis on the 50 + species of marine mammals that call this region home. In addition the 1000 delegates also each received a copy of the November issue of Africa Geographic, kindly sponsored by IFAW, containing my Wild Seas portfolio and images of breaching humpback whales.

On the 21st of November 2007 at 12:10 Radio Namakwaland 93.4 FM will broadcasted a live inteview with me. I very much enjoyed talking to the listeners of this station about my latest book Wild Seas Secret Shores of Africa as well as the trials and tribulations of a underwater photographer working in Africa's Wild Seas.