Thomas Peschak

As well as being director of conservation for the Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF), Thomas is an assignment photographer for National Geographic Magazine. Also a senior fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers, he is regarded as one of the 40 most influential nature photographers in the world. He leads a near-continuous nomadic existence, spending most of the year in the field on assignments around the world. Originally trained as a marine biologist, Thomas retired from science field work in 2004, choosing to become an environmental photojournalist when he realised that photographs could make a greater conservation impact than statistics do. As SOSF’s director of conservation, he strives to merge photojournalism, documentary filmmaking and cutting-edge science to create powerful media projects that tackle some of the most critical marine conservation issues of our time.

Thomas has written and photographed five books: Currents of Contrast, Great White Shark, Wild Seas Secret Shores and Lost World. His latest publication, Sharks and People, was released in 2013 and chronicles the relationship between humans and sharks around the world. He is a multiple winner in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards and in 2011 and 2013 he received World Press Photo Awards for his work.