SOSF Chief Photographer Takes Prestigious Double
SOSF chief
photographer Thomas P. Peschak has been awarded prizes at two of the
world's most prestigious wildlife and underwater photography
competitions, BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year and Festival de
L'Image Sous Marine in Antibes.
"To take this picture, I had to melt into the baitball. I found myself surrounded by sardines desperate to hide from their attackers. The dolphins were catching fish just centimetres from my mask and camera, yet they never once bumped into me,” says Peschak, who is the chief photographer of the Save Our Seas Foundation and an associate fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers. Each June and July, long-beaked common dolphins move into a tongue of cold water that licks South Africa's east coast, lured by the migrating sardines. The dolphins hunt together and carve off baitballs from the huge sardine slick. Some swim circles around the fish to herd them upwards, while others rush in to feed. The area becomes a bubbling cauldron, with bronze whaler sharks hunting alongside the hundreds of dolphins.
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With one eye on the sardine and one on the camera, a common dolphin
enters the frame of SOSF chief photographer Thomas P. Peschak’s
award-winning image. On October 29th, 2008, ‘Sardine Snapper’ was awarded specially commended in the Underwater World category of the 2008 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, which is organized by the Natural History Museum of London and the BBC Wildlife Magazine. |
"To take this picture, I had to melt into the baitball. I found myself surrounded by sardines desperate to hide from their attackers. The dolphins were catching fish just centimetres from my mask and camera, yet they never once bumped into me,” says Peschak, who is the chief photographer of the Save Our Seas Foundation and an associate fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers. Each June and July, long-beaked common dolphins move into a tongue of cold water that licks South Africa's east coast, lured by the migrating sardines. The dolphins hunt together and carve off baitballs from the huge sardine slick. Some swim circles around the fish to herd them upwards, while others rush in to feed. The area becomes a bubbling cauldron, with bronze whaler sharks hunting alongside the hundreds of dolphins.
| Organised by the Natural History Museum and BBC Wildlife Magazine, the
Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition is the largest event of
its kind in the world. By showing the splendour, drama and variety of
life on Earth, the competition aims to inspire people to care for its
future. The exhibition at the Natural History Museum is a showcase of
the award winners, a select few who were chosen from 32,000 entries. Peschak went on to win the Prix Jean et Maryse Chapeyroux at the Festival de L'Image Sous Marine in Antibes 2008 with his image of a whale shark (see right) in the tropical waters off Mozambique. The World Festival of Underwater Pictures in Antibes is described by many as the equivalent of the Oscars of underwater photography and attracts professional photographers from across the globe. Download the press release here. |
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