THOMAS P. PESCHAK
Thomas P. Peschak is an assignment photographer for National Geographic Magazine. He is a Founding/Associate Director of the Manta Trust, and a senior fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers. He has been named as one of the 40 most influential nature photographers in the world.
Originally trained as a marine biologist specializing in human–wildlife conflict, he retired from science fieldwork in 2004. He became an wildlife photojournalist after realizing that he could have a greater conservation impact through photographs than statistics. His work focuses on some of the most critical marine conservation issues of our time.
In 2008, Thomas photographed his first story for National Geographic Magazine in the northern Maldives, in a tiny body of water called Hanifaru Bay. Now known as a manta ray Mecca, Thomas regularly found himself in the eye of a storm of cyclone-feeding mantas, encountering hundreds of rays throughout a month-long assignment. The experience was integral to his mission to nurture a connection between people and manta rays, and highlight the conservation crisis these animals face around the world.
Through this book, Thomas hopes that his manta images transcend the printed page, and pass on some of the awe and excitement he has felt during every manta encounter.
