Michael Aw | Nicholas Pilcher | Doug Perrine | Leandro Blanco
Source: Press Release; thanks Ria.
Director - Ocean N Environment
Project Director / Director of Photography
After a successful career in the advertising industry, Michael AW now lives in Sydney, Australia, as a full-time marine photographer/ consultant. He has been diving since 1981 and as a NAUI Instructor Trainer, he has taught openwater courses, marine awareness programs, and leadership courses to instructor levels. He is the Chairman of Ocean N Environment, a non-profit public organisation dedicated to education and preservation of the marine and natural environment.
His photographs and articles on environmental issues, natural history, travel logs and technical aspect of SCUBA have been featured in publications from Australia, S.E. Asia, Europe and the United States. Publications include: GEO (Australasia), Underwater GEOGRAPHIC, Nature Focus, Action Asia, Scuba Diver, SportDiving, Divelog, Travel Away, Ocean Realm (USA), Times, Asia Week, Dive International, Aqua, Aquanaut, Discover Diving (USA), Sources Journal, Asian Geographic, Outbound, Travel Sojourn, Strait Times Press (Singapore), New Paper (Singapore), HER World (Singapore), Telegraph Mirror (Australia), Northern Herald (Sydney), SunHerald ( Sydney), Wings of Gold (Malaysia), Verve (EVA Air infight magazine) to name but a few. His marine photographs have received awards from several international organizations including a prestigious Superb Close-Up Award from the 1995 Nikon International Photo Contest. Over 5000 of his images have appeared in various publications and exhibitions worldwide including the Australian Museum, Sydney Aquarium and Museum of Tropical Queensland.
Michael has presented lectures and slide presentations on marine life and underwater photography to the Australian Museum Society, aquariums, private organizations in the pacific-rim countries including the world renown Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. He is also the author and photographer of 'Beneath Bunaken' a case bound 180 page coffee table anthology - a work of art which has received the accolade of being a 'Gift of State' for Indonesian protocol offices. He has also authored and photographed for two marine awareness guide - "Tropical Reef Fishes' and Tropical Reef Life' - a handy photographic and natural history guides to reef fishes and invertebrates. He is the scientific & scripting consultant for the TV documentary 'Eyes on a Reef' - based on a day in the life of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. He is also the producer/ author of 'METAMORPHOSEA', a pictorial anthology from the world's first 24 hour photographic sojourn on the Australian Great Barrier Reef. "Dreams from a Rainbow Sea- Maldives", a high quality pictorial book, has been selected as the Gift of State and endorsed by the President of the Republic of Maldives. "24 Hours beneath a Rainbow Sea" was captured and preserved as a 160 page coffee table book together with the documentary. In collaboration with award-winning film maker Leo Blanco, Michael directed and produced a music documentary based on his pictorial "Dreams from a Rainbow Sea" in 1998.
Michael AW - AWARDS & HONORS
Published Books / Programs
Dr. NICOLAS
J. PILCHER
Honorary Member - Ocean N Environment
Director of Research
Shell Chair in Environmental Studies, Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. Developing the research programmes upon which to develop a Coastal Zone Management Plan for Sabah and Sarawak, in particular the design and implementation of field work and database assimilation. Developing, through the Institute, an awareness of marine biodiversity, its current situation, threats, and conservation goals. Visiting Lecturer, Faculty of Resource Sciences and Technology.
Just completed: Higher degree (Doctor of Philosophy) in marine zoology/ ecology. Research programme centered on the analysis of marine turtle nesting grounds and their environmental threats; and co-ordinating legislature and its enforcement for the marine turtles Chelonia mydas and Eretmochelys imbricata.
Doug
Perrine
Honorary Member - Ocean N Environment
Naturalist/Photojournalist
Principal Photographer
Doug Perrine has had a varied career as an English teacher, a marine biologist, a scuba diving instructor, a USCG licensed boat captain, an interpretive naturalist and tour leader, and a photojournalist. His academic credentials include B.S. and M.A. degrees in marine biology from the University of Miami. Currently he is a self-employed writer and photographer specializing in marine life.
His photographs appear frequently in calendars, posters, postcards, and other graphic products, and have been published in hundreds of books and magazines, including
National Geographic, Smithsonian, Time, Natural History, Elle, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, Omni, Outside, Geo, Airone, Terre Sauvage, Stern, National Wildlife, Ocean Realm, Wildlife Conservation, BBC Wildlife, etc. Perrine is the author of Sharks (1995) and Mysteries of the Sea (1997).
He has served as a consultant for filming projects for the National Geographic Society, the Discovery Channel, Disney, and other companies. His photography has won several awards, including the 1995 BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year award in the Animal Behavior category. Perrine is president of Innerspace Visions, a stock photography library in Kona, Hawaii, which specializes in marine wildlife, with extensive files on whales, dolphins, and sharks, representing over five dozen of the world's top photographers in these fields.
Leandro
Blanco
Honorary Member - Ocean N Environment
Film Crew
Born in Spain. At the age of five, he moved to New York with his family. During his High School years he formed a vocal group and by the age of fourteen won first prize in a musical festival at New York's world fair. The Tokens, who by then had a number one hit in the charts ( The lion sleeps tonight ) became their producers. He recorded several records with them and spendt most of the time promoting and touring the states with such groups as the The Supremes and the Shirrels.
He took up flying as a hobby and got his private pilots license at the age of nineteen. In 1970 he returned to Spain, where he recorded several records, including a double LP ( The four seasons by VIVALDI ) and also wrote several music scores for various motion pictures. In 1973 he decided to turn his hobby into a career and became an airline pilot. Today he's an Airbus 320 captain flying for a mayor international airline company.
It was back in the 80s when the first music videos came out, that got him started in filming. It was the magic of the music moving along with the fast cutting images that caught his eye. His passion for nature had already taken him all over the world. By then he had also written several pieces of music, celebrating the beauty of the Amazon jungle and the vast desserts of Africa. Now it was time to go back and do some filming. His first short documentary got him first prize at the London film festival, and by 1990 he had already won several mayor awards, including VIDEO FILM MAKER OF THE YEAR BY THE BBC WILD LIFE MAGAZINE, 1993, for his documentary skills. In 1990 he made his first underwater documentary, which he wrote, narrated, edited, performed and wrote all the music to. He received several awards, including the prestigious GOLDEN MEDAL in the OKEANOS UNDERWATER FILM FESTIVAL in France.
It's during these years that he decided to devote all his spare time to the underwater world.
He has received over 30 international awards, his documentaries have been shown on mayor TV networks all over the world, and his music scores have been acclaimed by magazines like BILLBOARD and MUSIC FOR MUSIC. He is also an honorary member of THE ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY, for his photography in his video Just passing by too.
AWARDS LEO BLANCO
CAREEBEAN SAFARI 1990
IT'S A WONDERFUL WORLD 1990
REFUGEES 1991
IT'S JUST A DREAM 1992
JUST PASSING BY 1992
THERE'S A PLACE
REQUIEM FOR A BLUE PLANET
JUST PASSING BY TOO. 1996
F205 1998
ANOTHER STORY 1998