Amos Nachoum
Aliases: amosnachoum
Role: Wildlife photographer, expedition leader, conservation speaker
First appearance: 2003 ([1])
Affiliation: BigAnimals.com (founder)
Biography
Amos Nachoum is a professional wildlife photographer and expedition leader renowned for his pioneering work photographing large and dangerous marine animals in extreme environments worldwide. He is the founder of BigAnimals.com, an expedition company specializing in close-contact encounters with apex predators and marine megafauna in some of the planet’s most remote and challenging locations, including polar regions, open ocean, and tropical waters.
Nachoum’s photography focuses on intimate encounters with the largest and most potentially dangerous marine species, including great white sharks, polar bears (swimming), leopard seals, sperm whales, humpback whales, sailfish, and various shark species. His expeditions have taken him to Antarctica, the Arctic, the Galapagos, South Africa (Sardine Run), the Bahamas, Sri Lanka, and numerous other remote locations. He has been described as a “Master of Megafauna” in an Alert Diver interview ([source: person_matrix.json, forum thread 49797]).
Wetpixel Community Presence
Nachoum first appears in the Wetpixel archive at the 2003 Antibes Festival, where Eric Cheng met him and described him as being from BigAnimals.com. At that same festival, Nachoum shared a second-place (ex-aequo) Apnea Reportage prize for his “Sardine Run” work with Henri Eskenazi ([2]).
Nachoum’s speaking ability has drawn high praise from the Wetpixel community. A 2011 forum thread titled “Great speech from Amos Nachoum” generated enthusiastic responses, with community members calling his presentation “required viewing for everyone on the planet.” A teacher shared that the speech was used to inspire 20 Marine Studies students, demonstrating Nachoum’s effectiveness as a conservation communicator ([3]).
He maintained a presence on the Wetpixel forums under the username “amosnachoum” with 6 posts during 2012-2014, including threads on his Alert Diver “Master of Megafauna” interview, oceanic white-tip shark photography at Cat Island, and capturing fish eagles from underwater ([source: person_matrix.json]).
Contributions
Competition Recognition
- Antibes Festival 2003: Second place (ex-aequo) in Apnea Reportage for “Sardine Run” with Henri Eskenazi ([4])
- BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008: “Specially commended” distinction in the Underwater World category ([5])
- Nature’s Best Ocean Views 2009: Sailfish image selected as a winner ([6])
Conservation Photography
Nachoum contributed images to the Bite Back shark conservation calendar for multiple consecutive years, maintaining a sustained commitment to using photography for shark conservation advocacy:
Industry Events and Presentations
Nachoum was a regular presence at major dive industry events globally:
- NCUPS (2005): Featured speaker at the Northern California Underwater Photographic Society, presenting “images and stories from his spectacular world travels to every corner of the earth. From whales and sharks to penguins and schooling fish, he will show images from Africa to Antarctica” ([11])
- DEMA 2006: Attended and photographed at Wetpixel happy hour ([12], [13])
- Beneath the Sea 2007: Attended dive show ([14])
- NYUPS 2007: Co-hosted “Planning Your Shot” event with OceanBlue Divers and NYUPS in New York ([15])
- Dive 2009 (UK): Attended the UK dive show ([16])
- ADEX 2011: Participated in the Asian dive expo ([17])
- Marseilles Show 2014: Attended the French dive show ([18])
- DEMA 2015: Participated in the Industry Resource Center (IRC) schedule ([19])
Education and Outreach
- Annie Crawley’s educational program: Featured footage in Crawley’s “Sharks and Rays” online learning resource, part of a program to spread ocean education to kids, parents, and educators ([20])
- UN World Oceans Day 2020: Listed as a judge for the UN World Oceans Day Photo Competition alongside Adam Hanlon, Jill Heinerth, and others. The virtual event featured UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and marine scientist Sylvia Earle ([21])
Timeline
- 2003-10: Attends Antibes Festival 2003; wins second place (ex-aequo) in Apnea Reportage for “Sardine Run” ([22])
- 2005-01: NCUPS featured speaker, presenting “Big Animals” photography from around the world ([23])
- 2006-11: Attends DEMA 2006, photographed at Wetpixel happy hour ([24], [25])
- 2007-03: Attends Beneath the Sea 2007 dive show ([26])
- 2007-03: Co-hosts “Planning Your Shot” event with OceanBlue Divers and NYUPS in New York ([27])
- 2008-10: Specially commended in BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Underwater World category ([28])
- 2009-06: Wins Nature’s Best Ocean Views Contest 2009 with sailfish image ([29])
- 2009-11: Attends Dive 2009 UK show ([30])
- 2009-11: Contributes to Bite Back shark conservation calendar 2010 ([31])
- 2010-11: Contributes to Bite Back 2011 calendar ([32])
- 2010-12: Participates in ADEX 2011 ([33])
- 2011-05: Inspiring speech shared on Wetpixel forums, praised as “required viewing for everyone on the planet” ([34])
- 2011-12: Contributes to Bite Back 2012 shark calendar ([35])
- 2012-2014: Active on Wetpixel forums, sharing work on oceanic white-tips at Cat Island and fish eagle photography ([source: person_matrix.json])
- 2014-11: Attends Marseilles dive show 2014 ([36])
- 2015-09: Participates in DEMA 2015 IRC schedule ([37])
- 2017-01: Contributes to Bite Back calendars ([38])
- 2020-03: Featured footage in Annie Crawley’s “Sharks and Rays” online learning program ([39])
- 2020-06: Serves as judge for UN World Oceans Day 2020 Photo Competition alongside Adam Hanlon and others ([40])
Sources
- Wetpixel article, Oct 28, 2003: Antibes Festival 2003 Coverage ↩
- Wetpixel article, Oct 28, 2003: Antibes Festival 2003 Coverage ↩
- Forum thread: Great Speech From Amos Nachoum ↩
- Wetpixel article, Oct 28, 2003: Antibes Festival 2003 Coverage ↩
- Wetpixel article, Oct 30, 2008: Bbc Announces Winners Of 2008 Wildlife Photographer Of The Year ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jun 3, 2009: Natures Best Ocean Views Contest 2009 Announces Winners ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 30, 2009: Bite Back Calendar 2010 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 30, 2010: Bite Back Launches 2011 Calender ↩
- Wetpixel article, Dec 6, 2011: Bite Back 2012 Shark Calendar Released ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jan 12, 2017: Bite Back Calendars On Sale ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jan 10, 2005: Ncups Presents Big Animals With Amos Nachoum ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 15, 2006: Dema 2006 Socialing Wetpixel Happy Hour Nov 10 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 12, 2006: Dema 2006 People Pictures Nov 9 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 29, 2007: Beneath The Sea 2007 Dive Show Report ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 19, 2007: Oceanblue Divers And Nyups Host Planning Your Shot ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 2, 2009: Dive 2009 Uk Show Coverage ↩
- Wetpixel article, Dec 27, 2010: Details Of Adex 2011 Announced ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 6, 2014: Report Marseilles Show 2014 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Sep 21, 2015: Dema Announces Irc Schedule ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 25, 2020: Video Sharks And Rays Online Learning By Annie Crawley ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jun 4, 2020: Full Schedule Un World Oceans Day 2020 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Oct 28, 2003: Antibes Festival 2003 Coverage ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jan 10, 2005: Ncups Presents Big Animals With Amos Nachoum ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 15, 2006: Dema 2006 Socialing Wetpixel Happy Hour Nov 10 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 12, 2006: Dema 2006 People Pictures Nov 9 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 29, 2007: Beneath The Sea 2007 Dive Show Report ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 19, 2007: Oceanblue Divers And Nyups Host Planning Your Shot ↩
- Wetpixel article, Oct 30, 2008: Bbc Announces Winners Of 2008 Wildlife Photographer Of The Year ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jun 3, 2009: Natures Best Ocean Views Contest 2009 Announces Winners ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 2, 2009: Dive 2009 Uk Show Coverage ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 30, 2009: Bite Back Calendar 2010 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 30, 2010: Bite Back Launches 2011 Calender ↩
- Wetpixel article, Dec 27, 2010: Details Of Adex 2011 Announced ↩
- Forum thread: Great Speech From Amos Nachoum ↩
- Wetpixel article, Dec 6, 2011: Bite Back 2012 Shark Calendar Released ↩
- Wetpixel article, Nov 6, 2014: Report Marseilles Show 2014 ↩
- Wetpixel article, Sep 21, 2015: Dema Announces Irc Schedule ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jan 12, 2017: Bite Back Calendars On Sale ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 25, 2020: Video Sharks And Rays Online Learning By Annie Crawley ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jun 4, 2020: Full Schedule Un World Oceans Day 2020 ↩
- Antibes Festival 2003 Coverage (article) ↩
- NCUPS Presents: Big Animals with Amos Nachoum (article) ↩
- DEMA 2006 people pictures (article) ↩
- OceanBlue Divers and NYUPS: Planning Your Shot (article) ↩
- Beneath the Sea 2007 report (article) ↩
- BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008 (article) ↩
- Nature’s Best Ocean Views 2009 (article) ↩
- Dive 2009 UK show coverage (article) ↩
- Bite Back calendar 2010 (article) ↩
- Great speech from Amos Nachoum (forum) (forum) ↩
- Annie Crawley: Sharks and Rays online learning (article) ↩
- UN World Oceans Day 2020 (article) ↩