Unique Experiences

Item Description

Michael Aw — Underwater Photographer, Writer, Publisher

Meet Michael Aw, one of the most recognized shark photographers in the world, for lunch or dinner in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Michael Aw is a wildlife photographer, photo journalist, a Fellow of the Explorers Club, Senior Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers, and author of 35 books of the sea.

His accolades include winning more than 65 international photographic awards and being named as one of the world’s most influential nature photographers.

He is a recipient of four awards from the Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Competition in 2000, 2010 and in 2006 and 2015 he was the Winner in the underwater category. In 2013, he was awarded the NOGI AWARD for Arts and inducted into the  American Academy of Underwater Arts and Science.

In 2009, Michael’s book, Heart of the Ocean won the prestigious Palme d'Or (Gold) award. In 2012 his Indonesia’s Global Treasures won the International Prize for Best Book of the Year at the World Underwater Pictures Festival (Festival Mondial de l'Image Sous Marine) and was again awarded the Palme d'Or (Gold) award. 

His awards include the Sharks Research Institute’s Conservation Award in recognition of his highly-effective and unrelenting campaign against shark fin soup consumption in the Asia Pacific region.

In 2015 Michael was the project director for the Elysium Artists for the Arctic expedition with 65 team members comprising the world’s best image makers and scientists. This expedition documented the flora and fauna for a movie and climate change index of the Arctic from Svalbard, Greenland to Iceland.   

Michael's essays and pictures have been published in BBC Wildlife, National Geographic, the Smithsonian, Nature, Asian Geographic, Nature Focus, Times, and Discovery to name but a few.

In 1998, Michael co-founded Asian Geographic with good friend Christopher Lee; he managed the title as publisher till 2005. In 2001, he acquired Scuba Diver Australasia for Asian Geographic and successfully revamped the title to become the PADI Diving Society magazine in 2004. Today, Asian Geographic, Scuba Diver SDAA, and Ocean Geographic are the most acclaimed periodicals in the Asia Pacific.

http://www.ogsociety.org

Item Special Note

The objective of this auction is to spotlight individuals and organizations working effectively for ocean conservation, and raise funds for field research, education and conservation projects.

Being auctioned is dinner or lunch with one the world’s foremost shark experts or celebrities. This is a unique opportunity to “talk shark” face-to-face, one-on-one, with a real authority on sharks. 

How it works:

1. Bid on a celebrity, shark scientist or conservationist that lives or works in your area, unless you are willing to drive or fly to meet them in their area.
2. The winning bidder pays for the lunch or dinner and may bring guests.
3. We will introduce the winning bidder to the celebrity, scientist or conservationist. The two of you then set a mutually agreeable date, time and place to meet within one year of the close of the auction.

All winning bids are deductible from US Federal 2017 income taxes as Charitable Donations.