134 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • H O L I D A Y 2 0 1 9
A
MOS NACHOUM BEGAN MAKING PHOTO-
GRAPHS AS A YOUNG BOY IN HIS NATIVE ISRAEL.
"IN MY FAMILY, CHILDREN WERE SEEN AND NOT HEARD," HE SAYS.
"I FOUND MY PHOTOGRAPHS PROMPTED ADULTS TO SPEAK WITH ME
AND ASK QUESTIONS."
HE SERVED IN THE ISRAELI MILITARY, WHERE HE LEARNED SCUBA
AND SAW COMBAT IN THE
1973 YOM KIPPUR WAR. ALL THE WHILE,
HE CONTINUED HONING HIS PHOTOGRAPHIC TALENT.
NACHOUM EVENTUALLY MADE HIS WAY TO THE US, AT FIRST LIV-
ING IN NEW YORK, INITIALLY DRIVING A TAXI.
"I THEN BECAME SUCCESSFUL AT COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY, BUT
THERE WAS NO INSPIRATION THERE,"
HE SAYS. "I WASN'T LEARNING
ANYTHING ABOUT MYSELF AND WASN'T
CHANGING ANYTHING."
MEANWHILE, HE PUT HIS DIVING SKILLS TO WORK, LEADING TRIPS
TO THE
RED SEA AND OTHER DIVING MECCAS.
"AFTER I SOLD THE BUSINESS, I BEGAN TAKING PHOTOS OF BIG
ANIMALS,"
HE SAYS. NACHOUM FOUNDED BIGANIMALS GLOBAL
EXPEDITIONS IN 1990, LEADING SMALL GROUPS LOOKING TO
OBSERVE SPECIFIC ANIMALS.
RECENTLY, NACHOUM FOUNDED OCEAN GIANTS LEGACY
PROJECT, AN ENDEAVOR TO CAPTURE STILL AND FILM IMAGES OF
ENDANGERED LARGE ANIMALS AROUND THE WORLD.
"EXTINCTION IS FOREVER," HE SAYS. "THE PURPOSE IS TO CHRON-
ICLE THESE MAGNIFICENT ANIMALS AND INFORM AND INSPIRE VIEW-
ERS TO HELP SAVE THEM. AND, IN A WORST-CASE SCENARIO, TO HAVE
A RECORD OF THEM AND THEIR BEHAVIORS FOR FUTURE GENERA-
TIONS SHOULD EFFORTS TO SAVE THEM FAIL."
