Alese & Morton Pechter

:: Alese & Morton Pechter - Distinguished Service - 2003

Alese & Morton Pechter have worked for years within the SCUBA industry and with the general public to create an awareness of SCUBA as an accepted sport. Their contact and work with the mass media helped to change the image of the industry from "macho" to an accepted family recreational sport.

As the official photographers for DEMA almost since its inception, they have traveled the globe documenting the underwater experience… photographing, writing and lecturing, passing the word along about the world of SCUBA. Scientists and writers, as well as media personnel, have been the beneficiaries of their excellent candids. Accompanying the DEMA press trips they have also supplied the underwater and topside photos for international journalists whose articles have appeared worldwide in publications outside the diving community. Their photographic library is a veritable history of the diving world and international SCUBA sites.

The Pechters are themselves renowned underwater photojournalists.... active photographers, authors, teachers, divers and lecturers, searching for sunken archeological treasures, photographing the magnificent reefs or investigating the deep ocean. Always conscious of the need to protect and preserve these

beautiful natural wonders, the Pechters work ardently to make others aware. They specialize in multi-media productions that instruct while they entertain, visiting with school children and with adult groups to promote ocean conservation.

The Pechter's children's book, What's In The Deep? has received public and critical acclaim and has been chosen a Reading Rainbow selection. It was the first ocean oriented book geared to youngsters that carried actual photographs of the underwater world, rather than illustrations that came from someone's imagination. The Pechter's book, What's In The Deep?, has become a science text in libraries and classrooms throughout the country.

Alese and Mort have been masthead contributors to Underwater USA, Caribbean Travel & Life, Dive Training and Rodale's Sport Diver publications. Several of their underwater photos were selected by the Chinese government to be part of a special art show touring their country.

Ardent marine ecology advocates and always conscious of the fact that little ones who snorkel may become SCUBA divers, the Pechters have been fervent promoters of family involvement in the water world. They have been pioneers in their promotion of snorkeling as an active, family recreational sport that encourages the conservation & ecological spirit of the individual.

The Pechters have been elected Fellow National members in the prestigious Explorers Club for their contribution to scientific knowledge in the field of geographical exploration, Life members of the National Marine Educators Association, the Historical Divers Association and are also members of the Oceanography Society. Alese was elected a charter member of the Women Divers Hall of Fame.

Recognized as outstanding underwater photojournalists, New York Times art critic David Shirey has stated the Pechters' photographs "reflect a technique, a specialized expertise and an aesthetic authority that gives us a new understanding of underwater photography."

The Pechters have been the featured speakers on several television productions, among them a special television production about sea and space including Michael Collins, the command module pilot for the first landing on the moon. Their photos and articles have appeared not only in SCUBA publications but in general interest magazines and newspapers throughout the world and their multi-media presentations and seminars on ecology, marine biology, land and underwater photography, travel and on the creation of multi-media shows, have captivated audiences at museums, schools, SCUBA shows and universities throughout the world.

The Pechters have had several prestigious art gallery shows and their works are hanging in private collections as well as being part of the permanent collections of the Long Island Science Museum, Florida Atlantic University and Adelphi University. They were active founding members of the Long Island Science Museum having carried the title of Administrative Vice President of the museum for several years.

Among their many awards, Alese & Morton Pechter have been honored by the United Nations Environment Programme and recognized by the US Navy as Honorary Deep Sea Divers. They have also been honored by the South Florida Police Search & Rescue Teams, were selected as the 1996 Photojournalists of the Year and been awarded the 2003 NOGI for Distinguished Service.

The Pechters have the unique ability to instill in others the same excitement and enthusiasm for life's wonders that they have. Their obvious delight for the world beneath the sea is nurtured by their deep commitment to conservation and preservation of the underwater wilderness.