GIVING OUR VOICES TO an Estuarine crocodile that is wrongly EUTHANIZED - KILLED. Just because it entered the waters off Sentosa Cove, Singapore
It was captured. Then killed. Not because it attacked anyone.
Not because it hunted a child. Not because there was no alternative.
It was euthanised so humans could return to the beach.
And we call ourselves the most intelligent species on Earth.
What gives humanity the right to decide which life deserves to exist and which does not?
Why do we constantly insist we are superior to every other species that shares this planet with us?
This crocodile was not a criminal. IT WAS LOST. Where is our compassion? Shall we go around killing lost species of our own??
An apex predator displaced in a shrinking natural world, we continue to destroy, reclaim, dredge, engineer and urbanise.
Surely in a nation as advanced as Singapore, relocation possibilities should have been exhausted before execution became the solution.
Why were sanctuaries not explored more transparently?
Why did institutions such as Mandai, River Wonders or the Oceanarium not step forward to provide refuge?
Where was the compassion? Where was the imagination? Or LACK off by the decision-maker – it is a lazy, easy-ignorance decision.
WHERE WAS THE COURAGE TO CHOOSE COEXISTENCE OVER CONVENIENCE?
As the founder of Ocean Geographic, I, together with many members of our community, have in recent years travelled to Cuba and Mexico to responsibly interact with Saltwater crocodiles in their natural habitat. With due diligence, experienced guides and respect for wildlife, we have never experienced life-threatening encounters. The difference is not the crocodile. THE DIFFERENCE IS HUMAN ATTITUDE.
Around the world, people are learning how to coexist with apex predators. Yet here, a lost crocodile was sentenced to death simply because its existence disrupted human comfort. WHAT MESSAGE ARE WE TEACHING OUR CHILDREN? That's when wildlife becomes inconvenient; we kill it?
Do apex species only deserve protection when they stay invisible and far away from us? As someone who has spent a lifetime documenting endangered species and witnessing humanity’s relentless expansion into the w
Not Everyone is Meant to CROSS THE WALLACE LINE
In August 2026, Ocean Geographic invites only a select few adventurers to do the EXTRAORDINARY:
The Wallace Line is one of the most mysterious biological boundaries on Earth — the invisible seam where Asia ends and Australasia begins, where species, currents and ecosystems collide in evolutionary drama.
And hidden along this frontier lie reefs that remain astonishingly untouched — vibrant coral cathedrals, remote drop-offs, current-swept seamounts and marine sanctuaries visited by very few divers.
On this single voyage, you may
✓ swim with Whale sharks in cobalt blue
✓ hover beside Mantas in feeding frenzies
✓ encounter elusive Thresher sharks in the deep
✓ drift among giant Green turtles in seagrass meadows
✓ descend into blackwater alien worlds
✓ and at Maratua… very good chances with orcas – in Feb and March this year, they were there interacting for 22 days!
This is one of those rare once a life time bucket list expeditions
Our exploration platform is also beyond the ordinary – the MV GAIA LOVE — Ocean Geographic’s boutique-class flagship and arguably one of the finest expedition liveaboards in the Asia Pacific, purpose-built for intrepid explorers who appreciate both adventure and elegance.
Luxury cabins. Expedition-grade dive support.
Photographic mentorship. Small elite team.
Crossing Wallace Line is not another ordinary tourist trip
This is crossing an invisible line through the history of life itself.
⚠️ Very limited places only.
WHO WANTS TO CROSS WALLACE WITH US? – few spots remain with a special Ocean Geographic package – email [email protected]
#CrossingTheWallaceLine #OceanGeographic #MVGaiaLove #WhaleSharks #Mantas #Orcas #ThresherSharks #DiveExpedition #LuxuryLiveaboard #IndonesiaDiving #BucketListDive, #michaelAW
A TOWN BUILT on SARDINES
Millions upon millions of sardines… circling endlessly in cobalt blue, just metres from the shoreline of a tiny Philippine town.
I first dived with this phenomenon in 2008. Back then, the great sardine swarm gathered around Pescador Island. Then, almost inexplicably, sometime around 2013, they moved.
They migrated to the very front doorstep of Moalboal town.
Since then, they have left only briefly after the typhoon of 2021
Today, these silver rivers of life have become the heartbeat of this humble coastal town — drawing thousands of travellers, divers, photographers, free divers, mermaids and dreamers from around the world each year.
Resorts and restaurants thrive. Boatmen earn - also the massage parlours! dive centres, dive guide families. Restaurants survive.
An entire community now breathes with the rhythm of sardines no scientist can fully explain.
Standing in the middle of this swirling galaxy of life, I was struck by one thought: Sometimes nature gives a town a miracle.
The wise thing is to protect it fiercely. Hmm, PADI and SSI made lots of certification dollars out of these sardines - they should be contributing to protect - BUT they don't.
Moalboal, Cebu, Philippines, A silver blessing. An ocean spectacle unlike anywhere on Earth. This picture was made with a Z9 in SEACAM housing, illuminated by twin SUBNOX 10KEF, with free diver Gladz and supported by the safety diver from Kasai Village Dive Resort.
#oceangeographic, #awtimate
#Moalboal #SardineRun #Philippines #OceanWonder #UnderwaterPhotography #Freediving #MarineLife #SaveOurSeas #NatureMystery #michaelaw
Facing Grace – Facing Reality – Facing Sharks
In a world where sharks are too often cast as villains, this image—created with the amazing Hidy Yu 余曉彤—asks us to feel something different.
To breathe. To feel. To give our voice to the Voiceless
There is no AI here. No fabrication. No illusion.
Just a single moment…in our ocean
where trust meets instinct, and fear gives way to wonder.
Sharks are Ancient - they have been here long before us.
A perfect design refined over 400 million years.
Human, vulnerable yet present, reaching not in defiance… but in connection.
The rising bubbles, the stillness, the eye-line—this is a conversation without words.
Sharks are not monsters, not man-eaters
They are essential—apex guardians of ocean balance, indicators of a healthy sea, architects of life beneath the surface.
If we lose them, we do not just lose ourselves.
I created this picture not to show bravery.
It is about perspective. Because the ocean does not need us to conquer it.
It needs us to RESPECT, to Honour.
Hey Hidy – let’s work together again!
#FacingGrace #SharksAreNotMonsters #OceanGeographic #VoicesForTheVoiceless #RespectTheOcean, #awtimate, #michaelAW, #AWfish
After 10 days in Hoh Xil—Kekexili, I now sit at my desk with a view to one of our world’s great cities.
—the third-largest no-man’s land after interior Greenland and the Marie Byrd Land in the Antarctic. Hoh Xil—Kekexili is so raw, so untouched, is an UNESCO World Heritage wilderness where the air is thin, the winds relentless, and life… unbelievably resilient.
In the 10 days, I have photographed endemic Tibetan antelope, wild donkey, bald eagles, vultures on melting snow. Wild yak—ancient giants—against a sky too large to comprehend. This is sanctuary of extremes. 45,000 square kilometres of altitude, isolation, and survival.
An average elevation of 4800m, breathing itself is a conscious act.
And yet, it is here—at the Roof of the World—that the story of our ocean begins.
Because this plateau is connected to our ocean. The waters born here travel thousands of kilometres—feeding rivers, sustaining civilizations, and eventually merging with the seas that define our planet. What happens in Hoh Xil does not stay in Hoh Xil. It flows… into our ocean.
If we lose Hoh Xil—we do not just lose this wilderness. We lose the future of humanity.
#ThirdPole #HohXil #OceanGeographic #VoicesForTheVoiceless #ClimateConnection #awtimate
UNDERWATER SHOOTERS — THIS IS YOUR FINAL CALL.
Don’t miss your boat… literally.
Enter OGPICOTY the ONLY underwater photography & video competition on the planet where your images can take you to the Arctic or Antarctic—aboard the legendary MV Sylvia Earle with Aurora Expeditions.
Ocean Geographic Pictures of the Year (OGPICOTY) is the only competition
with your gateway to the ends of the Earth.
Over USD $100,000 in prizes
Expedition to the Polar Regions & Beyond
Judged by the world’s most renowned ocean luminaries
This is where your work is seen. This is where your voice matters.
This is where your story can change the way the world sees the ocean. If you shoot underwater—this is YOUR STAGE Spots close soon.
Enter now at /
#OGPICOTY2025 #UnderwaterPhotography #UnderwaterFilmmaking #OceanGeographic #AuroraExpeditions #SylviaEarle #PolarExpedition #OceanStoryteller #SaveOurOceans #CallToAction
I was swallowed by the ocean
by a living storm of fish.
A swirling ball of blue-striped snappers, thousands strong, closed around me like a golden galaxy.
For a few breathless moments, I was out of this world
I was simply another fish moving inside a current of fish
No noise. No hurry. Just my breath
This is what the ocean gives us.
Magical Moments of pure wonder that reset our minds.
This is why we must go home often – where we belong
— Michael AW
#BlueMind #OceanGeographic #UnderwaterWorld #DiveLife #OceanWonder #Awtimate,#mares, #justaddwater,
Diving with Her Deepness, my buddy a 90-Year-Old Mermaid
Ninety years old — and she still descends into the ocean with the grace of a mermaid.
Recently the cover girl of Tatler, celebrated on land.
But it is underwater where Dr. Sylvia Earle truly belongs.
The moment she slips beneath the surface, time becomes irrelevant. Age becomes irrelevant. What remains is curiosity. Purpose. A lifetime devoted to the blue heart of our planet.
I had the privilege of diving with Sylvia again during her recent journey through Singapore and the Philippines sponsored by CDL and Rolex. Watching her glide across the reef, studying every coral, every blade of sea grass, every fish, with undiminished wonder — it felt like witnessing living legend in motion.
There is no hesitation. No slowing. No shrinking from the world.
Just devotion.
For six decades she has been the ocean’s voice. At ninety, she still in the most powerful.
Some people grow old.
Some people grow deeper.
She is bigger than legend. She is proof that purpose keeps you weightless.
And yes… she still moves like a mermaid. And she is my dive buddy.
— Michael AW
#SylviaEarle #HerDeepness #OceanGeographic #The90YearOldMermaid #WomenInScience #OceanAdvocate #BluePlanet, #awtimate, #MichaelAW
Honoured to share my latest on the cover of Neptune Magazine (4•2025) featuring Lai HsinYa dancing in the night mantas
This is a prologue to my forthcoming short film “The Flame.”
In the stillness of the night, 15m deep, HsinYa expertly seduce several ancient giants. “The Flame” explores the tension between fragility and force, grace and wildness, human expression and oceanic spirit. It asks a quiet question: Can Art become our voice for the ocean?
The film will premiere at ADEX Singapore this April, where dance, ocean, and conservation converge in one luminous moment.
Thank you to Neptune Magazine for recognising this powerful collaboration — where movement becomes message, and beauty becomes advocacy.
See you at ADEX.
#awtimate
#oceangeographic
#TheFlame
#laihsinya #seacam
#mantaray
#OceanArt
#adexsingapore
#subnox
#DanceForTheOcean
A sneak preview of the making of my new movie 天使与深渊之间. illuminated by Subnox.Filmed on location at Anilao. Brilliantly performed by Jorge M Ida and Lai HsinYa. Thank you to my team Alex Rose.Marco Santos and the amazing team and support of Aiyanar Beach and Dive Resort. #aiyanardiveresort #michaelaw #awtimate #HopeSpot #OceanLegacy #oceangeographic
