WA cameraman Matt Hawksworth has been nominated for an Emmy.  Picture credit: Matt Hawksworth 

WA cameraman Matt Hawksworth received an Emmy nomination for his work on the Discovery Channel documentary Ultimate Air Jaws.  

Matt Hawksworth, 31, received the prestigious nod for his work on the Discovery Channel documentary, Ultimate Air Jaws.

The one-hour program was filmed off the coast of South Africa and captures some of the most exciting footage of great white sharks as they burst out of the water to attack their prey.

Matt, who has been obsessed with the deadly predators since he was a child, said he still can’t believe he has been nominated.

“I am still pretty shocked by the whole thing,” he told PerthNow. “I have been working and filming sharks for a long time now and to finally be recognised is great.

“I have done all sorts of things in the film industry, from acting to camera work, and have always been trying to find opportunities so it’s nice that something has finally come out of it.”

The 31-year-old has spent almost decade travelling back and forth between Perth and South Africa filming great whites for a South African marine research project.

Each year he would film his own footage while helping out with other documentaries.

Then in 2009 his received his big break.

“Basically I had been working on the boats wrangling sharks for other documentaries, while also filming my own stuff,” he said. “Then one year the Discovery Channel came out and I got to get involved.

“The way it turned out was that whenever they missed a shot, I managed to catch it with my some what cheaper equipment and they wanted to use it.

“So basically they started letting me shoot with their cameras and I ended up being a cameraman for their documentary, Ultimate Air Jaws.”

Matt said he was just pleased they had used his work and never expected to be nominated for an Emmy.

He is one of five cameramen who worked on the project which is nominated in the Outstanding Cinematography – Nature category of the 32nd Annual Emmy Award for News and Documentary.

He is now hoping that he will be able to make it over for the ceremony which is being held at the Lincoln Centre in New York on September 26.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/wa-shark-chaser-nominated-for-emmy/story-e6frg13u-1226114760645