Sebastian Copeland / Antartica: The Global Warning

Celebrity photographer and ASW member Sebastian Copeland now has a bevy of new models posing in front of his camera: all breathtakingly beautiful, majestic, with ice-cold glares, Copeland describes them as his latest obsession.

So, who are these mystery muses?

Located in the southern most hemisphere, spread over five million square miles of pure ice, the melting icebergs of Antarctica have been the focal point of Copeland's photographs for several years and are the underlying theme of his latest book, Antarctica: The Global Warning, a compilation of photographs documenting the perils of imminent global warming.

The book contains a foreword by Mikhail Gorbachev, an introduction by Leonard di Caprio and a chapter by ASW member, David de Rothschild.

"I'm just trying to engage and educate people about the dangers of climate change. It's an important warning to which we should pay attention," says Copeland, who is also a board member of Global Green USA, an environmental NGO.

And what better way to engage people than to host a celebrity-studded event to raise awareness, as Copeland did, in association with ASMALLWORLD and Max Studio-- at the Jan Kesner Gallery in L.A last week.

Guests in attendance included ASW President and CEO Joe Robinson, Max Studio's Orion Hand and Ame Max, actresses Brittany Murphy and Julie Delpy and Copeland's cousin Orlando Bloom, who accompanied the photographer on his Antarctic odyssey.

"It was a great opportunity to see what was at stake," said Orlando Bloom. "I took a four-week trip there with my cousin and it's clear the earth needs protection. We really need to team together and do something to help."

That "something" involved Copeland instructing members of his ship to disembark on an iceberg in 2006 and align themselves so their bodies spelt out the letters "S.O.S": an echo of the continent's plea for help, which, according to actress Julie Delpy is yet to be heard by politicians.

"The environment is still not a priority in politics and it needs to be," she says. "The problem needs more attention. It is, after all, our future."

— Mmoma Ejiofor