In 1997 he received Gerald Durrell award, for his photographs of endangered species and ten years later was named an "Outstanding Nature Photographer" by the North American Nature Photographers Association.
In 1997 he received the Gerald Durrell award from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, for his photographs of endangered species. In 2007 Schafer was named an "Outstanding Nature Photographer of the Year" by the North American Nature Photographers Association.