Mystical Borobudur
Borobudur, Magelang, Indonesia
By Handi Laksono
Indonesia
Photographer's Website
Story: Borobudur Temple is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple located in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. It’s an hour drive from Yogyakarta, as well as the world’s largest Buddhist temple, and also one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world. There are three best locations to see the sunrise, one of them is from Punthuk Setumbu Sunrise Point, the one that I took this photo from. The best months to visit are in the middle of the year during the dry season when the thickness of the mist is just right. If the mist is too thick you won’t able to get the mystical photo of the layers of the trees and the silhouette of the magical temple. The wind was a little strong at the time I took this photo so I used a long exposure to create the movement of the mist between the layers. I also converted it to Black and White to make the contrast between the layers of shadows and highlights of the mist more prominent.
Camera: Canon 5D Mark III; Canon 70-200mm/f2.8L II USM; 10 Seconds; ƒ/16; ISO 50.
Hey Mama
Shanxi Province, China
By Kuanliang Ding
Hubei, China
Story: On a hillside north of the Tsinling Mountains in Shanxi province, a group of Rhinopithecus roxellanae find something to eat in the trees. A monkey found a kiwi tree. It shouts to its mother. I guess according to its sign language and voice: mom there are some kiwis over here, come here and let’s eat together.
Camera: Nikon D800; Nikkor AF-S 300mm/2.8 lens; 1/250 sec; ƒ/2.8; ISO 800.

WINNER WILDLIFE

On the Cherry Tree
Arashiyama, Kyoto City, Japan
By Shinichi Masuda
Tokyo, Japan
Story: This is a Snow monkey (Macaca Fuscata). In Japan, camellia and mountain cherry blossoms bloom from winter to spring and snow monkeys often eat these flowers because flower nectar is sweet and nutritious. This female is about 36 years old and is the oldest in her group. In the morning she climbed the camellia and mountain cherry trees, ate the flowers one after another, and rested on a mountain cherry tree. Her mouth was full of yellow camellia pollen. She did not seem to care and continued to enjoy an early spring day.
Camera: Canon EOS-1DX; EF100-400F4.5/5.6LIS; 1/2000 sec; ƒ/5.6; ISO 1600.

HIGHLY HONORED WILDLIFE

A Big Salmon Run
Rausu, Shiretoko, Japan
By Shinji Sato
Hokkaido, Japan
Story: In the autumn of 2015, countless pink salmon swam upstream in a brook on the tip of the Shiretoko Peninsula. It was the year of the Big Salmon Run. Ezo red foxes normally eat the pink salmon left over by brown bears, but this year we were able to witness many incidents of the foxes directly catching salmon that were still alive.
Camera: Sony A77II; Minoruta 400mm f/4.5; 1/640sec; f/6.3; ISO 1000.

HIGHLY HONORED WILDLIFE

Fun For All Ages
Kabini, India
By Thomas Vijayan
Oakville, Canada
Photographer's Website
Story: Shooting common animals is the most challenging thing. Langurs are very common but waiting for the right movement is very challenging and you need lots of patience. On one afternoon a group of black-footed grey langurs were sitting on a tree. But this playful infant was enjoying the family time and was playing with his parents by swinging on their tails and falling down and then immediately climbing back and starting all over again. His mother took little notice of this activity and the other childern were tolerating the attention- seeking acrobatics. Langurs are very social and youngsters play as often as they can. Acrobatic play is probably a way of practicing tree-living and eventually helps them to develop strong bones and muscles. Playing also helps them to develop social bonds and communication skills. In 2014 I had made 15 trips to India in search of a perfect frame out of these trips, on one of the trips I could only get this frame and I am more than happy with this picture. A playful monkey with its family is a special frame for me. Moreover photography to me is not about quantity it is more of quality and a story telling frame which can put a smile on someone’s heart.
Camera: Nikon D4; Nikkor 300mm; 1/1250 sec; f/5.6; ISO 1000

HIGHLY HONORED WILDLIFE

A Look to Heart
Anamalai Tiger Reserve, India
By Pramod C L
Gurgaon, India
Story: Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park is a protected area located in the Anaimalai Hills near Pollachi, Tamilnadu, India. This Sanctuary is under consideration by UNESCO as part of The Western Ghats World Heritage site and is home for many exotic & endemic species like the Lion-Tailed Macaque, Great Hornbill, Nilgiri Langur & Nilgiri Thar.
The Lion-Tailed Macaque is a diurnal rainforest dweller. A true arboreal, they are excellent climbers and spend most their life in the upper canopy of tropical moist evergreen forests. Unlike other macaques, they prefer to avoid human presence and this will have to be recorded as one of the major challenges I faced while picturing these wonderful animals in this leach infested area. Initially they were not reachable and maintained a safe distance from me. However, I was determined to capture true heart rendering moments and extended my stay by another couple of days.
Camera: Canon EOS-1D X Mark II; EF500mm f/4L IS II USM; 1/800 sec; f/4; ISO 1000.

HIGHLY HONORED WILDLIFE

Golden Dust
Corbett National Park, India
By Shivang Mehta
Haryana, India
Photographer's Website
Story: In the early morning hours in Corbett National Park in India, a herd of elephants decided to stop by the river bank for a dust bath. The surreal morning light filtering through the dust gave this image a midas touch eclipsing the elephants in the clouds of dust.
Camera: Canon 1Dx Mark II; Canon 400mm f2.8 IS2; 1/1000 sec; f/7.1; ISO 1000.

HIGHLY HONORED WILDLIFE

Golden Monkey
Shennongjia, Hubei, China
By Mingjian Yu
Wuhan, China
Story: The Shennongjia Golden Monkey is a nationally protected monkey that lives between 1500-3300 meters in forests or mountains. It is one of the most beautiful monkeys in the world. To take the best photographs of Golden Monkeys, I study their features, habits and customs. My work showcases the living status of Golden Monkeys, and is used to educate people about the native environment of these animals.
Camera: Canon EOS-1DX Mark II; EF70-200mm; 1/800 sec; f/6.3; ISO 1000.

WINNER LANDSCAPE

Like a Meteor Shower
Biei, Japan
By Yusuke Hayashi
Hokkaido, Japan
Photographer's Website
Story: I took this photo hoping to catch the mid-winter snow as it was lit up by the lights. I took a long exposure of this scene with the blowing snow to get the effect of falling stars. I shot this before the entire lake completely froze over, so there is only a short time that you can see the blue and white patterns on the lake.
Camera: Canon 1Dx; Canon 24-70Lmm; 3.2 sec; ƒ/7.1; ISO 800.

HIGHLY HONORED LANDSCAPE

Mystery Land
Bromo, Java, Indonesia
By Min Tan
Sarawak, Malaysia
Photographer's Website
Story: The lone tree stood in the lava field at Mount Bromo National Park Indonesia which is covered partially by thick mist in the early morning creating a beautifully surreal landscape.
Camera: Nikon D810; Nikon 70-200mm; 1/30 sec; f/8.0; ISO 100

HIGHLY HONORED LANDSCAPE

Coloring
Gifu, Japan
By Yoshikazu Miyajima
Tajimi, Japan
Story: When the afternoon sunlight hits the waterfall at the base of these beautiful columnar rocks a beautiful rainbow appears. I took a chance and zoomed in for a close up of the rainbow.
Camera: Canon EOS 6D; EF24-105mm F4L IS USM; 2.5 seconds; ƒ/16; ISO 200.

HIGHLY HONORED LANDSCAPE

Bloom
Lake Nukabira, Hokkaido, Japan
By Yumiko Nakagami
Hokkaido, Japan
Story: Various patterns appear on the freshly frozen surface of Lake Bunpei due to gas that gushes from the bottom of the lake. Sometimes large flower like patterns form. It is an art created by nature that can be seen only for a short period until it is covered with snow. On this day the mountain winds caused the clouds to bloom one after the other which turned pink with the morning glow that is common during the coldest season. It was an exceptionally beautiful and refreshing seen. Because I wanted a wide-angle close-up shot I used a fisheye lens and then later corrected the distortion while processing the photo
Camera: Canon EOS 70D; Sigma 10mm Fisheye; 1/30 sec; f/8; ISO 400.

HIGHLY HONORED LANDSCAPE

Harbinger
Yoichi, Hokkaido, Japan
By Hiroshi Tanita
Sapporo, Japan
Photographer's Website
Story: Although it was about to rain and the weather forecast wasn’t good, I felt good and drove to the beach I often go to. While I was driving in a rain at dawn, I saw the clouds starting to slightly change color. This was the moment I decided to capture the image. The wind was moving quickly so I used a long exposure to capture the speed of the clouds.
Camera: Sony ILCE-7RM2; Sony SEL2470GM; 60 seconds; f/13; ISO 100.

HIGHLY HONORED LANDSCAPE

The Big clouds
Yamanashi, Japan
By Takashi
Tokyo, Japan
Photographer's Website
Story: Mt. Fuji is a treasure trove of mysterious shaped clouds. I took this photo on Inokashira forest road after dawn. I have been taking photos of Mt. Fuji for 6 years, but I have never seen clouds like this.
Camera: Nikon D800; NIKON 70-200mm f/2.8 GII ED; 1/640 sec; f/8.0; ISO 100.

WINNER OCEAN

Fly
Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan
By Toru Kasuya
Kanagawa, Japan
Story: The scientific name of this octopus is Enteroctopus dofleini. This photo was taken at a depth of 5 meters when the water temperature was 3 degrees Celsius. I took this photo just as the octopus was catching its prey. This close up view of this octopus’s tentacles is beautiful and impressive
Camera: Canon EOS 7D; Tokina AT-X 107 DX Fish eye zoom 10-17mm F3.5-4.5; 1/180 sec; f/8; IOS 200; Flash Inon D2000.

HIGHLY HONORED OCEAN

Underwater Spaceship
Cebu, Philippines
By Vania Kam
Hong Kong
Photographer's Website
Story: Sometimes called the crown or cauliflower jellyfish, Cephea cephea are large jelly fish that can reach 19 to 23 inches in diameter. It has multiple wart like projections on top of the central mound of its bell, which is surrounded by a “moat.” It is targeted by the jellyfish fishing industry, especially during large blooms, and is eaten as a delicacy or for traditional medicinal purposes in China and Japan. When I spotted this beautiful jellyfish, I was actually looking for the tiny fish that often swim around them; instead, I found this palm-size crab riding on it. Sea turtles prey on Cephea cephea; shortly before spotting this one, we saw a giant green turtle nearby
Camera: Nikon D750; Sigma 15mm; 1/200 sec; f/11; ISO 125.

HIGHLY HONORED OCEAN

Wander Around
Notojima, Ishikawa, Japan
By Mitsuru Tomiya
Osaka, Japan
Story: June: cloudy weather; water temperature: 20 degrees; water depth: 5 metres. Swarms of aurelia, known as “kurage-dama” or jellyfish spheres, suddenly appear on the outskirts of Notojima. Among them swims a single grass puffer, as though it is wandering. Obtaining neutral buoyancy, I stayed at the same depth as the jellyfish spheres to take this photograph.
Camera: Nikon D610; AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED; 1/250 sec; f/11; ISO 800.

HIGHLY HONORED OCEAN

Bushman
Dauin, Philippines
By Dragos Dumitrescu
Philippines
Photographer's Website
Story: In the Underwater realm, the Anglerfish was built for ambush. Blends into the environment, looks like a coral or rock, waits forever and then BAM! In a fraction of a second swallows its prey. For this Hairy Frogfish, resembling a Bushman in the hunt, I emphasized its surroundings with a long shutter speed and its texture with directional light which also brings out its color. My goal was to capture the exquisite mood of this photo.
Camera: Canon 6D; Canon 100mm macro; 1/5 sec; f/20; ISO50; Flash Inon Z240.

HIGHLY HONORED OCEAN

Eel
Tulamben, Bali
By Liang Fu
Beijing, China
Photographer's Website
Story: Moral eels are easy to spot underwater. They normally are shy and hide under rocks when divers come close to them. This one however was curious to see the camera which gave me a little bit of space to use my UV focus light as backlighting to make a blue silhouette. Meanwhile, I particularly highlighted the eye of the eel with a snoot.
Camera: Canon 5DS; Canon 100mm/f2.8l macro; 1/80 sec; f/9; ISO 1600.

HIGHLY HONORED OCEAN

Big Mouth
Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan
By Mitsuru Tomiya
Osaka, Japan
Story: March: cloudy weather; water temperature: 12 degrees; water depth: 8 metres. Neoclinus lacunicola. So that I would not surprise it, I approached it quietly and took this photograph with our macro lens at the shortest distance possible. I aimed for the moment when it looked expressive.
Camera: Nikon D610; AF-S VR MicroNikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED; 1/200 sec; f/22; ISO 200.

WINNER SMALL WORLD

Pot Maker
Coimbatore, India
By Karthikeyan Shanmugasundaram
Coimbatore, India
Photographer's Website
Story: In the afternoon I went outside the house and suddenly noticed a potter wasp circling around plants to build its nest. At that very moment I rushed to get my camera but had to wait for more than 4 hours to finally take a photo of this wasp carrying a paralyzed caterpillar to her future baby. The very next day she just about finished her incredible mother’s work.
Camera: Canon 5D Mark III; Sigma 105mm f7.1; 1/640 sec; ƒ/11; ISO 2500.

HIGHLY HONORED SMALL WORLD

Woods in a Pod
Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China
By Minghui Yuan
Wuhan, China
Photographer's Website
Story: The pods of this tree had fallen to the ground and in each of these three pods that were lined up with each other I could see what looks like a miniature forest. If you look carefully you can see trees in the pods with their roots in the soil. The macroscopic world can be seen the microscopic world.
Camera: Nikon D3S; Tamron AF 90mm/2.8 macro lens; 1/180 sec; f/13; ISO 1000.

HIGHLY HONORED SMALL WORLD

Backlight
Mahaveer Sanctuary Goa,India
By Vinod (Baiju) Patil
Aurangabad, India
Photographer's Website
Story: This photo was captured in Mahaveer Sanctuary Goa, India. The species name is Malabar gliding frog and are found only in Goa and Konkan in India. This one was d on the leaf in such a way that he could not be seen. They are very active in heavy rainfall and are mostly seen at night and can be found by the sound they make. This frog can only be seen in the rainy season. The most difficult thing was that this image can only be taken in heavy rainfall. You need to cover all your equipment properly from the rain and most of the time the trees in which they are found are in water. It took many times of going into the water to capture this image. Instead of putting a flash light from front I did it from the back and it looks great
Camera: Nikon D800E; Nikon 105 mm f/3.2; 1/250 ses; f/10; ISO 200.

HIGHLY HONORED SMALL WORLD

Paradise of Love
Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China
By Minghui Yuan
Wuhan, China
Photographer's Website
Story: There are a variety of plants and insects that survive in the Wuhan summer. In a field of purple broccoli flowers in full bloom there were a pair of Ctenuchidae mates on the leaves of the Bauhinia Linn on one side of the field. Bauhinia Linn leaves are the habitat of Ctenuchidae. Wilderness is more beautiful because of the existence of these small insects.
Camera: Canon 70D; Tamron AF 90mm/2.8 macro lens; 1/80 sec; f/9; ISO 400

HIGHLY HONORED SMALL WORLD

Just Emerged From Eggs
Gomati River, Lakhimpur, India
By Satpal Singh
Mohammadi, India
Photographer's Website
Story: It was a bright sunny Post-Monsoon season morning in the month of September, 2016. I was on my routine shoot to the nearest forests of my home town in Uttar Pradesh, India, a part of Terai region. While chasing some of these very beautiful and attractive butterflies, fluttering around the flowers and bushes, I came across a very interesting natural event of the emergence of nymphs of a Pentatomid Bug (Hemiptera) species. I was thrilled to see these tiny bugs on a leaf, which had just emerged from their transparent and diamond like egg shells, and became part of this beautiful world. The newly emerged babies were without wings, which will later develop from their wing buds and then they will fly to enjoy their beautiful world.
Camera: Nikon D7100; Nikon AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8; 1/500 sec; f/32; ISO 320

HIGHLY HONORED SMALL WORLD

Caterpillar’s Idea
Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China
By Minghui Yuan
Wuhan, China
Photographer's Website
Story: In late autumn, I saw some sawfly larvae eating some leaves on a rose branch. A bright yellow sawfly larva attracted my attention with its backlighting. Since the weather was cold the caterpillar does not have much time to grow. Before the winter comes, the caterpillar completes a metamorphosis of life. It moved my heart to see this small caterpillar. The idea of the caterpillar may be to grow quickly, to complete the transformation of life again.
Camera: Nikon D7000; Nikkor AF-S 85mm f/3.5 macro lens; 1/250sec; f/9; ISO 200

WINNER BIRDS

Baya Weaver Fight
Uran, Mumbai, India
By V Krishnan
Mumbai, India
Photographer's Website
Story: This image was taken at my favorite weaver colony at Uran. Weaver finches are very social birds and many species nest in colonies. In these situations it would be quite common to see males and females squabbling around the nest. Females are known to lay their eggs in the nests of other females. I think you could hypothesize that perhaps two females are competing for the same nest, or perhaps one of the females was trying to lay eggs in another nest and was being dissuaded by the male and female who “owned’ the nest.
Camera: Nikon D3; Nikon 600mm f/4 G VR + TC14EII; 1/1600 sec; f/8; ISO 3200; Nikon SB-800 flash @ 1/64th power.

HIGHLY HONORED BIRDS

Black Necked Stork
Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, India
By Indranil Basu Mallick
Pune, India
Photographer's Website
Story: There was just one pair of Black Necked Storks in the sanctuary and I wanted to capture it against the light. It was only possible in the evening and only if it flies towards me, as the rest of the area was unapproachable due to marshy land. Finally, on the 8th day, I was fortunate to capture what I anticipated and luckily it was the female.
Camera: Canon EOS 70D; Canon 500mm f/4 with 1.4x extender; 1/1600 sec; f/5.6; ISO 500.

HIGHLY HONORED BIRDS

Pink Time
Mie, Japan
By Yoshimasa Sugitate
Shiga, Japan
Photographer's Website
Story: The Suzuka Forest Garden is believed to be the biggest weeping plum garden in Japan. On this day, I stayed there for 11 hours for the plum trees and the wild birds that come to the garden. Unfortunately, the weather had been rainy and cloudy since the morning, and I did not get the photographs under blue skies that I had wanted. However, the large pink flowers which had bloomed early in spring and the huge, gorgeous, and beautifully drooping plum trees created a stunning world of pink. I waited for the Japanese white-eye that visit the garden, and was able to photograph the scene of the birds.
Camera: LUMIX GH4; LEICA DG VARIO-ELMAR 100-400mm; 1/200 sec; f/7.1; ISO 250.

HIGHLY HONORED BIRDS

Belief
Kubbar Island, Kuwait
By Omar Al-Asem
Kuwait
Photographer's Website
Story: I took this shot on Kubbar Island, a small island in the state of Kuwait, during the summer when a lot of terns are breeding. The temperature is very high and sometimes reaches 45. I managed to take a low angle shot of a chick just starting to believe in himself acting like his parent trying to flyand getting ready for migration.
Camera: Canon 7D Mark II; Canon EF500mm IS II USM; 1/8000 sec; f/4; ISO 320.

HIGHLY HONORED BIRDS

Blue Tailed Bee Eater
Burdwan, West Bengal, India
By Kallol Mukherjee
West-Bengal, India
Photographer's Website
Story: I found a colony of Blue tailed bee eaters a couple of years ago in a riverbank . Blue tailed bee eaters are a fantastic subject and they are always busy collecting food but it is difficult to get a good background by the riverbed. It was my 4th consecutive day in that place and I was waiting to get a perfectly backlit shot After a few hours I got the shot I wanted for the week.
Camera: Nikon D800; Nikon 300mmm f/4 + 1.4 TC II; 1/2000 sec; f/5.6; ISO 1600.

HIGHLY HONORED BIRDS

Morning Mist
Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, India
By Vinod (Baiju) Patil
Aurangabad, India
Photographer's Website
Story: Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is one of the most famous bird sanctuaries in India because of the habitat that attracts many migratory birds from November to February. I regularly visit this place to find somepeace, beautiful birds and time for myhobbies. This is the only bird sanctuary in India were you can do bird photography the whole day till evening. I get lots of inspiration taking photos of birds in this sanctuary. The bird in this image is a peacock. This is the national bird of India. This image was clicked in the winter season at sunrise. I was observing their behavior for five days and on the 6th day I got the shot. The challenging part was that every day there was a change in appearance of the sun due to fog. This image was captured just when the sun was rising. A slight delay and the image would have been over exposed. I was eagerly waiting for the perfect position of the peacock and sun together and I finally got it.
Camera: Nikon D800E; Nikon 800 mm; 1/250 sec; f/5.6; ISO 100.

VIDEO WINNER

The Snow Woman
Hokkaido, Japan
By Cozy Ogawa
Chiba, Japan
Photographer's Website
Story: The Snow Woman called Yuki-onna in Japanese appears in Japanese folktales. This yōkai has the appearance of a fair, beautiful, bewitching woman and is said to captivate human men before freezing them. The red-crowned crane, which lives in the northern regions and Hokkaido, has also been captivating people since the distant past. With its pure white skin, black garments and crimson rouge, its figure is beautiful as it dances in a world of snow, yet one can never touch it. Perhaps many people have sacrificed their lives to this crane. Its bewitching beauty stills our movements and fascinates us until we lose ourselves and truly do freeze under the ice-cold sky, captivated by its beauty. In this crane, we can feel the Yuki-onna of Japanese legend, whose beauty holds people captive until they freeze.
Camera: Panasonic GH5, Nikon D500

Video Highly Honored

The Natural Wonder
Raja Ampat, Indonesia
By Jennifer O’Neil
Alabama, United States
Story: This video, The Natural Wonders of Raja Ampat, showcases the overwhelming color and diversity of the remote reefs that make up this area. In just one dive I experienced schools of glass fish, swirling jacks and massive schools of batfish. The quintessential Raja Ampat experience is the dancing mantas gliding in like dive bombers to a cleaning station then swooping away through the currents. My fondest memory of the area is being tethered to the reef by a reef hook and relaxing in the nutrient rich current as I waited for one after another massive manta rays to come swirling past for a cleaning.
Camera: Canon 5D Mark III; Sigma 15mm lens.

Video Highly Honored

Departure of the Baby Sea Turtle
Ogasawara, Japan
By Mana Nomoto
Tokyo, Japan
Story: Baby turtles hatch in the sand and usually crawl to the surface at night when the sand’s temperature is lower before setting out for the sea. However, on this particular day on a specially protected, uninhabited island, we found a baby turtle that was not moving and whose upper body had emerged from the sand under the bright daytime sun. We thought the poor thing must have set off too late and not been able to return to the sea during the night. As we took photographs, the baby turtle suddenly began to squirm, crawl out of the sand and set out for the sea in a big hurry.
Camera: Canon EOS 7D; Canon EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 USM.

Video Highly Honored

Life of Spotted Owlet
Gandhinagar, India
By Hardik Rathod
Gandhinagar, India
Photographer's Website
Story: This video is about the life of spotted owlets. Their life between night and day is totally different. They live without any fear at night as they are the rulers of the night. However in the daytime they have to face many problems from other birds like common mynas, Indian rollers and shikras trying occupy their home or hunt them. They even face human interference
Camera: Nikon D500, Nikon 200-500MM AF-S NIKKOR 200-500MM F/5.6E ED VR.

Video Highly Honored

Child Rearing of Amami rabbits
Amamioshima, Japan
By Futoshi Hamada
Kagoshima, Japan
Photographer's Website
Story: Amami rabbits are thought to have appeared on the earth about 6 million years ago and now only live on Amami, Oshima and Tokunoshima. I have been researching and photographing these rabbits for over 32 years. Female rabbits give birth to their young in a different hole in the ground than their own nest. The babies stay in the hole for about 40 days and only breast feed for about two minutes every two days during the night. After feeding the mother will cover the hole with mud to protect her babies from predators.
Camera: Canon XF100; XF 205; DJI Phantom 4.

Video Highly Honored

Hot Spot
Kannoura Bay, Kochi, Japan
By Norihiro Fukui
Kochi, Japan
Photographer's Website
Story: The breeding of the whitespotted bambooshark was discovered in 1999, when a local fisherman heard that sharks gathered in the spring. This was not at a diving point, but in a place called Ōura, in Kannoura Bay, Tōyō-chō, Kōchi Prefecture. When we dove under the water, we saw many sharks and eggs, and knew instantly that they were breeding. After years of observation, we managed to see them mating for the first time in 2010, and we later managed to observe them laying eggs and the eggs hatching as well. The sum of all these observations and photographs is this work: “Shark Paradise”. Whitespotted bamboosharks continue to breed here in Kannoura every year in order to leave descendants. We created this work in the hope that this important environment will remain forever, and hope that our work will reach future generations.
Camera: Canon EOS 7D; Sigma 8-16mm F4.5-5.6 DC HSM & Canon EF-S 60mm F2.8 macro USM