When the orangutan baby came under the protection of the
Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center, it was already
motherless. Perhaps it had strayed, or perhaps its mother was
killed by humans. In either case, it has almost no chance of ever
seeing its mother again. I entered the cage house, faced the
protected orphans, and quietly pointed the camera. Perhaps
because they were frightened of me, a new person they hadn’t
seen before, they all huddled together at the back wall. One
turned a vigilant eye toward me and the other looked down with
frightened eyes. A staff member explained that there are some
orphans with deep trauma, perhaps because they witnessed the
deaths of their own mothers. This resembles a human child. But
outside of the cage, deforestation continues even today. The
number of orphans will probably continue to rise, as the clash
between civilization and the wild continues.
Yosuke Kashiwakura (b. 1978, currently living in Japan.) . He was awarded National Geographic Photo Contest/Nature Category-Honorable Mention, Px3 Paris Photography Prize/Nature Wildlife 1st Place Winner, Px3 Paris Photography Prize/Nature Earth 1st Place Winner, Monochrome Photography Awards/1st Place Winner - Landscape Photographer of the Year, People 3rd Place Winner, LensCulture Earth Awards 2015/Single Image Category 2nd Place, Nature’s Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards, International Photography Awards. His work went on to be displayed in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, COP21–PARIS 2015 Photography Exhibition. His photographs depict natural scenery, the confrontation between human and nature, and environmental problems. He is active in a wide variety of media, including magazines, various publications, and advertisements.
Awards Works illustrate the relationship between human society and animals, such as his photograph of a crow's nest constructed from wire hangers in Tokyo, which was exhibited among other environmentally themed works at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21). Other works include a series documenting the rehabilitation of orangutans living in an area where civilization and the wild are at odds. He recently accompanied the adventurer Yasunaga Ogita and a group of young people on their 600 km Arctic expedition, documenting the trip on film. Photos from this trip were later published by media outlets including National Geographic and NHK. His work covers a broad range of topics, including natural landscapes, confrontations between humans and the environment, and environmental conservation. They have been exhibited at locations such as the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and the C40 Mayors Summit; and have appeared in domestic and international publications including Deutsches Museum, the Natural History Museum in London, and LensCulture magazine. Notable awards include: Monochrome Photography Awards - Landscape Photographer of the Year Paris Photography Prize, PX3 - 1st place winner in both Nature/Wildlife and Nature/Earth categories LensCulture Earth Awards - Single Image Category, 2nd place National Geographic Photo Contest - Nature Category.
