Summer Night Fairies

• Prize
  Gold in Nature/Seasons
• Photographer
  Kazuaki Koseki
• Agency / Studio
  Photostudio Koseki

"Himebotaru", which is an indigenous firefly species of Japan, fly around the summer forest while repeating short blinks—reminiscent of Christmas illuminations. The females cannot fly, only the males. The sight is fantastic enough to forget the awe of the night forest . It is the brightness of life for only ten days of the summer. Forests are living things. They are a precious existence that people should not threaten. I just hope that this forest and its fireflies will be protected.

Born in 1977 in Yamagata prefecture,Japan. Kazuaki Koseki was born into a family photo studio business, of which he is the eldest son. With photos forming a familiar part of his life since early childhood, Koseki now conducts his private photographic work while running the studio he has since taken over. Mountains. Forests. Rivers. Koseki forges his way into the wilderness of Yamagata and Tohoku region throughout the four seasons, and has dedicated himself to capturing the natural majesty of the area in many of his works, including in his landmark series Summer Faeries.