The Sony World Photography Awards is today to present underwater photographer Wu Yung-sen (吳永森) with this year’s Taiwan National Award for his image of migrating salmon, titled Intense.
Wu’s image “captures the incredible journey” of the Pacific salmon, “which come to the west coast of Canada from the distant sea every autumn, to return to their birthplace in the inland rivers,” award organizers Sony and the World Photography Organization said in a statement.
Describing his win as “the highest honor,” Wu told the Taipei Times that the winning image was taken at the Adams River in British Columbia, Canada.
Photo courtesy of Wu Yung-sen
Every four years, millions of salmon return to their birthplace in Adams River to spawn, in an event called a “salmon run.” For his winning image, Wu lay in the freezing waters of the river to photograph the salmon at close range.
Intense is an atypical piece of work for Wu, a travel consultant and keen diver who primarily photographs marine life in the oceans and seas.
He first started underwater photography out of a desire to showcase the beauty of the underwater world to others.
“Now that I have a daughter, it’s more in the hope that she will be able to understand what I do” when he dives and spends time in nature, Wu said.
After spawning in the river, adult salmon die. Their carcasses return nutrients to the environment, benefiting their own young and other wildlife, and the life cycle starts all over again for a new generation of salmon.
Increasingly, nature and wildlife photographers like Wu find themselves capturing moments in time and ways of life that are changing, and even disappearing, because of climate change.
“Due to the anomaly of extreme weather patterns, some animals are starting to show changes in their behavior,” Wu said, adding: “This is not good for the ecosystem as a whole.”
The National Awards aim to recognize and reward local photographic talent and are given out in 62 countries. Wu’s image was also shortlisted in the Natural World & Wildlife category of the awards’ Open competition.
As a National Award winner, Wu is to attend the Sony World Photography Awards in London and receive digital imaging equipment from Sony.
His winning image is to be on display at the awards exhibition in London from April 18 to May 6.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
RSS