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Indian bottlenose dolphin, Mikura Island, Tokyo, Japan
 

Our latest Photographer of the Week feature crosses the north Pacific Ocean to Japan, to check out the award-winning images of Daisuke Kurushima. Born in Nagano City in 1976, Daisuke grew up in a region that was completely landlocked and far from the ocean. After graduating from university, he eventually moved closer to the coast, where he took up scuba diving as a hobby to help relieve the stress of his day job—and the experience changed his life forever.

Diving quickly became an obsession, and it wasn’t long before he had picked up his first camera and was taking pictures of the underwater world. After landing winning images in several international photography contests, Daisuke decided it was time to take his new passion more seriously. He upgraded his equipment and set about learning everything he could about composition, lighting, and different photography techniques. The resulting portfolio of his time spent underwater in Japan is a collection of images that serves as a showcase for the marine life and scuba diving in the country. It features iconic animals and macro critters that will make even the most well-traveled diver sit up and take notice.

Dolphins, humpback whales, and giant ice shelves provide plenty of wide-angle subjects, alongside smaller critters such as clownfish, nudibranchs and colorful gobies for those who prefer to explore the intricacies of the seabed and the reef. He even includes photographs of salmon breeding in the rivers of Rausu, Hokkaido, and healthy kelp forests further south in Hayama, Kanagawa—two locations at complete opposite ends of the country that both provide something unique worth exploring. I have to admit that I didn't realize Japanese diving had so much to offer. I, for one, will be keeping an eye on Daisuke’s work until I get the opportunity to check out Japan’s fascinating waters for myself.
 

A pair of yellow prawn-gobies, Miyako Island, Okinawa, Japan
 

Bigeye trevally, Aguni Island, Okinawa, Japan
 

A school of jellyfish, NotoIsland, Ishikawa, Japan
 

A clownfish in bleached anemone, Miyako Island, Okinawa, Japan
 

Pink salmon returning to the river to breed, Rausu, Hokkaido, Japan
 

Underwater cave and diver, Miyako Island, Okinawa, Japan
 

Mother and calf humpback whales with escorting male, Okinawa, Japan
 

A school of powder blue surgeonfish, Maldives
 

Clione, Rausu, Hokkaido, Japan
 

Seaweed against the sky, Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan
 

Drift ice and diver, Rausu, Hokkaido, Japan
 

Manta ray, Maldives
 

Glowing bubbles and whale tail fins, Okinawa, Japan
 

Daisuke underwater selfie
 

To see more of Daisuke’s awesome images, check out his popular Instagram account and his website www.dkurashima-photo.com.