The 2017 Kansai Photojournalism Awards were announced last week. Exceptional photojournalism and videography from this year was recognized in various categories like News and Sports. The Kansai Photojournalism Association, which is made up of 76 news organizations with offices in the Kansai region, presented the most coveted Association Award to 2 photographers at Sankei News for their coverage of fireworks festivals over the summer.
Kihoku Town (Mie) fireworks by Tetsuji Yamada
Photographers Tetsuji Yamada and Kotaro Hikono, from Sankei News, were recognized for their photographs of fireworks festivals captured from various vantage points. Between July and August, the two photographers traveled to fireworks festivals in Mie, Osaka, Shiga and Nara Prefectures where they captured fireworks lighting up the night sky from unconventional angles (like reflecting off a building, a plane taking off in the foreground and of a group of young women taking selfies).
Over 100 photographs and 10 videos will travel the Kansai region as part of an exhibition. You can see them at AEON Mall KYOTO (12/6 – 12/12), Santica Hall Kobe (12/14 – 12/19) and Hanshin-Umeda Department Store Osaka (12/20 – 12/26).
Naniwa Yodogawa Fireworks Festival in Osaka by Tetsuji Yamada
Echigawa Gion-Noryo Fireworks Festival (Shiga) by Tetsuji Yamada
Inagawa Fireworks Festival from Osaka International Airport by Kotaro Hikono
Handheld fireworks at Tatsuta Shrine’s (Nara) fireworks festival by Tetsuji Yamada
December 6, 2017 at 5:03 am
With all that’s going on in Japan right now (Abe’s intent to revise the constitution; the North Korea issue; ever-widening income disparity; the approaching end of the Heisei era etc., you know the drill), this is considered to be ‘photojournalism’?
Seriously?
December 6, 2017 at 10:28 am
What can I say – the Japanese sure love their fireworks!