Michio Hoshino

Michio Hoshino (星野 道夫, Hoshino Michio^?, September 27, 1952 - August 8, 1996) was a famous Japanese-born nature photographer. He originally hailed from Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture.^[1]

Called one of the most accomplished nature photographers of his era ^[2] and compared to Ansel Adams,^[3] Hoshino specialized in photographing Alaskan wildlife until he was killed by a brown bear while on assignment in Kurilskoye Lake, Russia in 1996.^[4]

Lynn Schooler's book The Blue Bear relates the story of the author's friendship with Hoshino, a man he admired greatly for his skill as a photographer and his humanity. Schooler is a wilderness guide who became a photographer in his own right under Hoshino's tutelage.^[5] Another book, The Only Kayak by Kim Heacox, describes Hoshino's journeys to Glacier Bay as well as his own close personal friendship with Hoshino.

A memorial totem pole was raised in Sitka Alaska, on August 8, 2008 the month and day Michio Hoshino was killed, in honor of his work. Relatives and witnesses from Japan, including his widow, attended the ceremony.^[2]

Hoshino's wife and son survive him.^[4]

Hoshino's photographs

• Grizzly. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1987. ISBN 0877014310.
• The Grizzly Bear Family Book. North-South Books, 1997. ISBN 1558587012. For young readers.
• Hoshino's Alaska. San Francisco: Chronicle, 2007. ISBN 978-0811856515.
• Moose. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1988. Hardback ISBN 0877015031. Paperback ISBN 0877014949.

Further reading

• Schooler, Lynn. The Blue Bear. New York: Harper Collins, 2002. ISBN 0060935731. New York: Ecco, 2002. ISBN 0066210852.
• Heacox, Kim. The Only Kayak. Giulford, CT: The Lyons Press, 2005. ISBN 1592287158

References

1. ^ http://www.michio-hoshino.com/profil.html
2. ^ ^{a b} "Totem pole to honor photographer Michio Hoshino". Raven Radio News, Andi McDaniel. 2008-08-01.
3. ^ Kantner, Seth. Shopping for Porcupine, p. 120. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Milkweed, 2008.
4. ^ ^{a b} "Michio Hoshino Dies While Filming Bears", The New York Times, September 22, 1996, accessed January 12, 2011.
5. ^ Schooler, Lynn. The Blue Bear. New York: Ecco, 2002.

External links

• (Japanese) Hoshino's site
• Coming Home: The Photographs of Michio Hoshino
• Michio Hoshino Photo Gallery - by AnimalsandEarth

Interviews

• Interview with Lynn Schooler about The Blue Bear
• Gaia Symphony Documentary series (Japanese production).

Persondata
Name	Hoshino, Michio
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1952
Place of birth
Date of death	1996
Place of death