BLOG - Blain Harasymiw

Hokkaido Winter Wildlife Photography: Capturing the Elusive Shima Enaga and Majestic Birds of Japan

FEB

20

2025

Hokkaido Winter Wildlife Photography: ...

Hokkaido is a premier destination for wildlife photography, drawing nature lovers and birders eager to witness the dramatic aerial battles ...

FEB

14

2025

Master Minimalist Landscape Photography ...

Field Report from our Hokkaido photo workshop leader! I am currently experiencing the serene beauty of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost ...

FEB

13

2025

Experience the Majesty of Steller's Sea ...

Field Report from our Hokkaido Photography Tour Leader! I am currently leading an unforgettable birding photography workshop in Hokkaido, Japan, ...

FEB

12

2025

Celebrating the Ainu

I am now in Hokkaido, leading my annual winter photo tour. Participants and I joined an unforgettable journey into the culture and traditions of ...

FEB

11

2025

Explore Hokkaido’s Wonders - Grus ...

Field Report from Our Hokkaido Photo Workshop Leader! Yesterday, my Hokkaido photography workshop participants and I took an extraordinary ...

FEB

03

2025

Discover Hokkaido Japan

Field Report from our Hokkaido Photo Workshop Leader I am currently leading my annual Hokkaido Photography ttours, which take place from January ...

JAN

21

2025

Discover the Rich Heritage of the Ainu ...

The Ainu people hold a vital place in Japan’s history, embodying a rich cultural heritage that predates and spans the Heian Period (794 - ...

JAN

01

2025

Discover the Magic of Hokkaido: Unveil ...

Hokkaido, Japan’s enchanting northern island, offers a rich tapestry of cultural heritage and stunning natural beauty. Our 2026 Hokkaido ...

DEC

22

2024

The Ezo Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes ...

The Ezo Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes schrencki) is a captivating subspecies of red fox that thrives in Hokkaido, Japan. This stunning creature is a ...

DEC

20

2024

Discover Ainu Culture in Hokkaido: ...

The Ainu, Indigenous people of Japan, have a rich cultural heritage deeply tied to the natural world. After years of struggle to preserve their ...

DEC

18

2024

Hokkaido Birding & Wildlife Photo ...

During the latest Hokkaido Photo Tour, the team at JDS Photography Workshops captured a striking harmony between Hokkaido’s breathtaking winter ...

DEC

17

2024

Discover Hokkaido’s Winter Wonderland: ...

Experience the Magic of Hokkaido’s Shima Enaga on Our Exclusive 2026 Birding Tours! Hokkaido, Japan, is one of the most magical winter ...

DEC

15

2024

Hokkaido Photography Workshops: Capture ...

The Haliaeetus pelagicus (Steller’s sea eagle) is the undisputed champion of raptors, a glacial relic that has survived multiple ice ages. ...

DEC

13

2024

Discover Hokkaido's Winter Wonders: ...

While organizing and cataloging photos from a recent Hokkaido Photo Tour, the JDS workshop leaders noticed something extraordinary. On ...

NOV

02

2024

Hokkaido Photography Tour - Birding In ...

While leading participants on my annual Hokkaido photography tour, our workshop leaders and clients spot and photograph various different ...

OCT

18

2024

Hokkaido Photography Tour

While the Japan Dreamscapes workshop leaders take care of the annual Hokkaido photography tour, they can indulge in two of their favorite ...

SEP

27

2024

Akan National Park Hokkaido Japan - ...

Hokkaido is a haven for wildlife and nature lovers such as our entire team, plus one of our Japan photo workshop leaders has a summer cottage in ...

SEP

20

2024

Hokkaido Photo Tours - Red-Crowned ...

The annual Japan Dreamscapes Hokkaido Photo Workshop means another opportunity to spot and photograph Red-crowned cranes (Grus japonensis), one ...

SEP

16

2024

Hokkaido Red Foxes - Hokkaido Photo ...

The annual JDS Hokkaido photography tours include numerous opportunities to spot and photograph wildlife such as the Ezo Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes ...

SEP

12

2024

Akan National Park Hokkaido, Japan - ...

Hokkaido is a haven for wildlife and nature lovers such as all of our Japan Dreamscapes photography workshop leaders, and one of them has a summer ...

AUG

30

2024

Hokkaido Photography Workshops - ...

Having led Hokkaido Photography Tours for over 25 years, our workshop leaders understand the huge responsibility associated with leading visiting ...

AUG

26

2024

Two Ice Age Relic Raptors - The ...

During the annual Japan Dreamscapes Hokkaido birding photography workshop tour, our workshop leaders find themselves in awe each year when ...

AUG

21

2024

Hokkaido Birds of Prey - Hokkaido ...

Our photo workshop leaders always look forward to leading the annual JDS Hokkaido photography tour. The main JDS Hokkaido tour includes ...

AUG

07

2024

Lake Akan - Birding photography

The woods surrounding Lake Akanko and everywhere our workshop leaders take participants on the annual JDS Hokkaido photography tours are a ...

AUG

06

2024

Forest Bathing - Hokkaido Photography ...

A Hokkaido photography workshop means exploring off the beaten path locations and seeing amazing wildlife, but it’s also an opportunity to ...

AUG

05

2024

Japan's Ecological Lines - Hokkaido ...

Having explored a vast majority of Japan while scouting or leading Japan photography workshop tours, and when colleagues or friends ask our main ...

AUG

04

2024

Akan National Park Hokkaido, Japan - ...

Hokkaido is a haven for wildlife and nature lovers such as our JDS workshop leaders, and one of our leaders has a summer cottage in Hokkaido where he ...

AUG

02

2024

Red-crowned cranes - Ainu Totem Poles

One of our JDS Hokkaido photography workshop tour leaders traces his upbringing back to the Cree Nations Community in Northern Canada and ...

JUL

30

2024

Tracking The Hunting Raptor

During the annual JapanDreamscapes Hokkaido bird watching photography workshop tour, spotting and photographing the Steller's Sea Eagles ...

JUL

02

2024

Japan Onsen Hot Springs - Japan Photo ...

Natural mineral hot springs (onsens) are not hard to find in Japan. We have countless ryokans (Traditional Japanese Inns), hotels, and resort ...

JUL

01

2024

Hokkaido Photo Workshops

Hokkaido Wildlife Birding Photography Tours always provide participants with hundreds of amazing up close and personal encounters with rare bird ...

JUN

23

2024

Hokkaido Birding Photography Workshop ...

Participants who join me for my annual Hokkaido photo tours benefit from the more than 25 years of experience that I have leading adventures and ...

MAY

22

2024

The Hokkaido Pony (Do-San-Ko) - ...

The Hokkaido Pony (Do-San-Ko) (Equus caballus) is an old breed, a tough horse that have lived in Hokkaido for hundreds of years, and they ...

MAR

26

2024

Snow Fairies Birding

The Shima Enaga (Aegithalos caudatus japonicus) are super sweetheart birds, my beloved bonny birds. These adorable birds appear like little ...

MAR

10

2024

Hokkaido Birding Photo Tour White-naped ...

During my annual 2024 February Hokkaido photography tour, I photographed evidence that not only visiting raptors like the Steller’s Sea Eagle ...

MAR

01

2024

Hokkaido Wildlife Photography Private ...

About a week ago I completed my annual Hokkaido Group Photography Workshop Tour, and then my team and me took a few days rest in Central ...

FEB

28

2024

Hokkaido Photo Workshop-Tour - ...

I am currently leading my annual Hokkaido birding photo tour on this chapter of our Hokkaido expedition. We are spotting and photographing the ...

FEB

28

2024

The Red-Crowned Cranes - Hokkaido’s ...

Today and for the next couple of days, my annual Hokkaido birding photo workshop will take place in the Kushiro Wetlands photographing Red-Crowned ...

FEB

15

2024

Hokkaido Photography Tour Wildlife and ...

Since our main workshop leader is a professional photographer with over twenty-five years of experience leading Hokkaido photo tours, and Japan photo ...

FEB

14

2024

An All-Inclusive Hokkaido Photography ...

Starting in 2025, JDS will run a Hokkaido-only Birding & landscape Photography tour workshop, February 1-9, 2025. Of course, we will ...

FEB

12

2024

Hokkaido Photography Tour - Hokkaido’s ...

The Steller’ sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) is a glacial relic that has survived several ice ages, somehow immune to the passage of ...

JAN

10

2024

Hokkaido Photo Tour - Steller’s Sea ...

My annual Hokkaido wildlife birding photo tour is a little more than a month away, and I’ve been spending all the time I can planning for the ...

NOV

03

2023

Hokkaido Photo Tour Miniature Flying ...

Proving the saying ‘Good things come in small packages’ is a sighting of a Shima Enaga during my annual Hokkaido birding photography ...

OCT

31

2023

Hokkaido Photo Tour - Pack Ice ...

Pack ice is a mainstay for my annual Hokkaido Photography tour as the, Steller's Sea Eagles (Haliaeetus pelagicus), use the pack-ice as a platform ...

JUL

14

2023

Steller’s Sea Eagles and White-tailed ...

My favorite Japan birding tours to lead is my annual Winter Hokkaido Photography tours, offered annually in January, February and March. Of ...

JUL

05

2023

First Nations People of Japan - ...

Visiting the First Nations people of Japan the Ainu is always a part of my annual Hokkaido Photo workshop tour. (99.999% of Japanese do not ...

JUN

24

2023

Hokkaido Birding in Winter

Hokkaido birding in winter in the unspoiled Shiretoko National Park is amazing and humbling at the same time, leading international photographers ...

JUN

15

2023

Mountains and Wildlife - Hokkaido Photo ...

Traveling through the Shiretoko Peninsula on a Hokkaido photo tour that I am leading, in any season is spectacular in no small part due to the amount ...

JUN

08

2023

Steller’s Sea Eagles - Hokkaido Photo ...

When mid winter arrives in the Northern Hemisphere, that means it’s time for my annual Hokkaido Birding Photo Tour expedition photo workshop, ...

MAY

23

2023

Red-crowned Cranes (Grus japonensis) ...

The Red-crowned cranes (Grus japonensis) on my annual Hokkaido photo workshop are represented in two main flocks. The first live in China ...

APR

14

2023

Blakiston’s Fish Owls - Members of ...

Blakiston’s Fish Owls (Ketupa blakistoni) are a treasured sighting on my annual Hokkaido photography workshop tour. Hokkaido abounds with ...

APR

11

2023

Steller’s Sea Eagles (Haliaeetus ...

Among the numerous raptors, birds, and other wildlife I spot and photograph during my Hokkaido Wildlife Birding photo workshop tour is the annual ...

APR

02

2023

Hokkaido Photo Tour 2024 - The Ainu ...

I always introduce The First Nations People of Japan, The Ainu, to my participants during my annual Hokkaido Photo Tours. Their scared beliefs ...

MAR

28

2023

Lacebark Pine (Pinus bungeana) Hokkaido ...

Photographing on my annual Hokkaido photo tour, or any of my Japan workshop tours means chasing the light with camera in hand daily, and believe me, ...

MAR

13

2023

Hokkaido Photo Tours - Blakiston’s Fish ...

Another Field Report from JDS's Main Hokkaido Photo Workshop Leader! During my annual Hokkaido birding wildlife workshop tours, I usually visit ...

MAR

08

2023

Hokkaido Photo Tour Minimalist ...

Minimalisms landscape photography is an all-time favorite theme of mine. And one of the best spots on our planet to successfully conduct this theme ...

MAR

07

2023

Steller’s Sea Eagle Aerial Warfare

When I find myself among one of the largest diurnal birds of prey in the world, I know I’m in raptor country leading my annual Hokkaido, Mt. ...

MAR

05

2023

Hokkaido Cherry Blossom Photo Tour - ...

Scouting and exploring the Tohoku region for the upcoming JDS Hokkaido Cherry Blossom Photo Tour has led our photo workshop leaders into Akita. ...

MAR

01

2023

The Red-Crowned Cranes - Wow! Get ...

I will spend the next few blue and golden hours in the Kushiro Wetlands leading my annual Hokkaido Birding Wildlife workshop tour photographing ...

FEB

26

2023

Hokkaido Wildlife Photo Workshop Tour - ...

I am currently leading my annual Hokkaido photo workshop which includes Mt. Fuji, Snow Monkey park, investigating the World of the Samurai, and ...

FEB

21

2023

Hokkaido Photo Tour - Today at Mt. Fuji

I am currently at Mt. Fuji leading my annual Mt. Fuji, Snow Monkey, World of the Samurai, and Hokkaido Wildlife Birding Landscape Photography ...

FEB

12

2023

Hokkaido Birding Photo Workshops - ...

Being in Hokkaido for my annual Hokkaido birding wildlife photo workshop tour means spotting and photographing The White-tailed ...

JAN

22

2023

Happy Shimaenaga Day❤️

January 20th is the coldest day in winter, and the Japan Anniversary Association set this day Shima Enaga day, due to these fluffy adorable cotton ...

JAN

05

2023

Hokkaido Photo Workshops - Steller’s ...

Steller's sea eagles (Haliaeetus pelagicus) are known to be the most powerful and aggressive of their closest relatives, the bald eagle (Haliaeetus ...

DEC

28

2022

Hokkaido Birding Photo Tour - Steller’s ...

I have been leading Hokkaido birding photo workshop tours for more than two decades, plus I keep a cottage in the region, and I am a Hokkaido ...

DEC

13

2022

Hokkaido Photo Workshop Tour - ...

Having more then 35 years experience as a pro photographer, and in that time I have spent more than two decades living and photographing on ...

DEC

02

2022

Steller’s Sea Eagles - Hokkaido Photo ...

The Steller’s Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) is the heaviest and one of the most fierce raptors on our planet, one that I spot and photograph ...

NOV

28

2022

Hokkaido, Japan’s Endemic Raptor - The ...

The White-Tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) is also known as the White-tailed sea eagle, Gray eagle, and Eurasian sea eagle is one raptor of many I ...

OCT

13

2022

Hokkaido Photo tour - Autumn in ...

Our workshop leader enjoys Hokkaido Photo Workshop tours in all seasons. Hokkaido in Autumn is spectacular, especially during the first ...

OCT

09

2022

Hokkaido Photo Tour Workshop - ...

My annual Hokkaido birding tour always includes Steller's Sea Eagles Haliaeetus pelagicus), which can be spotted and photographed from Rausu to ...

SEP

30

2022

Hokkaido Tour - Japan Photography ...

Currently, I am on Japan most Northern Island leading a private Hokkaido Autumn photography workshop. In the coming days we will visit the ...

AUG

23

2022

Prehistoric Raptors - Haast’s Eagle ...

The Steller's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), is one of the largest and most fierce diurnal birds on Earth; and they are the main reason why my ...

AUG

13

2022

The Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) ...

The Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), (Japanese カラス), is specific to Southeast Asia, and most prevalent in Japan. During my annual ...

MAY

13

2022

My Japanese Stone Garden - An ...

One of my many hobbies is collecting stones, and I have been a rockhound since I was about six years old. I especially enjoy collecting turquoise, ...

MAY

06

2022

Shiretoko National Park - Kazu I Tour ...

Shiretoko National Park UNESCO World Heritage Site, (知床国立公園, Shiretoko Kokuritsu Kōen), Shiretoko is known by the First Nations people of Japan, the ...

APR

16

2022

The Challenge of Zen Minimalist ...

During my annual Hokkaido Minimalist Wildlife Photography Workshop Tour, the weather always plays a huge factor. I have experienced snowstorms, ...

MAR

31

2022

Steller's Sea Eagles Pack Ice still in ...

Pack ice is a mainstay for my annual Hokkaido Photography workshops because some of the fiercest diurnal predators on the earth, Steller's Sea Eagles ...

MAR

01

2022

Hokkaido Birding Photo Workshops - ...

C. c. Kamtschaticus, the Kamchatkan Raven, and Common Ravens (Corvus Corax) are often overlooked, but they are one of the most intelligent wildlife ...

FEB

07

2022

Hokkaido Photo Tour - The Always ...

As many professional photographers will tell you, it’s the small details that sometimes have the largest impact, and one of those small, ...

JAN

31

2022

Rustic Bunting - Hokkaido Photo Tour

The Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica) is a passerine bird in the bunting family; their appearance is similar to the Chipping sparrow. ...

JAN

29

2022

Hokkaido Photo Tour Steller's Sea Eagle ...

One Steller’s Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) has spent almost an entire year hunting far, far from home. One Steller’s Sea Eagle ...

JAN

20

2022

Hokkaido Birding Photography Tour - ...

Hokkaido’s Red-crowned cranes, often called snow ballerinas or tancho in Japanese, that I photograph during my annual Hokkaido birding photo ...

JAN

14

2022

Hokkaido Photo Tours - Hokkaido’s ...

The White-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) is one of dozens of birds that participants spot and photograph when they join my annual ...

JAN

09

2022

Hokkaido Photo Tour - Choose Your Own ...

While leading my annual Hokkaido wildlife photo workshop expedition, my exceptions and safety precautions are paramount, and I have a checklist with ...

JAN

04

2022

Hokkaido Photo Tour’s Crimson Hunters - ...

Hokkaido is a wildlife photography paradise, and around this time each year, I begin triple-checking all my camera equipment in preparation for my ...

DEC

19

2021

Hokkaido Red Tides & Unintended ...

The worst Red Tide in recorded history struck Hokkaido this autumn. Its shockwaves especially for the fishing industry, which lost over 17 ...

NOV

28

2021

Hokkaido Bird Watching Photo Workshops ...

A stunning bird to photograph in the snow is the Shima Enaga (Parus caudatus), one of the dozens of birds I look forward to photographing on my ...

NOV

24

2021

Steller's Sea Eagle Birding Hokkaido, ...

A fellow photographer friend of the family and colleague who often assists me on my annual Hokkaido photo tours called to say hello and that she was ...

OCT

21

2021

Hokkaido Bird Watching Photography ...

Hokkaido wildlife tours and Japan photography workshops are a birding and nature lover’s paradise. Sometimes, the smaller wildlife somehow gets ...

OCT

19

2021

Shima Enaga Hokkaido Photography Tour ...

One of the locations in Japan I call home is Hokkaido, and I love to visit as often as I can, especially for my annual Hokkaido photo tour that ...

OCT

14

2021

Hokkaido Photography Tour VS Niigata ...

During a balmy afternoon at my 100-year-old kominka in Niigata last week, I heard the unmistakable call of a flock of Whooper Swans as they flew over ...

OCT

09

2021

Sweet Adorable Little Puffballs - ...

My annual Hokkaido Photo Tour Birding Adventure Workshop features many of Hokkaido’s breathtaking airborne wildlife such as Steller’s Sea ...

OCT

01

2021

Migratory and Sub Regional Endemic ...

I count myself as fortunate that I can enjoy photographing Red-Crowned Cranes during my annual Hokkaido photo tour Wildlife Bird-spotting Expedition. ...

SEP

21

2021

Preserving the Dance of The Red-Crowned ...

When I explain to visiting photographers about the Red-Crowned Cranes (Grus japonensis), which are just one of the dozens of wildlife species we ...

SEP

07

2021

Steller's Sea Eagle Hokkaido Birding ...

Steller’s Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) is one of the most fierce diurnal birds on Earth, one I photograph while they hunt on the pack ...

AUG

06

2021

Hokkaido Minimalist Photography - ...

Leading my annual Hokkaido Wildlife Minimalist Photo Adventure allows to focus on so many different themes within the category of visual arts. ...

JUL

30

2021

Prelude to Blain Harasymiw's 2nd Photo ...

I opened my discussion where I left off from the last photo conversation with John Cornicello at the Japanese Ryokan that inspired Hayao Miyazaki to ...