Moose

Michio Hoshino, Moose, (Hong Kong: Chronicle), 1988.


Hoshino - Moose
As is he case with his other books, Michio's pictures say it all. One of the things that has struck me about the photographs of Michio Hoshino is that he not only captures an image of an animal, but tells the story of its surroundings as well. In stark contrast to other wildlife photographers, he often chooses not to use the longest lens in his camera bag, to back off and show the immensity of the land in which his subjects dwell. But he is not a slave to a single pattern. Just when you think you understand how he captures an image, there is a deep close-up that tells another part of the story entirely.

Like his books about bears, whales and caribou, Moose is a study in a magnificent animal that demonstrates Hoshino's dedication and commitment to taking the time to know his subject well. Of course his subject was more than just one particular species of mammal. In reality his subject is Alaska. And no other photographer whose work I know has done a better job of showing the immensity and allure of the land.

This is a book to which I will return again and again as I ponder a place far from home that I long to visit one day.