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Award-winning photographer Masa
Ushioda was born and raised in Japan. He emerged on the scene
as a prominent young talent among the new generation of professional
marine wildlife photographers. He has become one of the few
leading wildlife photographers in the world who employs the
highest shooting skills, as well as extensive knowledge of
animals and cutting-edge digital technology in photography.
Having grown up by a river in a suburb of Tokyo, he had
an enormous interest in aquatic life. His enthusiasm toward
aquatic animals continued, and as he grew up, his playground
naturally expanded to the more diverse, fascinating world
of the ocean. When he learned scuba diving during his freshman
year at Waseda University in Tokyo, he purchased his first
underwater camera and started his career as a marine wildlife
photographer.
After graduating from Waseda University in Tokyo, he decided
to pursue his interest in photography. He attended the University
of Miami, majoring in Fine Art Photography. At the university,
he spent days and nights in the dark room, and by his senior
year, he had established his own unique and innovative printmaking
process combining historic printmaking processes such as
Cyanotype and Gumbichromate printings and the latest digital
technology of that time. During his free time, he made countless
dives in the Florida Keys and Bahamas to capture beautiful
underwater scenes for his art. After successful underwater
photo exhibitions, he earned his BFA in Photography.
Following graduation, he joined Doug
Perrine's SeaPics.com (formerly known as Innerspace Visions) in Miami, Florida
as a computer specialist as well as a contributing photographer.
In summer of 1997, the company was relocated to the Big Island
of Hawaii. At SeaPics.com he became the primary picture editor
for incoming photographers’ submissions and outgoing submissions.
He has been in charge of the computer network, cataloguing,
digital imaging, and designing and developing the web site.
Photo by David B. Fleetham |
In September of 2003, Susan
Dabritz took over the company.
Masa remained with the company and continued to be one of
the major contributing marine wildlife photographers to the
stock photo library.
Ever since he moved to Kona, he has been fascinated by Hawaiian
wildlife, particularly large marine animals such as whales,
dolphins, sharks, and other large pelagic fish. He spends
most of his time photographing them as well as fishing for
marlin, mahi mahi, and tuna for "sushi & sashimi" at
his dinner table.
His beautiful photographs appear in numerous advertisements,
magazines, books, calendars and other graphic products, and
they are also exhibited in many museums and aquariums worldwide.
Recently he won awards in the BG Wildlife Photographer of
the Year photo contest in the UK and in the Nature's Best & Cemex
International Photo Contest. His award winning photos were
exhibited in the Natural History Museum in London and in
the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington
D.C.
In February of 2007, Masa published his first portfolio
book, Art
Of The Ocean Volume I, which features his very best marine
wildlife pictures taken between 1997 through 2006. This book
invites you to the ocean realm with up-close encounters with
such large marine animals as humpback whales, dolphins and
large sharks. |
