JAPANESE photographer and forestry expert Shingo Onishi gave a presentation last month of his photos of ecotourism sites in Myanmar.

The event – titled “Myanmar nature through the camera lens” – was held on January 31 at Yuzana Hotel in Yangon, under the arrangement of the Union of Myanmar Travel Association (UMTA).

“These photos were taken during my many visits to Myanmar,” Mr Onishi said at the presentation. “I’m very impressed that Myanmar has such a wide variety of resources for ecotourism that are untouched by tourists.”

He said he comes to Myanmar at least twice a year, travelling around the country at his own expense and taking photographs of natural places.

U Aung Din, the joint secretary of UMTA, pointed out at the presentation that Mr Onishi is also a forestry expert who first came to Myanmar in 1991 under a program sponsored by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

“When he worked at Hmawbi, he visited nearby forests and took photos of rare species of birds, butterflies and trees, as well as the lifestyles of local people,” U Aung Din said.

Highlights of Mr Onishi’s work included shots of elephants in the Rakhine Yoma; taung zalat trees in the hills of Chin State; lotuses in Moeyinggyi Bird Sanctuary, Bago Division; crocodiles in Meinmahla Kyun in the Ayeyarwady delta; Ayeyarwady dolphins in the river north of Mandalay; catfish in Kachin State; and rare star tortoises in the Chindwin River of Sagaing Division.