The annual Cherry Salmon Run at Kiyosato River in Hokkaido . An event not to be missed. The fortitude and determination of returning salmon to spawn at their birthplace never fail to inspire me. This was my 1st time in capturing it and it was truly a challenging but fun experience. I don't believe in using slightly wide angle lens to capture the erratic and unpredictable paths of the salmon as they launch themselves upstream and then crop the picture in post process. The start of the salmon run season also complicated matter, there were fewer and lesser salmon, so getting them in crisp and sharp with bokeh using long lenses ( I used the Canon EF300mm F4L IS) was all the more difficult. But I observed the mannerism of the salmon how they adapt to the surging water currents and managed to increased my keeper rate. Truly an unforgettable moment.