Student Named Finalist in Wildlife Photography Contest

When a storm washed out his Halloween plans last year, Sora Miyazawa '30 decided to eschew the ghosts and goblins and went looking for a different creature of the night. When he came upon his quarry, the mysterious eastern Japanese toad, perched on a sewer grate near his Tokyo home, he knew he had to capture the moment. 

But the intrepid wildlife watcher-turned-photographer, now in his first year at NMH, could scarcely have imagined the reception his candid shot would receive.

Miyazawa's photo, titled "Urban Wanderer," was recently announced as a finalist in the 11- to 14-year-old category of the British Natural History Museum's 2026 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. The image was released as part of a "highly commended" sneak peek of this year's finalists in August.

The winners of the competition will be announced on Oct. 13 at an awards ceremony at Britain's Natural History Museum, where they will go on display beginning Oct. 16.

While little is known about how the eastern Japanese toad manages to thrive in a metropolis of 14 million people, Miyazawa said the hardy amphibian was a common sight when he was growing up.

"In the summer seasons, when it's rainy at night, these toads would just come out onto the street and onto the steps to my apartment," Miyazawa said. "It's really in the middle of the city; there's one small pond right behind my house, a tiny green space where I see tadpoles every year."

To capture the striking portrait of the toad, Miyazawa engaged in a little urban wandering himself. "I had initially planned to go trick or treating, [but] the rainy conditions prevented me from doing so,” he recalled. “Instead, I went out to the streets in front of my house, as the eastern Japanese toads often come out onto the wet pavement during rainy nights. When I spotted it, I tried a couple different angles and then noticed the Tokyo Tower in the background. It ended up working really well."

Miyazawa's evolution into an award-winning photographer has been a singular journey. After receiving a Nikon DSLR camera kit from his grandfather, he began snapping photos of "everything I saw." 

A birding class in middle school inspired Miyazawa to turn his lens toward the natural world. "I just started taking photos," he said. "I didn't care about the composition, lighting. I didn't know about any of those things."

To refine his technical skills, Miyazawa began working with friends at school and corresponding with professional photographers online. He also meticulously researched photo competitions to see where his work might find a receptive audience. Those efforts paid off last year, when he was named a finalist in the 2025 Crikey! Magazine Photography Competition, hosted by the Australia Zoo and the family of the late conservationist Steve Irwin.

Miyazawa's passion for conservation also led him to NMH, where the school's bucolic landscape and robust sustainability program seemed a perfect match for his interests. In addition to studying sustainability, he looks forward to taking formal photography classes to further develop his skills. In the meantime, he hopes his photographic work will help to shed light on the many ways humanity and the natural world are entwined.

"There is wildlife in so many places that most people don't even realize is there," said Miyazawa. "My biggest motivation for doing wildlife photography is to promote conservation and to let people know these animals are here, they exist, and they need help."

— Max Hunt

Photos courtesy of Sora Miyazawa '30.