One of my favorite recent additions to the 200 or so photographers I keep up with on Flickr is the work of Kyoto-based Kiyoshi Ookawa who has been capturing these wonderfully intimate portraits of snow monkeys. The monkeys live in a sanctuary at the Jigokudani Monkey Park which is at an elevation of 850 meters (2,788 feet) meaning that the ground is covered in snow for a third of the year. The monkeys congregate at a hot springs in the facility and if you’re lucky you might even catch them on their live webcam (no monkeys at press time).
