by glen on December 21, 2010
As a photographer one aspect that is sometimes easy to forget in all the excitement of setting up and planning shoots is the risk that skiers and snowboarders take in the pursuit of a great shot.
Last Sunday in association with NSA a group of local photographers and guides went through a couple of safety drills to learn how best to assist in the event of an accident.
The first drill looked at how to immobilize and split a broken wrist, the second a broken leg and the 3rd a spinal injury.
It was really good to review all of this and know that in the event of a accident the guys at Niseko Snowmobile Adventures are prepared for all eventualities.
In an exciting development this season I will be offering back country cat skiing tours! These trips will be whole day adventures offering a unique chance to see rarely scene aspects of the local Hirafu area and ride some fresh deep powder with just a few friends ALL DAY. More details will be available soon so stay tuned.
For Snowmobile inquiries visit Niseko Snowmobile Adventures
Tagged as:
hiking,
Hirafu,
Hokkaido,
Japan,
Kutchan,
niseko,
panorama,
people,
Photography,
skiing,
snowboarding,
winter
by glen on November 29, 2010
With the return of snow in the village today I thought it a good time to point out something that I really like about the build up to winter – checking out Yukigakoi.
Yukigakoi describes the splinted supports set up around small and manicured trees to protect them from the relentless winter snow. All pics taken last week – will check on these spots again later in the season to see how the Yukigakoi hold up.
Tagged as:
Autumn,
cultural,
Hirafu,
Kutchan,
niseko,
Photography
by glen on September 27, 2010
Autumn only means one thing to the Hirafu Football Club – The Shiribeshi Autumn Soccer Tournament.
Shiribeshi is the name of the region Hirafu is part of – which also includes Kutchan, Rankoshi, Niseko Town, Rusutsu and others.
As defending champions the title was on the line but HFC never looked in doubt, stamped their authority over proceedings and cantered into the final.
The final saw HFC up against old sparring partners Kyogoku. In a repeat of last years final it again came down to a penalty shootout.
HFC held their nerve and came though with the win – CHAMPS
To view a larger selection of shots please visit this gallery.
Tagged as:
cultural,
Hirafu,
Hokkaido,
Japan,
Kutchan,
niseko,
people,
Photography,
soccer
by glen on September 21, 2010
The dust has just settled on Niseko Cycle Week for 2010 and my recovery will be a long one. Lots of people worked really hard to make this event the success and to everyone involved, nice one !
3 years running and it looks like Niseko Cycle Week is here to stay. For the last 3 years of NCW I’ve only really photographed the events, but this year I participated in most of them.
Last Saturday during the final weekend of NCW the TOUR DE HOKKAIDO juggernaut rolled into town ran a stage which started and finished in Hirafu.
I have only recently got into cycling, mainly mountain biking, but road cycling is completely different – lycra and grueling 100km + races are the norm where as I basically cruise along old back roads on my mountain bike looking for something cool to photograph.
Anyway the big boys set off at 9:30 and it was amazing to watch the pro’s and their teams in action – their race was a 186 km !
NCW held the Niseko Mountain Tour at 11:00 which was a 45 km loop around Mt Annupuri.
Hirafu > Hanazono > Goshiki > Annupuri > Higashiyama > Hirafu. I struggled.
If you would like to subject yourself to 552 unedited shots from the NCW event you can view them in this gallery.
All of the shots are sequential if you are looking for a particular event. Prints and digital copies are available – please contact me at glen@studio343.jp if you are interested. Hmm lycra……
Tagged as:
cycling,
hanazono,
Hirafu,
Hokkaido,
Japan,
Kutchan,
mtb,
niseko,
panorama,
people,
Photography
by glen on September 13, 2010
