Haneda Airport Six Thirty AM
As an Engineer, I appreciate the work that went into the design and build of Haneda Airport Terminal Building 1.
As a Photographer, I observe the high windows that let the warm dawn sun flood in, creating a colour symetry against the blue sky.
As a traveller, I enjoy the space, peace efficiency of a well run airport, and wonder how many people look up to see what I can see.2017AirportArchitectureBuildingHanedaJapanSkySmugMugStructureYellowblueroofsunterminal
Gabe's Garage
Gabe is the excellent host at Villa Nozawa. He's a Swiss skier and a new dad . He's occassionally spotted on this roof, shoveling snow. When you live in a village that regulairly gets over 4m of snow in one season, keeping the weight of buildings is very important. The excess snow is dumped in the nearest stream of which there are many. The hot springs that feed them ensure they never freeze.
Winter fruit tree
Last year we visited Nozawa in April. We had a good time skiing, but it was definitely the tail end of the season. The village was warm, the gardens and gardeners emerged. This year, this was the only sign of horticulture, a lone fruit tree, still laden. You can see this tree in summer on google street view - https://goo.gl/maps/Lbho2cj7ZSG2 - quite a difference! I love shooting into the sun, especially when the sky is so blue and the ground is covered in snow. Snow acts like a huge soft box bouncing light all over the place, which is a blessing for photographers. You can see here that the houses aren't in deep shadow despite pointing the camera straight into the sun. I'm also grateful for the amazing dynamic range of my camera. When I ice climbed in Scotland, I had an EOS300 film camera. It was excellent at shooting silhouettes, only having half the range captured here.
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First run
One hour earlier, I drank coffee, sitting next to my eldest, who sipped his hot chocolate. We had grabbed a couple of bar stools and sat, looking south west out of the window. Mist was rising from the great Chikuma River Valley, the distant range of mountains, only showing a few peaks. By the time we finished our drinks, the village of Nozawa Onsen was shrouded in white, above and below.
We kitted up and left the lodge, for the slopes. The weak winter sun was breaking through. The blanket of fog had risen, holding on in the mountain valley, where our chair lift waited. I wasn’t prepared. My camera was attached to my backpack's shoulder strap, easily accessible, but I had no idea of settings. I knew I only had one chance, the conditions were changing fast. I sat in the chair, wedged my poles between my knees and carefully removed my gloves, shoving them under my thigh. I span the dials, checked the settings and waited. This wasn’t textbook landscape photography! I hadn’t set up in the dark at a previously scouted location waiting for the magic to happen. I didn’t have a tripod, instead I was trundling along at 12mph, 60 feet up, trying not to drop anything. I didn’t care, this is the kind of photography I enjoy. That single five minutes journey produced three keepers.2017FoggingJapanKarasawaNozawaSnowTreesWinterboarderchair liftcloudmistskiing
Better a bad day on the slopes than a good day at school
The first time we skied in Japan, over half a metre of snow fell while we were on the slopes. It was my kids first day ever on skies. I wasn’t worried about them hurting themselves or anyone else, I didn’t need to worry that they couldn’t stop, my biggest fear was loosing them as the visibility frequently dropped to a few metres. The snow fell straight from heaven, large soft flakes, the whole landscape utterly silent.
On this day, the wind god was out playing with the snow god, and land and sky became one. We were well prepared, not an inch of skin exposed, fully insulated. We could enjoy the challenge. My favourite run is Skyline, a ridge route with spectacular views but also narrow fast sections and long gentle up hills, where momentum is important. No such luck today, when you’re battling deep powder and facing into the teeth of a gale, getting a good speed up is impossible. My eldest normally flies round this corner but not this time.
Skyline, Nozawa Onsen, Japan. 2nd February 2017
Drifting over the paddy fields
Karasawa ski run, occupies the southern of the three Nozawa valleys. If you only visited during the ski season, you’d have no idea that you were racing over vegetable beds and terraced paddy fields. There are hints in the off piste fringe, the regular undulation of the drifts, the occasional crown of a fruit tree. A quick look on Google Earth, shows a lush and productive patchwork of agricultural plots.
Karasawa off piste, Nozawa, Japan - 1st February 2017
Nagasaka Gondola
One of those days when nature leaves you speechless. The early morning fog, had risen above the mid station, leaving everything covered in white. The sun was breaking through creating a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. We had skied from peak to creak and now getting the main Gondola back to the top of Uenotaria.
Nagasaka Gondola, Nozawa Onsen, Japan - 28th January 20172017GondolaIceJapanNagasaka GondolaNozawaSara NortonSkiiingSnowTreesgogglestree tops
Learning to stop
At the end of last years trip to Japan the big one decided he wanted to try boarding. There were a number of factors, he takes his skateboard everywhere, more kids board than ski but mostly because his annoying little brother enjoyed gloating and telling everyone how much better he was on skies. The last part, is true, he was a better skier, but mostly because of his size and fearlessness. And a dogged determination to get one over on his big brother.
Day three and he’s also stopping fast and more controlled than he was on skies. I was amazed how quickly he progressed and by the end of the week, he could tackle anything he had previously skied. He hasn’t abandoned skiing and I’m sure he will over time choose based on the days conditions.
One thing I love about my little Sony a6000 is it’s ability to take 11 frames a second, all perfectly in focus. I had 15 images to work with and here’s the final stitched work. He’s very happy the result and so am I.2017JapanKawasaraNozawaSki slopeSnowboardermontagemotionsnow boarderstopping
Yunomine Slope
There’s an upper valley at Nozawa which has some of the loveliest slopes, a mixture of greens and reds, crisscrossing though the trees. The two chairlifts only operate at the weekends, which is a great shame. You can ski in the week, but your only options are limited. You can trek cross country to the bottom of Paradise, a route we took the first time we visited. It was a miserable half hour of hoofing when we’d rather be skiing. Alternatively you can join the mid station gondola, or ski on down the mountain and take your pick of ungroomed mogel infested blacks. I’ve skied both of them and neither are enjoyable, just a means of getting off the mountain. But back to the Yunomine Slopes, seen here on a busy Saturday morning! It’s a great place to practice carving and enjoy big sweeping turns from one side of the piste to the other.
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The little one at 40 kmph
I can’t blame either one of my kids for wanting to bomb down the slope - ‘The need for speed’. I was the same. The first time I skied, I quickly discovered the thrill of pointing straight down and then whoosh, the giddy feeling of uncontrollable speed, adrenaline pumping. I was young, wipe outs didn’t hurt, and I didn’t have the maturity to realise how my actions might impact others. I was lucky to only hurt myself. As a parent, it’s hard to watch my child hooning without thinking of the consequences of their actions - hurting themselves or others. They are young, they learn on their own and the slopes of Nozawa are mostly pretty empty. And in reality, I’m far more likely to hurt myself or others trying to keep up, ski poles tucked under one arm, peering through the view finder of my camera, one eye on them the other half down the slope.
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The trees of Uenotaira
I was looking through some pictures I took seven years ago in Verbier, Switzerland. I had spent three days skiing, high up in the Alps. The views were amazing, huge open alpine vistas but not a tree in sight. Nozawa is very different. All the slopes are lined with beautiful yet stark trees. When they are covered with frost or fresh powder, then their beauty is hard to match.
Uenotaira, Nozawa, Japan - 28th January 20172017JapanNozawa UenotairaSnowTreesbluecoldpanoramapisteslopes
The White Tree
The cold winter winds of Mongolia travel past Harbin and Vladivostok picking up moisture from the relatively warm sea of Japan. When they hit the mountains of Japan, powder falls from the sky. Japan is famous for it’s powder and this was a powder day. 60cm had fallen and it was still falling.
Mount Kanashi, Nozawa, Japan - 31st January 20172017BlizzardJapanKenashiMount KenashiNozawaSara NortonSnowTreeWhiteYamabikopistepowderskierskiingwhite out
Riding through the blizzard
“There’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing.” - riding the chairlift with the lid up, just so I could take some image, meant the right clothing was definitely a must. There’s a deeply smug feeling about being in bad weather and remaining warm and dry. I’ve probably spent close to 30 years enjoying those moments. You have to experience the opposite first though. This is the weather I will remember most from my third trip to Nozawa. I think I actually enjoyed skiing in these conditions the most.