Hokkaido 2025
So far this year, my seasons have felt a little back to front. No sooner had summer arrived here in New Zealand, I found myself back in winter snowshoeing through a white landscape. I decided to swap the seasons, travelling to the northern hemisphere, breaking the summer with a trip to Hokkaido in Japan.
Normally, as summer arrives in New Zealand, I take a little break from shooting for a few months as the light from the high sun and vibrant hues so often do not suit the work I make. I don’t mind having some time away from the camera; I find it always provides me with a chance to reflect on my approach to the landscape while I’m out there enjoying sunny vistas in other ways, without studying them through the viewfinder. I am happy to save my creative energy to work at times in the year that weather and conditions provide me with the elements to interpret the landscape into the personal expressions I wish to make. It’s now autumn here, and once again I find myself in one of my favourite times of the year. The landscape around where I live in Wanaka has transformed to tones of yellow and orange, enveloped in morning mist as the temperature drops. Winter suddenly feels there on the horizon again; the year’s first snowfall covered the peaks just a few days ago. These two seasons offer much contrast, but the one thing they have in common is a sense of peacefulness I find within the landscape. Autumn plays out a beautiful symphony before the silence of winter falls over it.
I will leave you with some of my latest work from winter in Hokkaido, while I still have not had time to fully reflect on the direction of my approach in the landscape here, I’m happy with what I made. I can keep returning to this snowy Hokkaido landscape, my work here is not yet done. I’ve only just started to solve the compositional challenges it offers me. I am happy for this to be my January landscape and excited to return again next year, but for now I have winter in New Zealand to look forward to.
White Birch
White Birch, Hokkaido, Japan, 2025
A single Shirakaba tree—a White Birch—white on white, standing tall and proud on the top of a hill blanketed with pristine snow. The birch’s white bark blends its tonal range into the landscape—a fine line of contrast; a light brush stroke within this virgin snowscape. This simple birch calls me even though it does not create as strong an impact as other surrounding trees with darker bark that holds a total contrast over the landscape; making their size punch well above their weight in this world of white.
Finding Solitude
Finding Solitude, Hokkaido, Japan, 2025
The solitude of this landscape is visually enhanced by the snow—refining nature down to a few simple bare elements. Lines intersecting lines, a tree with no base to root it, a horizon with no line to break it, tones of white on white, contrasted by the white of the sky. Only pencil sketches of grey remain. It’s satisfying when you can remove all these distractions to see things clear and simple. It is the start of a new year, and I’m so happy being here—snowshoeing through this white wonderland—I feel like I’m engaged in the moment. My mind feels clear like the weight and stress of the last year have already been lifted.
See the rest of my recent work from Hokkaido here
