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A week has gone by since arriving back in the States after this years Japan trip and sorting through the images it’s funny how much a certain thing appears again and again and again; the little white van.

As you can see from the top image a lot of the Japanese backcountry around Niseko is often roadside – quite literally in this case. Because of the ease of getting to locations film crews tend to gravitate towards the little white vans as the transport choice to get around. During the first half of the month whilst filming with Level 1 Productions we travelled so far in the van that we were all glad to see the back of it. After a 2 day hiatus though, it was straight back into the van for me as i joined the Norwegian crew Field Productions for a further 2 weeks.

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So my blog has officially reached it’s first birthday and i’m so happy that the powers that be have gifted me a great birthday present. Large thanks must be aimed towards the Australian cricket team for scoring such a weak first innings at Lords cricket club last week. Because of that i managed to become one of the few lucky people to pick up special Qantas airfare based on those innings. All the details can be seen here.

Basically, there was no way in the world i could afford to travel to Australia and New Zealand this summer but now there is. Happy Birthday indeed.

Thanks to everyone for following this blog throughout the year. I’ve enjoyed compiling all my little stories and hope to keep it going well into its second year. If there’s anything you’d like to see added or changed in any way then just let me know, it’s always good to get others opinions. Other than that, onwards and upwards……or was that onwards and downunder?!

I first heard about this project a few weeks back on the Chase Jarvis blog. The Art House Co-op based over in Atlanta, America have come up with the great idea where they send 1000 people a disposable camera and you have the summer to document your life, all in 24 images.

Once you’ve filled your 24 image quota then they get shipped back to The States to form a gallery show on the 25th September. This could prove to be a fun little project for the summer, especially as it’s back to the fun old days of disposable cameras. Sometimes, less is more. If you like the sound of it then get involved, i’ve just applied for mine this morning and am looking forward to the cameras arrival. Let me know if you decide to  join up and see how the community grows.

The new year trip is now in full swing. I’ve been over in Laax in Switzerland for a week now. If you put the town aspect and the complete inability to eat any reasonably priced food (yesterdays meal plan: bowl of cereal, an orange, 1 packet of crisps) to one side then oh my god. Is Laax heaven? Could it be the best resort in the world? I’ve been to a few and this rates close to the top, if not the top.

I’ve hooked up with What feels like team Australia for the next month. Here’s the crew……..

Left to right; Paul McMahon, Michaela Davis-Meehan, Hugh Marsden, Alicia Barker and me at the end

Paul’s the coach of the other riders who are on a Fastride camp over here in Europe. We’re in Laax now to ride, to shoot and for the Burton European Open that starts off tomorrow. What can i say? Completely stoked on Laax, completely stoked on the guys i’m with, completely stoked on the weather (so far) and completely stoked on the vibe (eating for pleasure not included).

I’m going to try and do a “shot of the day” for the next week. Today was mens training for the halfpipe so it seems an apt place to start.

Sick Japanese riders name unknown!

Note to myself – never leave purchasing travel tickets too late. A week ago i found myself in Austria needing to get back to England with no travel ticket purchased. In the end the only financially feasible method was by bus which as a result has left me feeling horrible for a week. 

Had a fun time at the Pleasurejam over on the Dachstein Glacier but unfortunately left on sunday, just as the blue skies came out. Here’s a little experimental image that i definitely want to shoot again. Foggy conditions were limiting what to shoot on the qualification day, i can’t wait to do something similar but on a clearer day.

A filmers view

Short and sweet today. Just back at home now getting over this cold. If time and money allows i may make it over to the Roxy Chicken Jam but if not this will be the last riding of the year. Back on the snow in January.