Recently, the American Snowboarder's Journal released a documentary film called "New Snow People," in which Blair Havenit and Mary Lund visit photographer Tsutomu Endo in Hakuba, Japan, and spend the peak season with him in January. I would like to introduce it to you.
The film focuses mainly on Tsutomu Endo, who grew up in a town at the foot of the Northern Alps in Japan and at the age of 18 sold everything he had that looked like it could make money from, bought a camera and started his career as a photographer.
With the belief that photography is not just a superficial record, but focuses on the deeper aspects of the subject, he created the concept of "inner focus" and continues to work as a unique photographer.
He continues to create snowboarding photographs while remaining rooted in the land, and the breadth of his artistic expression knows no bounds. He now turns his viewfinder beyond snowboarding, and in his current photography project, "POLAR EXPOSURE," he follows indigenous people living in the Arctic and photographs their lives.
The movie touches on this point, saying that their hunting lifestyle is part of the cycle of nature, just like that of snowboarders.
In "New Snow People," Endo Tsuyoshi takes two guest riders who come to visit him on his local mountain, skiing on the area's great snow and terrain. The film crew then interviews Endo, who shares his thoughts and process as a photographer, making for an interesting video that you should definitely check out.
