How cold will -25 deg C be ?
I will be able to give you an idea in my next newsletter. Right now, as you read this, I will be flying to a place that has long been on my list.
Hokkaido.
Where is that, you might well ask.
If you look at the map of Japan, it starts off like the bottom part of a question mark. It curves in the shape of a slightly slanting question mark, before it gets abruptly interrupted. Right on top, instead of the usual downward curve, there is a part that appears to have broken off. This part has the shape of a splatter similar to one that gets created when some ketchup falls on the floor.
That splatter is Hokkaido.
Japan's shape does look like a question mark, doesnt it ?
If you look at the world map a little more closely, you would notice a little sliver of land stretching out just on top of Hokkaido. That is Russia. Yeah, if it is that close to Russia, that means, Hokkaido is way, way up north.
I guess that explains the -25 deg C bit. Winters in Hokkaido are the coldest in the whole of Japan.
As up north as to be this close to Russia !
Yeah, forget about the cold…but wildlife ? In Japan ???
Well…the place is teeming with it.
From brown bears to red foxes and the snow monkeys, from the huge Stellar eagles to the lovely red crowned cranes and the serene whooper swans. There are numerous water birds like the Harlequins, the red breasted Merganser, the Blakinston’s fishing owl , numerous types of woodpeckers to name a few.
Yup. There is a lot of wildlife.
We, however, are going to be mainly focused on the snow monkeys, the swans, the red crowned cranes and the eagles. (Strictly speaking, the snow monkeys we will be going to, are not in Hokkaido, but we can gloss over such pesky specifics and still call it a trip to Hokkaido :) )
The place is pure heaven to make very interesting minimalistic images. Some of the images that I have seen by accomplished masters are exquisite in its minimalism and almost poetic.
And even if landscape photography isn’t my thing, the landscape images that I have seen are aching in its raw, remote, minimalistic beauty.
Right from the time I first heard of Hokkaido and saw some of these images, I have been yearning to go there. And, finally…here I am.
The most obvious part of the preparation for such a trip would be the clothing.
Yeah, but you have been to the Arctic ? This will be similar, right ?
I had gone to Svalbard in the summers. The coldest temperature I have experienced out there would have been around -8 deg C, out on the deck of our ship where I had to option of rushing back indoors. This is a whole different ball game.
I have the outer layers for this. It’s the inner layers that mostly needed attention.
Through the last year, I have been picking up stuff from all over, like thermals/inner layers for extreme cold, a better and hopefully more flexible pair of gloves. I hope that all these purchases live upto their promise. The thick ski pants that I have managed to lay my hands on, definitely look very reassuring right now. My Sorrel boots, yeah, those have been a blessing in the Arctic and should be a big boon here too.
Time will tell.
Gear ?
I will be using three different lens through the trip but its unlikely that I will need more than two lenses at any one location. So I have decided to take only two camera bodies instead of the usual three that I take. Considering the subjects we will be shooting, a 70-200 might have limited use and hence I am renting a 180-600mm to go with my 400mm ( with a 1.4 TC ). Of course, then there will be my trusted 24-70mm for the wide angle shots. And a tripod, which I very rarely have used in the past. ( and which was borrowed from a good friend )
Oh, and there is another thing that I am looking forward to.
The onsens.
Onsens are the natural hot springs that abound in Japan which have minerals dissolved in them that apparently provide different health benefits. Dunno about the health bit, but the thought of sinking into a small pool of hot waters after a long day in the brutal cold …wow !
So…
Are you nervous ?
Yeah, slightly.
This has been a trip that I have dreamt of for ages. Hokkaido is considered to be a place that offers immense scope for pushing creative boundaries, and there is always that question that pops up…will I be able to do it justice ? How will the fingers, the legs and the mind combine together in that mind-numbing cold ?
Are you excited ?
You bet.
Just being out there in such a far flung place is exciting in itself. To experience the weather, to see these gorgeous wild creatures, to challenge myself, are things that I am looking forward to. As my old familiar, mantra goes…a good photo is definitely a bonus.
I will let you know how everything goes.
There will be lots of stories for sure.
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