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cold frame

樋貝吉郎写真集 Snowboard Life Photo Book　[コールド フレーム]

Long papery tree shadows. An ice strewn road. Gathering clouds. These are just some of the images you might find in legendary Japanese photographer Yoshiro Higai's new book "Cold Frame." Double-corks and 1260s? Not so much...

Higai, 45, has been shooting photos for over 30 years and counts Patagonia,Gentem Stick and Mike Basich's 241 clothing among his clients, but "Cold frame" is decidedly uncommercial in nature. Let's just say it's more zen than yen. The images gathered here, shot in spots from Alaska to Fukushima, tend to be less about action and more about the quiet, contemplative vibe one gets in the mountains, especially on Hokkaido where Higai spent over a decade. Think real ultimate powder.

"I want to show this book not only to snowboarders but also ordinary people," he says. "Mr. [Toshio] Shiratani, who does surf and design for a long time and doesn't know much about snowboarding, I asked him for art direction. We chose images that [people] have never seen or scenes [they] tend to overlook.

I want people to empathize with my feelings such as joy, excitement and solitude."

At $40 USD plus shipping you don't have to be rich to drop in on "Cold Frame" yet Higai reckons his target audience is probably, "a person who has rich mind [looking for] a journey of the imagination." So, if you're not afraid of the quiet moments on the way up the mountain at 5 a.m. or the subtler textures that make up a more minimalist life in snowboarding, check out this beautifully-produced book from one of Japan's most original eyes.

By Colin Whyte　ESPN

長く薄い木の影。氷の飛び散った道。雲の集まり。これらは日本のレジェンドフォトグラファー、ヒガイヨシロウの新しい写真集“ cold frame ”から見つけることができるだろう。（中略）“cold frame”は明らかに非商業的である。Yen よりもZenと言ってしまおう。アラスカをはじめ福島など各地で撮られたイメージはアクションショットは少なめで、山で得られる瞑想の波動といった静の写真が多い。なかでもヒガイが10年住んだ北海道でのものからは。現実の究極のパウダーを考えてみよう。（後略）“ cold frame ”にドロップインするのにリッチである必要はない。心が豊かでイマジネーションの旅を探している観衆に向けられているのだ。だから、もしあなたが朝五時に山に向かう道すがらの静けさに恐れないなら、もしくは微妙な質感を突き詰めスノーボードライフでさらにミニマリストとなるなら、日本でも最もオリジナルな目によって美しく創られた、この本をチェックしてみてはどうだろう。     

ESPN