🥇
The Tape
by Léo Rattez
🥈
SUMŪZU
by Niseko Zen
🥉
Melting Mountains
by Ivy Stanton
🏆 (People’s Choice)
Yugo 融合
Isaac Podmore / Daniel Masion
SKI
🥇 📷 Jimmy Norris
🥈 📷 Sinta Miyazaki
🥉 📷 Alex Gerni
SNOWBOARD
🥇 📷 Boen Ferguson
🥈 📷 Yoshiro Fukushima
🥉 📷 Ruairidh Squair
OPEN
🥇 📷 Karim Iliya
🥈 📷 Ruairidh Squair
🥉 📷 Yuuya Okuna
Social Media is Dead
by m3 Visual
Fruition
by Ellis Skis
The Tape
by Léo Rattez
The Search
by Mazcor Studio / Rip Curl
Finding the Time
by Christian Jones Film
GirlPowder
by Alice and Jack
Sunshine, Friends, Powder and Home
by Ginto Hirafu feat. Hildur Karlsson
SUMŪZU
by Niseko Zen
Asarigawaonsen
by Lichen Sorrel
My First Season
by scorneliust
Niseko Soul is What?
by One Films Neil Hartmann
Get That MTB Feeling
by Niseko Area Mountain Bike Association
SNOWDOWN
by Billy Tziatas
Melting Mountains
by Ivy Stanton
WE ARE CREATORS
by Niseko Creators
Murasaki
by CVRRENT
The Run
by Joseph
White Gold
by Alexandru Savu, Norris Niman, Karim Iliya
Resort Goods
by Carlo L. Mion
Yugo 融合
by Isaac Podmore / Daniel Masion
Niseko Kutchan Kyogoku Kimobetsu Rusutsu
by InCrew
A Simple Hygge Moment
by Bluebird Studio
The Niseko Shootout Short Film Festival is the biggest event of the winter season and will showcase the best short films created by incredibly talented filmmakers, shot and filmed right here in Niseko!
ニセコシュートアウトショートフィルムフェスティバルは冬シーズンで最も大きなイベントの一つです。当フェスティバルでは、才能に溢れたフィルムメーカーによってここニセコで撮影された魅力的なショートフィルムが投影されます！
Find out more here!
To enter simply upload your best Niseko images to Instagram with the hashtag #nisekoshootout, taken in the Niseko area and between 01 December 2023 – 01 March 2024, and you’ll be in the running for the Niseko Shootout Crown.
Photos are judged across three categories:
⏺ Ski
⏺ Snowboard
⏺ Open
Make sure to follow Niseko Shootout on Instagram to see the best entries so far!
Check out the incredible prizes for this year:
Ski Category Prizes:
🥇 Niseko United Season Pass
🥈 Iwanai Cat Tour
🥉 Yama Plus Prize Pack
Snowboard Category Prizes:
🥇 Gentem Snowboard
🥈 Hokkaido Ski Club - Lenz Primaloft Heated Jacket & batteries
🥉 Rhythm Japan + Oyuki prize pack
Open Category Prizes:
🥇 2 Night-stay at Niseko Village property
🥈 Alpenglow Lodges Stay
🥉 Shabu Shabu Mori voucher
Read more about the contest here.
🥇 Painter
by Toshi Pander
🥈 Niseko Daydreams
by Bernhard Braun and Matthias Wehinge
🥉 ENVISION | Yoko Arano, Niseko's Legendary Calligrapher
by Yuichi Ishida
SKI
🥇 📷 Teddy Laycock 🎿 James Winfield
🥈 📷 James Winfield 🎿 Chris Davenport
🥉 📷 Chad Clark
SNOWBOARD
🥇 📷 Agustín Villalba 🏂 Stefan Boers
🥈 📷 稲蔭 一道 🏂 Makoto Yamada
🥉 📷 Ruairidh Squair 🏂 Chris Smith
OPEN
🥇 📷 Greg Homann
🥈 📷 Jack Woods
🥉 📷 Liam Larnach
Love in Nature
by Ban Soma
You Know what I’m Saying
by Beerduro Mob Media
D-Ran
by Legs of Steel
Meet the Telemarkeras: Diana Rivera
by Diana Rivera
Soft Focus
by Jimi Oertli
Coming back to Hokkaido (北海道にまた来る)
by Nigel Peck
Isshūkan
by Alexander Rouleau & Alexis Gervais-Chapleau
Japan | Malou and Hildur
by Malou Peterson and Hildur Karlsson
Within 30km from Niseko
by InCrew
The Japan Dust
by Tomasz Wolak
ENVISION | Yoko Arano, Niseko's Legendary Calligrapher
by Yuichi Ishida
Ichiban
by Daniel Masion and Jam Lodge Productions
Niseko Daydreams
by Bernhard Braun and Matthias Wehinger
Fukai (深い）
by the Abstract team
Painter
by Toshi Pander
This year’s judges for the ProAM were:
- Taro Tamai
- Tsutomu Nakata
- Yoichi Watanabe
- Neil Hartmann
- Torah Bright
- Eric Pollard
- Matt Hampton
- Winse Heyward
Judges Choice: The pursuit of perfect pillows
📷 Aaron Jamieson 🎿 Dennis Ranalter
Niseko is famous for its powder pillows – or mushrooms as they’re called locally. Pro-pro team made up of local photographer, Aaron Jamieson, and visiting pro skier, Dennis Ranalter, took out the Judges Vote with a spectacular bluebird pillow-line shot.
It snowed almost every day between 01 December through the contest period ending 09 January, meaning there were plenty of mushrooms ripe for harvest for the ProAM.
This particular line is a favourite spot for travelling ski and snowboard media, however, getting a good photo is much trickier than getting a good video.
The judges all know this fact well and recognised the difficulty in capturing such a pristine bluebird powder shot, awarding Aaron and Dennis the win.
Public Choice: Mi casa es su casa
Proof of aloof on the roof
📷 Tomek Ustupski 🏂 Henry Johnson
Deep powder isn’t the only thing Niseko is known for! A quirky custom-built Japanese “kei truck” has captured the attention of the voting public to win this year’s ¥80,000 Niseko Shootout ProAM Public Vote.
Kei truck’s are mini pick up trucks that are cheap to register and run, and are seen everywhere in rural Japan – Niseko included. This particular kei truck is called Sabi-chan and was customised by the rider in the photo, Kiwi Henry Johnson. The photographer for this shot was Tomek Ustupski from Poland.
Niseko Shootout Founder, Winse Heyward, said it obviously resonated with the voting audience. “So many locals own a kei truck or van because they’re cheap and have character, and this one is like the poster child for Niseko,” said Winse.
He continues, “The patchwork of coloured timber panels popped with the lighting, and the ridge on the roof created a classic Niseko urban feature for Henry to transition on. Very cool, very Niseko and a very worthy winner of this year’s Niseko Shootout ProAM!”
With new event sponsor Don Julio Tequila, and a record 62 teams taking part, it’s fair the say the Niseko Shootout ProAM 2023 was bigger and better than ever!
The Niseko Shootout ProAM is one of three categories under the Niseko Shootout photo and film competition banner.
The 62 professional and amateur athlete-photographer teams took to the mountains in and around Niseko between 06-09 January 2023, resulting in 34 entries for the competition. Each team takes as many photos as they like during the competition window, but submit only one for judging following the final day.
The winners share in ¥200,000 (US$1,500) – not to mention a few tequila shots at the awards ceremony held at Rhythm Japan Base on 20 January 2023.
Contest organiser, Winstead Heyward said it was great to see a 50% increase in entries this year as tourists and seasonal workers flocked back into Niseko.
“The ProAM is back with a vengeance,” Winse laughed. “We’re overjoyed with the amazing enthusiasm for the comp from the local and visiting teams – Niseko is back, baby!”
Teams and submissions:
Mi casa es su casa
Tomek Ustupski (Poland)
Henry Johnson (New Zealand)
Sponsor: Pals Japan
Classic Turn
Arthur Demonchaux (France)
Adria Lamarca Morte (France)
The Mack
Agustin Villalba (Argentina)
Jack Mack (Australia)
Kodama
Alexander Rouleau (Canada)
Alexis Gervais-Chapleau (Canada)
Final Scramble
Alister Buckingham (Australia)
James Winfield (UK)
Flip the Mountain
Andre Pomp (Czech Republic)
Olly Nicholls (Japan)
Sponsors: Oyuki, Smith, Holiday Niseko
Ohayotei
Arthur Demonchaux (France)
Mathis Bozzolo (France)
In the Pursuit of Perfect Pillows
Aaron Jamieson (Japan)
Dennis Ranalter (Austria)
Sponsor: Legs of Steel
Mushroom man キノコの入
Aaron Jamieson (Japan)
Tatsumi Kono (Japan)
Sponsor: LADE
15 Minutes
Bianca Peralta (Argentina)
Simon Pervez (Canada)
Getting Sendy at Iwanai
Cole Richardson (Canada)
Darren Teasdale (Japan)
Sponsors: Head, Niseko Photography and Guiding, Iwanai Resort
Circle of Light
Diana Rivera (Spain)
Hiroto Miyazaki (Japan)
Sponsor: 22Designs
There’s More to Japan than Powder & Pillows!
Elsie Nielsen (Australia)
Timothy Black Herbert (New Zealand)
Sponsor: Niseko Photography
Shifty Shortcut
Emil Granbom (Sweden)
Darren Teasdale (Japan)
Sponsors: Head, Niseko Photography and Guiding, Iwanai Resort
Old Growth
Eric Sales (USA)
Kyle Delong (France)
No Title
Gregory Homann (Australia)
Juliette Frattini (Australia)
Stranger Boards- The Summoning
Harry Calvert (UK)
Natalie Ellis (UK)
Sponsor: ATBShop
No Title
Hedvig Wessel (Norway)
Darren Teasdale (Japan)
Sponsors: Head, Niseko Photography and Guiding, Iwanai Resort
No Title
Jack O’Grady (Australia)
Max Power (New Zealand)
Sponsor: Niseko Photography
The Pockets Always Provide
Jack Woods (Japan)
James Robbins (Japan)
Riding in the Woods
Jack Yan (Malaysia)
Eduardo Porto (Brazil)
Working 9-5
James Winfield (UK)
Teddy Laycock (Australia)
Sponsor: Hokkaido Collective
Dream of Calm
Jaume Pons (Spain)
Toni Rodriguez (Spain)
Sponsor: Tonishoots
Powder Addicted
Jesse Zorn (USA)
Kai Ose (Japan)
No Title
Jordy Kidner (Canada)
Darren Teasdale (Japan)
Sponsors: Head, Niseko Photography and Guiding, Iwanai Resort
Local Highschool Student! 地元高校生!
Juma Findlay (Japan)
Shinnosuke Tanaka (Japan)
Yotei's Oblivion
Stefan Boers (Netherlands)
Agustin Villalba (Argentina)
No Title
Steven Harris (Australia)
Matthew Horne (Australia)
Winter for a moment, Memories for a lifetime, Niseko forever.
一瞬の冬、一生の記憶、ニセコフォーエバー。
Stu Buckland (UK)
Wakana Hama (Japan)
Sponsors: Good Snowboards, Norrona Japan, Flux Japan, Kashiwax, Co-op Dental Clinic, Niseko Grand Hirafu
Daybreak amongst Yotei San
羊頭山からお はようございます
Tanner Dobbins (USA)
Ryu Atobe (Japan)
Sponsor: Terminal Tune Station
Powder Shinkansen
Tomek Ustupski (Poland)
Yuhei Yamada (Japan)
Sponsor: Niseko Photography
Textures of the Metallic Forest
Toshi Pander (Japan)
Jimi Oertli (France)
Sponsor: Yamaplus
I put my thing down, flip it, and reverse carve it
Yuji Fujiyama (Japan)
Kenneth Lei (USA)
No Title
Yuuya Okuno (Japan)
Yuto Sugawara (Japan)
SKI
🥇 📷 Chris Smith 🎿 Josh Fawcett
🥈 📷 Tatsuya Fukushi 🎿 Yutaka Chiba
🥉 📷 Chad Clark
SNOWBOARD
🥇 📷 Darren Teasdale (Niseko Photography)
🥈 📷 Katsuya Yamamoto 🏂 P.G.T
🥉 📷 Christian Denslow 🏂 Evan Wilcox
OPEN
🥇 📷 Rujipart Thaveelabtanachok
🥈 📷 Agustín Villalba
🥉 📷 Liam Larnach
The second Niseko Shootout ProAM has wrapped up, with the ¥120,000 Judges’ Choice prize awarded to photographer Kentaraw Matsuda & snowboarder Daisuke Watanabe; and the ¥80,000 Public Vote prize awarded to photographer Chris Smith & skier Josh Fawcett.
This year’s four-day ProAM and the following week of judging generated thousands of social media “likes” and hundreds of “shares”, and many more impressions around the world.
In this difficult time for the Niseko community and the world, this event drew much attention to Niseko and the fantastic snow we’re having here in an incredibly positive and uplifting way. It gave everyone involved here and abroad much to smile about.
Thank you to all the 10 judges who mostly took part remotely from around the world:
- Alex Yoder
- Aline Bock
- Eric Pollard
- Lena Stoffel
- Mattias Fredriksson
- Neil Hartman
- Taro Tamai
- Torah Bright
- Tsutomu Nakata
- Yoichi Watanabe
SKI
🥇 📷 Alister Buckingham 🎿 James Winfield
🥈 📷 @mac_jp
🥉 📷 Ruaridh Squair 🎿 Alex Koens
SNOWBOARD
🥇 📷 Hideaki Suzuki 🏂@hokkaidowanderer
🥈 📷 Toshi Pander 🏂 Evan Wilcox
🥉 📷 Takafumi Kuroda 🏂Takashi Yoshimura
OPEN
🥇 📷 James Winfield
🥈 📷 Rujipart Thaveelabtanachok
🥉 📷 Alexandra Scotcher
A total of 31 professional and amateur athlete-photographer teams took to the mountains in and around Niseko between 07-10 January 2021 with the aim of capturing the best photo of the period, with ¥200,000 (US$2,000) up for grabs.
Contest organiser, Winstead Heyward, said that unlike last year there was plenty of powder around and possibly even a bit of sunshine around for teams to work with.
“That’s the beauty of this competition – it’s held on set dates so teams have to work with whatever conditions Mother Nature throws at them,” Heyward said.
“We’ve just come out of three weeks of non stop snow so the mountains are loaded with snow. I’m expecting to see a few mushrooms shots and more photos taken in resort due to the lack of peak-season crowds due to the pandemic. However photos can be taken anywhere in the Shirebeshi region of Southwest Hokkaido, so there is bound to be a few backcountry shots, maybe with some ocean in the background thanks to the nearby Sea of Japan. I’m excited to see what everyone produces!”
Teams and submissions:
You Meet the Nicest People on a Jimny
Chris Smith
Josh Fawcett
Sponsor: Rhythm
Riding Out the Storm
Stu Cady
Toni Rodriguez
Sponsor: Island Snowboards
What A Day
Kaito Nakagawa
Takuya Kaneko
Powder Turn With No Bindings
Toshiya Kasuga
Takayuki Ochi
Sponsor: Buddha Blank
After
Hiroto Miyazaki
Riona Uemura
Sponsor: 株式会社OOD
A Break In the Storm
Patrick Ohtani
Jack Woods
Sponsor: MnK Niseko
Shooting Star
Daisuke Watanabe
Kentaraw Matsuda
Sponsor: K2 Snowboarding
Light At the End of the Tunnel
Luke Sandalls
Justin Dowell
Sponsor: Luke Sandalls Design
Ocean of Powder
Rei Igarashi
Katsuhide Fujio
Sponsor: Gentemstick
All We Got… For Now…
Henry Johnson
Stefan Boers
Undercover
Ayaka Shibasaki
Callum McWilliam
Dancing In the Shadows, Exploding In the Lights
Aaron Jamieson
Acme Wu
Better Late Than Never
Darren Teasdale
Alex Koens
Sponsor: Rhythm
Flow Like a Butterfly, Sink Like a Battle Ship
Aaron Jamieson
Kris Lund
Sponsor: Powderlife
Submitting To the Bottomless...
Aaron Jamieson
Winse Heyward
Sponsor: Niseko Shootout
Grounded
Toni Rodriguez
Charlie Davies
Sponsor: Powder Yoga
Finding Light In the Darkness
Jimmy Norris
Sean Potts
Sponsor: OYUKI
A Winter For The Locals
Evan Wilcox
Toshi Pander
Sponsor: YamaPlus
Under Supervision Of the Mountains
Jimi Oertli
Toshi Pander
Sponsor: Hanazono
Mask... Check. Japow... CHECK!
高良将迅
赤川未來
Though the World May Be Dark, There Always Is Light
Takashi Yoshimura
Shuhei Kato
Sponsor: Km4k (カモシカ)
Backyard Self Isolation Turn
Nolan Isozaki
Saki Hayashi
Sponsor: Niseko Zen
The Higher You Climb, The Farther You Can See
Eden Gao
Nicole Wang
Sponsor: SnowPlus
Dora the Snow Explorer
Liam Larnach
Dora Krupic
Sponsor: Niseko Black
Sakana Brothers
Louis Higgins
Shinya Tabata
Sponsor: Takumi Woodwork
No Title
Haruka Uozumi
Toni Rodriguez
Sponsor: Far East Snowsports
Floating At Speed Through the Trees
Andrew Willink
Toni Rodriguez
Sponsor: Far East Snowsports
Powder Patrol
Tenchi Miyakoshi
Takeshi Kuramoto
The awards ceremony was hosted at the new Rhythm Base store with all photos shown on the big screen and the winners presented with oversized novelty cheques along with their wads of real yen.
Judges Choice: Bad snow conditions’ in Niseko featuring Mt Yotei
📷 Tanner Dobbins 🎿 Ryu Atobe
Judges Taro Tamai, Yoichi Watanabe and Neil Hartmann said the photo summed up the universal beauty of Niseko in what would usually be deep powder season.
“It captures a different kind of Niseko beauty, which is quite special to this season. There was some powder snow on the trees, untracked snow on the ground with sasa. The light is soft and gentle and the snowboard position and spray was perfect.
“It’s quite amazing for the team to capture this special moment and show the uniqueness and spirit of Niseko’s backcountry. It doesn’t have to have big pow or dump to make the photo stand out.”
Public Choice: Sunrise Revenge on Lupo Killer
📷 Tomasz Ustupski 🎿 Aron Hayes
For the second year running, the Tomasz Ustupski and Aron Hayes team win the Public Choice with a killer flip of a huge backcountry feature!
A spectacular and unseasonably colourful collection of 22 photo entries elevated the second annual Niseko Shootout ProAM to lofty new heights this year.
The Niseko Shootout ProAM offers two hotly contested grand prizes – the ¥120,000 Judges’ Choice and the ¥80,000 Public Vote. The ProAM is one of three competitions that makes up the Niseko Shootout, along with a season-long Instagram-based hashtag contest and a season-end film festival.
The ProAM is a photo contest in which athlete-photographer teams (both professional and amateur – hence the ProAM title) enter the best image they capture within a four-day window.
Contest organiser Winse Heyward said the lack of snow and cloud cover resulted in an unusually colourful collection of entries.
“Usually we’d expect to see plenty of deep-winter, deep-pow shots, but because there was sunshine we actually saw plenty of blue sky, green sasa and some beautiful sunrise and sunset colours.
“The teams really worked hard to find something different and it was great to see the variety of shots, with some featuring the ocean or landscape and a few this year taken at night. It makes you realise there is much more to Niseko than just deep powder.”
Teams and submissions:
Eden Gao
Eason Kuo
George Treble
Jonas Eibenstein
Justin Owers
Simon Pervez
Patrick Schuster
Markus Paul
Rob Buchanan
Lukas Eibenstein
Sam Nelson
Neil McNair
Theo Morton
Shotaro Koyama
SNOWBOARD
🥇 📷 Jana Rogers 🏂 Roland Morley-Brown
🥈 📷 Taiki Nakamura
🥉 📷 Teddy Laycock 🏂 Chris Smith
SKI
🥇 📷 Andrew Strain 🎿 Charlie Cohn
🥈 📷 Jeff Cricco 🎿 Tobin Seagel
🥉 📷 Daniel Honda 🎿 Toshi Pander
OPEN
🥇 📷 James Winfield
🥈 📷 Przemek Czaicki
🥉 📷 Andrew Strain
Winner
🥇 📷 Moto Takagi
Honorable Mentions
📷 Hideaki Suzuki
📷 Juan Aizpuru
📷 Chad Clark
