Outside Context

The Ground Zero Weekender is the biggest yearly event on the UK Airsoft calendar.

Spread over three days in the New Forest near Bournemouth, over 1000 players attend.

Airsoft is similar to paintball, but with a lean towards realism and military simulation. GZ is known for a good game and large battles, but essentially the weekend is a social event with camping and wild parties around the BBQ.

Here my team, Delta-Alpha; 26 strong, join in the fun and lark about until the game starts. We are more of a strict milsim team these days and GZ is used to build a team spirit rather than fight too hard. Still, you can see in the video that I had a gun cam and managed some great footage of people getting “laced”.

Among this year’s special surprises arranged by the DA’s, was a fly-over by the father of one of our players in a Chinese stunt plane while dropping leaflets. Unfortunately, hitting a 1000 people all wearing cammo was a challenge and most went wide into a nearby field. Roll on next year, where we will try again, or perhaps go even further!

The Ground Zero Weekender is the biggest yearly event on the UK Airsoft calendar.

Spread over three days in the New Forest near Bournemouth, over 1000 players attend.

Airsoft is similar to paintball, but with a lean towards realism and military simulation. GZ is known for a good game and large battles, but essentially the weekend is a social event with camping and wild parties around the BBQ.

Here my team, Delta-Alpha; 26 strong, join in the fun and lark about until the game starts. We are more of a strict milsim team these days and GZ is used to build a team spirit rather than fight too hard. Still, you can see in the video that I had a gun cam and managed some great footage of people getting “laced”.

Among this year’s special surprises arranged by the DA’s, was a fly-over by the father of one of our players in a Chinese stunt plane while dropping leaflets. Unfortunately, hitting a 1000 people all wearing cammo was a challenge and most went wide into a nearby field. Roll on next year, where we will try again, or perhaps go even further!

The Ground Zero Weekender is the biggest yearly event on the UK Airsoft calendar.

Spread over three days in the New Forest near Bournemouth, over 1000 players attend.

Airsoft is similar to paintball, but with a lean towards realism and military simulation. GZ is known for a good game and large battles, but essentially the weekend is a social event with camping and wild parties around the BBQ.

Here my team, Delta-Alpha; 26 strong, join in the fun and lark about until the game starts. We are more of a strict milsim team these days and GZ is used to build a team spirit rather than fight too hard. Still, you can see in the video that I had a gun cam and managed some great footage of people getting “laced”.

Among this year’s special surprises arranged by the DA’s, was a fly-over by the father of one of our players in a Chinese stunt plane while dropping leaflets. Unfortunately, hitting a 1000 people all wearing cammo was a challenge and most went wide into a nearby field. Roll on next year, where we will try again, or perhaps go even further!

The Ground Zero Weekender is the biggest yearly event on the UK Airsoft calendar.

Spread over three days in the New Forest near Bournemouth, over 1000 players attend.

Airsoft is similar to paintball, but with a lean towards realism and military simulation. GZ is known for a good game and large battles, but essentially the weekend is a social event with camping and wild parties around the BBQ.

Here my team, Delta-Alpha; 26 strong, join in the fun and lark about until the game starts. We are more of a strict milsim team these days and GZ is used to build a team spirit rather than fight too hard. Still, you can see in the video that I had a gun cam and managed some great footage of people getting “laced”.

Among this year’s special surprises arranged by the DA’s, was a fly-over by the father of one of our players in a Chinese stunt plane while dropping leaflets. Unfortunately, hitting a 1000 people all wearing cammo was a challenge and most went wide into a nearby field. Roll on next year, where we will try again, or perhaps go even further!

Regards,

Basho


Watch this video on Vimeo. Video created by Basho Matsuo.

For 3000 years people have worshiped on the shores of the Ganges at Varanasi.

So what kind of place is it and how does it make one feel to be in one of the most “holy” cities in the world? This short film considers just that by showing the city as it wakes and as it goes to sleep.

Varanasi is not a city for the beginner traveller. There are many dangers to being in such a place, both physically and spiritually. While we were there we unwittingly saw the results of a murder, were followed and threatened by a local targeting tourists, eyed up by countless armed police and got into some heated arguments with the local Tuk Tuk drivers who attempted to rip us off. For us, having travelled for so long, this was taken all in our stride. The other dangers in Varanasi appear to be spiritual. The entire place is full of European Yogic converts who live in Ashrams up and down the banks. That you could lose yourself here was for me the real danger I sought to avoid.

There is a definite sense of this being a holy city. It is filthy and downtrodden like many Indian cities, but its immense ancientness is captivating. I have tried to show some of that in this film. The ceremony shown at the end of the film is known as the Varanasi Dashashwamedh Ghat Agni Pooja Ceremony and practiced daily in honour of the gods:

“Dashashwamedh Ghat is located close to “Vishwanath Temple”, and is
probably the most spectacular ghat. Two Hindu mythologies are
associated with it: According to one, Lord Brahma created it to
welcome Lord Shiva. According to another, Lord Brahma sacrificed ten
horses in a yajna here. A group of priests daily perform in the
evening at this ghat “Agni Pooja” (Worship to Fire) wherein a
dedication is made to Lord Shiva, River Ganga, Surya (Sun), Agni
(Fire), and the whole universe.”

Watch this video on Vimeo. Video created by Basho Matsuo.

The Fox glacier of New Zealand is an amazing sight, especially from a
helicopter. We flew up the right hand side and put down deep into the
ice fields. From there we hiked into the cold, a line snaking off up
the slope of the face. After a while our guide held us up and
considered a deep hole in front of him. With no word he jumped into it
and disapeared. A few minutes later we heard him shout, “it’s ok. It’s
not infinite”. I’m glad of that, I thought. We followed him in and
came across this. An amazing cavern about 40 meters long. All around
the ice crunched and the walls dripped.

www.outsidecontext.com

My new watch strap made from some spare Paracord, from this blog post:

www.outsidecontext.com/2009/01/12/kingfisher-diver-pro-wa…

My new watch strap made from some spare Paracord, from this blog post:

www.outsidecontext.com/2009/01/12/kingfisher-diver-pro-wa…