Photograph by Eriko Nemoto

Kia ora, こんにちは, I’m Elina Osborne.

I’m a filmmaker and writer telling stories through long-distance walking — exploring identity, landscape, and human connection across New Zealand, Japan, and the world. Over the years, my work has merged into adventure, documentary, and storytelling, living at the intersection of these things that bring me to life. You’ll find a lot of my work on YouTube.

Alongside filmmaking, I collaborate with brands on creative direction, creating and building their stories. I’ve worked with brands including Gossamer Gear, And Wander, Zpacks, Sawyer, Jetboil, Macpac, Kathmandu, Jack Wolfskin, Sea to Summit, Sony, and Audio-Technica.

Through the wilderness of this all, what continues to be my north star?
To live deeply and share stories of connection.

Behind the (moss-covered) scenes from a project with @andwander_official shot back in October. For 3 days and 2 nights in the final dregs of summer, we traversed Yakushima from summit to sea. With Nemo on stills, and myself on video, we explored th
Three and a half months of bare feet and cicadas; jumbled scenes from little projects and time outside in the homeland. 1-13: behind the scenes of shooting a video for Gossamer Gear(!!) then swapping sides of the lens. 11. A Te Araroa brother @se
I made a little film you can watch on YouTube. See, there’s this newly established eastern Hokkaido Trail; a 410km route through this lesser-known region of Japan. And this time… I was responsible for keeping this man alive. “
Long trails are never just about wilderness areas. Texture, Colour, Life! They all come from the worlds we’re invited into along the way. These faces and fragments from Ōfunato and the Ryōri peninsula along the Michinoku Coastal Trail gave ro
Postcard moments from Week One on the 1,000km Michinoku Coastal Trail 🇯🇵 I’m walking through towns, along coastline and forested paths. Tsunami memorial sites stand as reminder, and konbini onigiri have become a major food group. The people I
The geese are heading south and the kiwi in me can’t shake the belief that because it’s sunny, it isn’t cold. It’s two degrees. I hear movement behind me. I’m soon to finish this trail and finally meeting my first bear?
I laugh at the irony. “It’s all downhill from here” I catch myself saying. I gave myself 42 days to walk this trail and I’m closing in. But the terrain? The terrain is now an endless cycle of up and down over. Skirting coastal
They say from here on out, the “true wilderness” begins. The sounds of crashing waves and crunchy leaves a constant now, there are less people to talk to. More solitude, more singing, more challenging terrain. I passed through “the
 
 
 

Photograph by Eriko Nemoto