Arc'teryx Photo Comp

One of the most exciting events every year at ShAFF is the Arc'teryx Adventure Shot Photography Competition and Quiz.

Congratulations to Jordan Tybon - our wildcard entry - who won the £500 cash prize. Jordan's a highliner, photographer and magazine contributor from Seattle who came over from Berlin (where he currently lives) to take part in this year's ShAFF. You can see his photos and the other entries for the wildcard slot by clicking here.

The prizes

Shoot Out

First Prize ￡500 in cash
Second Prize Arc’Teryx Goretex Jacket
Third Prize Arc’Teryx Softshell
Fourth Prize Arc’Teryx Pack up to 40 L of choice
Fifth Prize Arc’Teryx Technical Long Sleeved Baselayer

Quiz

Beanies and chalk bags.

The Quiz

This high energy, audience-driven event will start with a pub-style Quiz with prizes donated by Arc'teryx. Hosted by comedian, climber and author, the one and only Niall Grimes.

The Shoot-Out (and how to enter)

Following the quiz will be a "shoot out" by five adventure sports photographers vying for cash and a heap of Arc'teryx kit. Each will have 5 minutes in which to showcase their photographs to the audience who will rate their approval vocally.

Four of the five will be invited by the event organisers, documentary outdoor, adventure photographer Alex Ekins and photographer, magazine edotor and climber Ian Parnell. There will be one climbing photographer, one caving photographer, one biking photographer and one parkour photographer. The fifth finalist will be a wild card, chosen by Alex and the ShAFF judges, from online entries (see below)

2010 winner Alex Buisse says: “I love mountaineering & being in the mountains. I wanted to share the climbing experience with people who couldn’t come with me. My vision is the drama of it, which is why it fits into the format of the Arcteryx Shaff competition which is short and fast-paced. The prize was really nice. It gave me contacts and credibility to win a competition against professional photographers.”

“It’s part of why I was sent by [adventure travel company] Jagged Globe to Nepal last month to use in their brochure to spend a month in the Everest Region on their Khumbu Climber trip. It was an amazing trip and my first commission.”

“I’ve been trying to decide whether to go pro but winning the Arc’teryx Shaff competition really helps my confidence and helps push me towards doing the scarier, more interesting, more adventurous choice [of going professional].”

His advice for this year’s entrants is: “As long as you have photos that show you love adventure then you should give it a try because I wasn’t pro when I entered. Try to be fast-paced and don’t make it a boring slide show.”

Click here to listen to a Heason Events podcast interview with Alex Buisse on the Shaff website and click here to watch Alex’s winning slide show online.

The four invited photographers are:

Cheryl King - Speciality: Biking
Gavin Newman - Speciality: Caving
Lukasz Warzecha - Speciality: Climbing
Andy Day - Speciality: Parkour

How to Enter the open competition (and see the entries so far):

Simply send us 6 photos that you feel represent your portfolio well. Email them to adventureshot@shaff.co.uk
We will upload the photos to this ShAFF gallery account where they will be publically viewable.
Keep the size under 750 pixels so nobody can print from them.
Put your name in the filename of each photo.
If you are selected, you will need to be able to attend the event which takes place at 20.30 on Sat 10th March at ShAFF at the Showroom Cinema in Sheffield. Note that expenses won't be paid.
You will need to prepare a 5 minute audio visual presentation and present it to the live audience alongside the other four finalists. We recommend a Quicktime Movie.
Submission deadline: Photos must be uploaded by Feb 19th. We will contact the chosen finalist on Feb 20th.

Judging Criteria

The judges will assess entries for:

Consistent high quality across a wide range of images (i.e. not just one standout shot).
Images that capture the essence of the outdoor adventure experience (i.e. what it feels like to be deep in an adventure, the emotions, the wonder of it all).
Images that "we" perhaps haven't seen before, or take an unusual or innovative look at our adventure world.