Photo exhibition
myoutdoors FREE ADVENTURE photography exhibition & wide boyz 'century crack' PREMIERE BY ALEX EKINS
Every year at the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival we like to showcase the work of adventure photographers and / or artists. This year we've teamed up with MyOutdoors, the online outdoors news and reviews magazine, to present our biggest ever adventure photography exhibition in the festival's 8 years which will be free and will run for almost three weeks from 18th February until March 8th at the Workstation (next door to the Showroom Cinema) with prints available for purchase through the ShAFF kit sale and personal signing sessions by several photographers.
Top professional adventure and climbing photographer Alex Ekins will launch a unique exhibition at ShAFF with a World Premiere of photographs taken during the filming of the award winning 'Wide Boyz' film. Joining Whittaker and Randall on their tour of the USA and culminating in the first ascent of Century Crack, Alex Ekins recorded a fascinating insight into the ultra-specialized world off off-width crack climbing, capturing the brutality of the climbing and the emotion of success in stunning detail.
(Note - we like 'Wide Boyz' so much that we're screening both the full length and shorter Reel Rock Tour versions of Hot Aches' Productions' hit this year at ShAFF).
There will also be an exhibition of work from leading adventure photographer Lukasz Warzecha. (You can also watch two of Lucasz's Polished Project films 'Echoes' and 'Dave' which will be screened as part of the film festival.)
Alongside Ekins and Warzecha the exhibition will also feature a return by Dan Lane who exhibited last year and debut ShAFF exhibitions by Andy Leader, Stewart Smith, Nadir Khan and Mat Robinson.
Presenting his Wide Boyz exhibition for the first time Ekins says: “It was a tremendous privilege to accompany Pete and Tom on their two month tour of the Utah and Wyoming. After two years training in a Sheffield cellar they stunned the climbing world with fast ascents of the world’s hardest off-widths. Working in wild, beautiful and sometimes dangerous environments, I have tried to document the dedication, pain and suffering involved in jamming one’s body into brutal wide cracks.”
More about the photographers:
After 20 years as a professional climber and mountaineer Alex Ekins has built an impressive cv as a photo-journalist and includes HRH Sheik Faisal, The BMC, YHA, AMI, Jagged Globe, Sheffield City Council and multiple outdoor equipment manufacturers amongst his clients. Photographs from his portfolio have been published in The Times, National Geographic, The FT, The Guardian, Le Monde and Repubblica and others along with extensive coverage in climbing magazines worldwide.
Lukasz Warzecha is one of the best known and respected names in climbing photography, working alongside some of the sports top names on ground breaking climbs including Dave MacLeod and Andy Turner's Long Hope and with Nick Bullock on Echoes. Based in the Peak District Warzecha travels extensively to capture the action close-up in a unique style that's seen his photographs used extensively by both the mainstream and climbing media.
Nadir Khan is an adventure photgrapher with an impressive range of pictures covering mountain biking, kayaking, climbing and ice climbing along with a portfolio of landscape photographs from around the world. With a passion for capturing beauty in all its forms from wild and rugged landscapes to crux moves on rock and ice Nadir is making his ShAFF debut with this year's exhibition.
Dan Lane is one of a new wave of up and coming young adventure photographers. At just 18 he manages to spend most of the week in college doing A-levels and still be a semi-professional photographer in his spare time. His ambition as a photographer is to take photographs which inspire people to go to places they wouldn’t normally go to take in the immense vistas and spend time away from the cites to enjoy the natural beauty that Britain has to offer. He’s certainly made the most of his four years in photography with regular trips to Snowdonia, Yorkshire, Lake District, Pembroke, Scotland and Lundy amongst many other UK locations. On top of that he’s photographed all over Europe, including Spain, France and Italy with a trip to the Norwegian Islands of Lofoten planned for this summer. Dan is returning to ShAFF after exhibiting last year.
Stewart Smith is an established landscape photographer based in the Lake District with a string of published work to his name from magazine covers to promotional material. Known for his dramatic mountain pictures he's a dedicated full time professional who can often be found bivvying on summits overnight for a single shot at sunrise. This will be Stewart's first ShAFF exhibition. Photo © Stewart Smith Photography - Wild Camping Great Gable
Andy Leader is a photographer based in Holmfirth and inspired by the ever changing light and landscape of the Pennines around Holmfirth , Marsden and the Dark Peak. In addition to his popular Made In Holmfirth blog Andy combines walks and workshops with his popular limited edition prints and cards. 2013 will be Andy's first exhibition at ShAFF. Andy Leader - From Kinder
Mat Robinson is another of the new generation of photographers making their name. Born in Richmond but now resident in Sheffield studying for a PhD in Cosmology, Mat has built up a popular following on social media and photo galleries for his superb use of light and colour. Mat will be making his debut at ShAFF. Photo © Mat Robinson - Higgar Tor
Thank you to Dave Mycroft, Managing Editor at MyOutdoors for pulling together such an impressive selection of photographers.
