--New features push the Showdown's boundaries April 19th at the TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival--
Whistler, BC - March 14, 2006 - The recent worldwide call for entries for the 9th annual Pro Photographer Showdown has produced an incredible line-up of some of the planet's most prolific action-sports & lifestyle photographers. On April 19 at the TELUS Conference Centre in Whistler, B.C., five talented finalists compete for the first ever $10,000 prize purse in the gala Showdown. Recognized as the "Sundance Festival of action photography", this action arts showcase is part of the TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival, the legendary 10-day celebration fusing music, arts and sports from April 14-23.
This year's Pro Photographer Showdown is poised to take the world-renowned event to the next level with a new selection process, new presentation format and a new cash prize incentive of $10,000 for the winning photographer. Along with the talented and diverse line-up of finalist photographers, this year's Showdown has all the makings of becoming one of the best shows yet.
"We've always had big dreams for the Pro Photographer Showdown, but no one really expected that it would become the iconic event it is today," remarked Jack Turner, Commissioner of the Pro Photographer Showdown. "This event isn't just a collection of great photography. It's really about the passion and commitment it took for each artist to capture their images and transform them into a show worthy of the Pro Photographer Showdown."
The popular photography exposé opened up for the first time to submissions from all action-sport & lifestyle photographers in the world, and close to 60 entries were received including from Sweden, Switzerland, France, UK, throughout the United States and Canada. Organizers of the event were particularly impressed with how the photographers pushed the bounds of creativity with the new digital presentation format, encouraging a whole new level of creative choreography. For 2006, established pros will compete alongside new Showdown presenters. The five finalists are:
Blake Jorgenson - Awards and accolades for Blake's inspiring photography has been steadily mounting, including winning both the 2001 Pro Photographer Search and Showdown, Best of Show at the Andes Photo Challenge in 2002, Powder magazine Photo of the Year in 2003, and recently, Whistler's Photographer of the Year for 2004. Currently he is based out of Whistler, B.C., and has senior photographer positions at Powder, Skier and Freeskier magazines.
Kevin Zacher - With a degree in photojournalism from Northern Arizona University, Kevin now lives in Santa Monica and has shot for such industry leaders as TransWorld SNOWboarding Magazine, Burton Snowboards, Coca-Cola, Quicksilver, K2 Sports, and MTV. As a previous presenter in the 2002 Pro Photographer Search, his photography serves as a commentary for the pop culture of snowboarding, and he has become an essential figure in documenting the spirit of this lifestyle.
Corey Rich - From South Lake Tahoe, California, Corey is a climber, adventurer, and photojournalist and has traveled the world on assignment for many of the best clients in the industry, including Sports Illustrated, Outside, Men's Journal, National Geographic Adventure, Nike, Patagonia, and The North Face. He has just finished his first coffee table book, My Favourite Place: Great Athletes In The Great Outdoors, which will be in bookstores beginning April of 2006.
Scott Pommier - Scott is a local Vancouver photographer/writer who was recently honored as the 2005 Freesports Photographer of the Year. He has served as the field editor at TransWorld SKATEboarding Magazine and a senior editor for SBC Skateboard, and has also contributed to almost every major skateboarding magazine in North America, including TransWorld, Thrasher, Skateboarder, Slap, Heckler and Concrete Powder and popular advertisers such as Vans, Circa, DC, Volcom, Billabong, and Element.
Jeremy Koreski - Based in Tofino BC, Jeremy has become one of the more prominent recorders of the West Coast's current environmental and cultural milieu. His images have appeared in Outside, The Surfer's Journal, Surfer Magazine, enRoute, The Surfer's Path, Explore Magazine and many more. Koreski is also the creator of Numb, an acclaimed Canadian surf video that documents the surfing and snowboarding of his core group of friends - Raph and Sepp Bruhwiler, Peter Devries, Ryan Erickson and Paul Henderson.
The artists are now putting together a 9-minute choreographed slide show set to music for the infamous Showdown in Whistler, where one will be voted "Best of Show" with a winner-take-all $10,000 cash prize, and international television screenings. Finalists will feature the best work of their careers in front of an audience of 2000 at the Showdown, and if you'd like to be there to witness the best action-sport & lifestyle photography in the world, tickets for the gala evening are $20, and available online at http://www.whistler2006.com/estore/ More information on the Pro Photographer Showdown and the presenting photographers can be found at http://www.wssf.com/photo