TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival

OLYMPUS Pro Photographer Showdown

A visual feast. 9 minute digital slide-shows curated by a half dozen of the best lifestyle and action photographers in the world, compete for $10,000 Best in Show award and the $1,000 2010 People’s Choice Award.

As the pre-eminent action sports photography contest in the world, the Pro Photographer Showdown celebrates still images and the commitment required to build a body of work that captures time and captivates the human spirit.
 

Shooters – we bow down to your trigger fingers. Take us away with you…

The 2010 Pro Photographer Finalists are:

Brian Bielmann - Surf photographer, Brian Bielmann moved to Hawaii in 1975 and was initially reluctant to trade a surfboard for a camera, until a surfing accident that nearly took his life got him thinking about the future. Bielmann has been hailed for his incredible range and his willingness to risk life and limb to capture action amongst the swells. He’s drowned ten cameras in the service of documenting the scene on Hawaii’s North Shore, proving himself the master of the moment and an endlessly inventive shooter. His work has appeared on the cover of every major surf magazine in the world, as well as Rolling Stone, The New York Times andSports Illustrated. He has shot ad campaigns for Quiksilver, Billabong and Volcom and served as senior staff photographer for Transworld Surf for the last decade.

Grant Gunderson - One of the ski industry’s most talented photographers, 30 year old Gunderson, based at Mt Baker, Washington, has shot for nearly every major snow sports and outdoor publication worldwide including Outside, Powder, Freeskier, Skier, Skiing and Ski. In addition to his editorial work, Grant supplies many of the world’s top brands with images that set the bar for a new level of creativity and define the culture of action sports. A plastics engineer by education, Gunderson recently he won the Ski Salt Lake City Photo Shoot Out and was named one of the world’s top 50 action sport photographers by Red Bull. He skis close to 200 days a year and makes a high quality and high octane homebrewed ale. Currently he is serving as the Photo Editor of The Ski Journal.

Yves Garneau - A Canadian-born photographer based in the Swiss Alps, Yves Garneau has made a living doing what he's dreamed about ever since his long snowy drive from Ontario to British Columbia in January of '96. Two amazing winters on the west coast transformed him from a recreational skier to a die-hard mountain addict. At the end of '97, he packed his bags and headed to Europe for a taste of the Swiss Alps, chocolate and cheese. He now calls the Val de Bagnes home and lives with his wife and boys in a little village nestled at the base of Europe's best resort, Verbier. Yves spends his winters shooting all over the Alps for several well known ski brands and more than a dozen different ski publications. He specializes in back country ski photography bringing some of the most pristine points of view straight to your coffee table at home.

Jeremy Koreski is a professional photographer based on the West Coast of Canada. Born and raised in the small town of Tofino, B.C., Koreski has been shooting outdoor life, coastal culture and action sports since his teens. With a strongly individual style and an affinity for working in cold and challenging environments—the backcountry surf breaks of Vancouver Island and the zero-degree waters of Nova Scotia among them—Koreski has become a highly-regarded editorial, commercial and fine art photographer. Currently working as the photo editor of SBC Surf, his work has appeared in most of the world's major surf magazines. His other clients include Ocean Minded, ESPN and Patagonia.

Mason Mashon - At 24 years of age and residing permanently in Whistler, Mason is an enthusiast in all the elements. As a surfer, mountain biker, skier and snowboarder, his photographic perspectives stem from the feelings you get from living and riding in the mountains.

Erik Seo - Since his first strobed shots Erik Seo has produced more flashing than a fundraiser full of bikini clad sorority girls. Born and raised on the far West Coast, Seo carefully honed his taste for IKEA and Asian manufactured automobiles while remotely firing his way into the world of ski photography. Seo's work has appeared in countless US magazine and a handful of countries we would love to believe he can pronounce. This slightly taller than a breadbox photographer now calls Salt Lake City home, recently bought a V8 truck, and can be found tending to his potted plant collection in his old age. Of course he still shoots the occasional cover or two and regularly contributes to Powder when he's not cleaning up at high stakes paintball games.

File Attachments: 

Press release announcing the Pro Photographer Showdown finalists, March 15 2010

Photos from the Pro Photographer Showdown finalists for 2010