Banff Mountain Photo Essay Competition
Submit photo essays to illustrate your mountain related stories whether they are culture, adventure, wildlife, sport, environment, or natural history.
Awards:
- The Winner will receive a $3000 CDN prize and an opportunity to attend the 2023 Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival to receive their award.
- The winning essay will be displayed as part of the 2023 Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival exhibitions.
The Grand Prize winner will be announced in June 2023
Each essay submitted should consist of three to five images. Photo essays can be sequential in nature, intended to be viewed in a particular order, or they may consist of non-ordered photographs which may be viewed all at once to reveal their character and dynamics.
Judging criteria: effectiveness in conveying the mountain story through composition, technique, content, and originality of well-edited images.
Image requirements: 1024 x 768 pixels; 72ppi; JPG format; no larger than 1MB in file size; sRGB colour space; no watermarking or digital mattes, frames, or borders.
There are two types of photo essays: the narrative and the thematic. Narrative photo essays focus on a story you’re telling the viewer, while thematic photo essays speak to a specific subject. The most natural method for choosing a topic or theme for your photo essay is to go with what you know. Photograph what you experience. Whether that includes people, objects, or the things you think about throughout the day, accessibility is key here. Common topics or concepts to start with are emotions (depicting sadness or happiness) or experiences (everyday life, city living).