Pinkbike Photo of the Year Contest - $20,000+ in prizing

Nov 4, 2011

by Karl Burkat

Pinkbike is proud to announce its inaugural Photo of the Year Contest presented by Specialized. Being the home of MTB photography with over 7 million photos submitted from over 150 countries worldwide, there are photos from every corner of the globe from pros and amateurs alike. We wanted to find a way to determine what the top photo is every year and this contest should hopefully narrow things down - and reward those shooters!

How Does it Work?

All Photos taken and uploaded this year that are nominated by users are eligible. Each Pinkbike user can nominate up to 5 different photos into the contest (see how to nominate below). The judges will then spend several sleepless nights narrowing the nominated photos down to 32 after which we will open things up to the public. We will pit each photo randonly against another photo in a College Baskeball Bracket-like showdown. Except photos will be pitted against each other to user voting and most votes will move onto the next round. So 32 photos will narrow down to 16, then 8, 4, 2 until there is a single photo deemed the 2011 Pinkbike Photo of the Year. Deadline for nominations is November 4th.

Each photo uploaded this year can be nominated by any user by clicking the 'Nominate this Photo' link. All nominated photos will then be viewed by the panel of judges and narrowed down to 32.

Prizing! (MSRP $20,000+)

• Round of 32 - All 32 receive a pair of SPY Sunglasses (MSRP $120 each)
• Round of 16 - All 16 receive two pairs of Tioga Psycho Genius tires (MSRP $200 for two pairs)
• Round of 8 - All 8 receive a set of Black Race Face Atlas cranks (MSRP $339.99 each)
• Round of 4 - All 4 receive a Marzocchi 66RC3 Evo Ti (MSRP $1199.00 each) and an F-stop Guru bag with ICU (MSRP $245 each)
• Winner - Receives a Complete 2012 Specialized Demo (MSRP $6600) and ANY F-stop bag plus 2 ICU's plus a Dakota accessory kit (MSRP $500)

Example bracket system.

Judging

Photography heavyweights Ian Hylands, Sterling Lorence, Harookz, Margus Riga, Fraser Britton and Colin Meagher will be the judges and select the initial 32 photos for the contest.

Rules

• Contest judges are ineligible to win
• Only one photo can be selected from each photographer into final 32
• You must be the photographer who took the photo

Nominations

You can see all photos currently nominated here

Thanks to Specialized, Marzocchi, Race Face, Tioga, F-Stop Gear and Spy

Posted In:
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Author Info:

karl-burkat
Member since Jan 1, 2000
600 articles

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108 Comments

53 6

RaleighVoid (Oct 11, 2011 at 14:46)

i vote for any photo with ruari hallam in (generally bar dragging) taken by duncan philpott :p

slincoln (Oct 11, 2011 at 15:13)

YEW

nouser (Oct 11, 2011 at 19:37)

I have been thinking about POY for ever! stoked that it is here now!

bigbluebike FL (Oct 11, 2011 at 20:04)

BAR DRAG KING!

duck-slap (Oct 11, 2011 at 22:26)

theres some really questionable photos on here...

jakemonk (Oct 12, 2011 at 0:16)

Something from Duncan Philpott

K-Forbes (Oct 15, 2011 at 5:31)

i vote for the same one as the rest of them

Will-Levo (Oct 21, 2011 at 1:28)

such a sick photo!

specialized15 (Oct 22, 2011 at 15:32)

i cant find the one where the guy is flipping off the camera with both hands ona DH bike...anyone know where i can find it?

KonaStinkyKid100 (Oct 27, 2011 at 19:25)

picture of the century anyone

andrewdionne (Nov 4, 2011 at 12:21)

I seriously cant wait to see the POY

So many sick photos to pick from.

20 0

virtumedia (Oct 11, 2011 at 15:38)

Any chance of a similar contest for videos?

15 3

carbonlite (Oct 11, 2011 at 14:56)

but... Ian Hylands, Sterling Lorence, Harookz, Margus Riga, Fraser Britton and Colin Meagher capture some of the best photos in the world for mountain biking. It'd be nice if we could find a way to include them, but awesome contest guys

ButtonPusher (Oct 11, 2011 at 15:15)

it's a little more fair this way... you don't put amateur boxers in the same tournament as mike tyson... plus, if anyone knows what a great MTB photo looks like it's those guys listed above..!

karl-burkat FL (Oct 11, 2011 at 15:17)

Yeah it's a difficult decision, but if we're going to have pro judges, we can't have them eligible. It's a trade off.

carbonlite (Oct 11, 2011 at 17:10)

I agree, its probably the best considering, but it does kind of take away from the epicness of photo of the year, if the best pros are judges.

10 0

radek Mod (Oct 11, 2011 at 18:28)

Maybe after this one we'll have a BEST judges photo contest !

caliber-410 (Oct 11, 2011 at 22:42)

How does this work, you nominate five photos of any one or five of your own?

radek Mod (Oct 11, 2011 at 23:05)

Either or. You can nominate 5 of your own photos, or you can nominate photos from someone else. The point is to make sure your and other good photos are nominated so they are looked at by the judges.

trickn0l0gy (Oct 12, 2011 at 8:00)

Well, leaves a better chance to all the German pro(mise)s such as Sebastian Dörk for example (infinite trails).

jack-sprogis (Oct 11, 2011 at 14:45)

A good concept

i'll look forward to voting .

FastTimes (Oct 11, 2011 at 14:49)

Amazing guys.

joslatapi (Oct 11, 2011 at 14:54)

i wish i had a good camera

darkmuncan (Oct 11, 2011 at 15:01)

You dont need a pro DSLR to take a great shot! Ive seen some amazing shots taken with a point n click or even an iPhone camera.

adam-mitchell (Oct 11, 2011 at 15:01)

THERE'S SO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM

road-psyclist (Oct 11, 2011 at 15:43)

They should use this feature for choosing Picture Of The Day. It means that users can choose the POD instead of admin.

Jayb1rd (Oct 11, 2011 at 18:29)

So if i create hundreds of accounts for pinkbike, and have them vote on all my photos, does that still count?

dannydrew (Oct 11, 2011 at 19:11)

no, the judges pick 32 photos and THEN you vote.

hoolydooly (Oct 11, 2011 at 20:15)

I think if PB sees a lot of votes coming from the same IP address they will remove all votes from that IP except for the very first one.

brett236 (Oct 11, 2011 at 19:39)

Am i the only one that thinks maybe we should wait until 2011 is over before we vote on the picture of the year for a year that will still have 2 months of potentially amazing photos?

sickdawg69 (Oct 12, 2011 at 18:15)

word...

hoolydooly (Oct 12, 2011 at 4:17)

WOULD EVERYONE PLEASE STOP SUBMITTING STUPID PHOTOS SUCH AS THIS ONE! This is photo of the YEAR, not photo of the millisecond!

www.pinkbike.com/photo/7254139

deathgripracing (Oct 11, 2011 at 15:06)

That's some really nice swag for a photo contest, big ups to the companies who have donated. The winner will take home almost $8500 in prizes. That's just awesome!

darkmuncan (Oct 11, 2011 at 20:49)

ah yes, I didn't appreciate the winner will get one of ALL the finals prizes. Not sure I will need some tryes, cranks and a fork when I'm rocking a pimp 2012 Demo though!

darkmuncan (Oct 11, 2011 at 20:49)

*tyres....

superdanu (Oct 11, 2011 at 20:59)

photography "heavyweights"...the same picture has been submitted twice, by 2 different photographers:
www.pinkbike.com/photo/7097242
www.pinkbike.com/photo/6640750
....unless svenmartin is piggybackin on JubaBabaci, and them both taking the same picture at the SANE time, something's wrong here

brycepiwek (Oct 11, 2011 at 21:17)

Thats why in the rules it says the person who posted the photo must be the photographer.... which filters out situations like that.

IanHylands (Oct 11, 2011 at 22:17)

Thanks, we normally remove photos from professional photographers that have been posted by others. This one has been taken care of. Don't steal, it's not cool!

superdanu (Oct 12, 2011 at 5:41)

there are a couple more shots with more than one sources, check it out. actually, the picture i mentioned a above has at least 3 different sources.

IanHylands (Oct 12, 2011 at 10:17)

Unfortunately I don't have time to search the photos all day looking for duplicates. When we find them we remove them...

RedfernMedia (Oct 11, 2011 at 16:29)

This is an amaazing contest guys! I'm pumped to see how it unfolds.

ftlotn (Oct 11, 2011 at 18:47)

Any fine print? or usage of winning image?...

knobzy (Oct 11, 2011 at 15:23)

i like the prize layout for the 32 down to winner. Great prizes, good luck to those who are entering,

turco999 (Oct 11, 2011 at 16:07)

Id want this photo to win, but it says 2011 photos only. This picture was best known in 2011, shouldn't that count?

www.pinkbike.com/photo/4612656

soupman (Oct 11, 2011 at 16:09)

nah man..its a 2010 lo....llook

Date: 2010-02-18

i copy pasted it

danielgroves (Oct 11, 2011 at 15:10)

Looks like I'm going to have to try and take something that'll stand out from the crowd this weekend…

swampdonkeys (Nov 2, 2011 at 5:55)

Is there any way to see if our photo has been nominated and is up for judges viewing?

karl-burkat FL (Nov 2, 2011 at 9:07)

About 5000 photos nominated, you can see them all here, www.pinkbike.com/photo/poylist

etiennecelery (Oct 11, 2011 at 14:47)

2012 Specialized Demo! OMG I will be taking photos all day hehehe.

j-peters (Oct 11, 2011 at 15:03)

Oh hell no...

j-peters (Oct 11, 2011 at 15:13)

sorry that was a bit candid, but those who know what I am talking about surely understand my frustration.

gee-milner (Oct 11, 2011 at 15:26)

I do

charleyboy14 (Oct 11, 2011 at 16:26)

You have chosen you own photos lol i like your style

j-peters (Oct 11, 2011 at 16:31)

If nothing else, just to stir the pot

davidstuartkelly (Oct 11, 2011 at 15:28)

Great idea, i do not envy any of the judges. Some serious eye ache for the next few weeks then...

cyrix (Oct 11, 2011 at 15:31)

I can see a huge influx of begging, dupe accounts, spam accounts, comment spam, arguing, etc...etc....

dgraham (Oct 12, 2011 at 17:05)

popularity contest.... iam sure an amature rider/photographer will win. yea right!

caiocrz (Oct 11, 2011 at 17:59)

If this contest happens next I guess I will start taking some photos

A free demo doesnt hurt anyone... (not literally)

Hobo1337 (Oct 11, 2011 at 21:37)

please dont pick pictures from last year, or pictures that are not of the people submitting them

hoolydooly (Oct 12, 2011 at 13:34)

Thats not up to Pinkbike, thats all to do with the Department Of Education or what ever you have over there.

TYNT (Oct 12, 2011 at 18:49)

Holy $h!t a demo and all that other stuff I better get my sister to start taking photos of me

pedroa (Oct 11, 2011 at 15:12)

I wish I had just one amazing photo to get into the contest !

SandroSzukat (Oct 11, 2011 at 15:42)

Great job pinkbike!

macstiker (Oct 11, 2011 at 17:53)

too many photos are random select :S ...

GauteL (Oct 12, 2011 at 8:06)

why cant i nominate the POD from 1 jan 2011?? www.pinkbike.com/photo/4612656

IanHylands (Oct 12, 2011 at 10:15)

because it's from 2010-2-18 if you look at the date...

cambo5 (Oct 12, 2011 at 9:43)

pink bike make it so i can see pictures during class at school. please

B-STOCK (Oct 24, 2011 at 7:23)

im at school right now looking at these pictures.

Ridemorestudios (Oct 12, 2011 at 14:12)

Barney Crossley for the win!!!

sologiuc (Oct 12, 2011 at 21:53)

how i can post a picture in this contest?

slips91 (Nov 14, 2011 at 9:55)

how do i get my photo in this contest?

karl-burkat FL (Nov 14, 2011 at 9:58)

There was a month long nomination process which ended. The final 32 photos are selected. We will be doing this again in 2012!

coolj43 (Oct 11, 2011 at 14:50)

$20 000!?!?!?! holy man!!!! :o

jake-nangle (Oct 11, 2011 at 14:58)

They don't win $20,000 that's how much allthe prizes cost all together!

ButtonPusher (Oct 11, 2011 at 15:16)

Good to see a heavy-weight judging panel like that..!

nikster (Oct 11, 2011 at 15:52)

How do we send photos in?

karl-burkat FL (Oct 11, 2011 at 15:55)

Upload your photos, and nominate them (There is a nominate link on each photo)

DrPayne62 (Oct 11, 2011 at 16:18)

I already used all 5 of my nominations....

northwestdhdad (Oct 11, 2011 at 19:30)

Really cool contest.

drop20 (Oct 11, 2011 at 19:36)

sweet! the winner recieves all of the stuff! i need to win!

luis-beri (Oct 12, 2011 at 1:36)

DEMO 2012............................. let´s take some (nice) photos

dirtydroog (Oct 12, 2011 at 6:25)

Is photoshopping allowed? Most digital photos are touched up these days.

malloj (Oct 12, 2011 at 7:33)

duncanp for the win

TyranT21 (Oct 21, 2011 at 3:02)

the top 12 should be made into a calendar

bluezac17 (Oct 21, 2011 at 12:16)

K why isn't larock a judge? He's like top 3 in the biz easily

RyanATduthie (Oct 24, 2011 at 8:18)

you can win buckets of money

Mat12 (Nov 4, 2011 at 12:58)

cant wait to see the final photo

Skittleslolz (Oct 12, 2011 at 2:13)

I want the demo.

vidko70 (Oct 16, 2011 at 7:14)

yeah : )

pokalface (Oct 11, 2011 at 15:08)

nice

biker-Boy808 FL (Oct 11, 2011 at 19:54)

VOY ??

juzam888 (Oct 14, 2011 at 17:42)

CoooooL

biker-boy13 (Oct 16, 2011 at 9:25)

vote POY for my photos they are best

KR3Wcrazy (Oct 11, 2011 at 14:51)

The photos being nominated have to be mtb related right?

Drood (Oct 11, 2011 at 14:52)

Well I would think so dude..

I-CanDoRideTheBike (Oct 11, 2011 at 14:52)

I believe any form of cycling ?

karl-burkat FL (Oct 11, 2011 at 14:53)

Any form of MTB

dirtworks911 (Oct 11, 2011 at 15:54)

I sure hope the final one isn't blurry!!

nothingbetter (Oct 11, 2011 at 16:28)

I dunno, I've seen some nice, blurry photos.

dotca (Oct 12, 2011 at 8:55)

That means no BMX? Ah shit then!

ericmcmahon (Oct 12, 2011 at 15:18)

I know Right. So stupid

dgraham (Oct 12, 2011 at 17:12)

shit i cant afford a full suspension MTB, but iam supposed to take pro quality trail photos? and then get people to vote on it.... yea this isnt set up for pros. we all have a chance, even with an iphone and a Huffy!
nice

sickdawg69 (Oct 12, 2011 at 18:21)

hahahaaa!! tru story!

paulclarke (Oct 13, 2011 at 16:54)

DGRAHAM used dslr's are as cheap as 250$ and you do not need an expensive DH rig to get nice photos!?!! I do not get what ur bitchin about.

Maybe a catagory for nastiest photo should be started?? Just dunno

GyroShock (Oct 21, 2011 at 3:20)

I don't get it. They say that any Pinkbike user may nominate for any photo of their choice, but then again, the rules state that "You must be the photographer who took the photo". I've already nominated 5 photos, but none of them are photos that were photographed by myself. Am I missing something? Sorry if I'm sounding like a tool right now...

JHewitt (Oct 21, 2011 at 6:43)

You can vote for whatever photo you like. In order to win, the photo you uploaded must belong to you. Get it?

GyroShock (Oct 21, 2011 at 8:55)

Ah! Now I get it... Thanks man!

JHewitt (Oct 21, 2011 at 18:03)

No worries.