2014 Specialized Photo of the Year Contest Powered by SRAM is Coming - $10,000 Cash Prize

Oct 18, 2014
by Pinkbike Staff  

The 4th annual Pinkbike Photo of the Year Contest is about to get underway. The winner will join John Wellburn, Toby Cowley and Sterling Lorence in the PB Photo of the Year Hall of Fame and they could walk away with $10,000 and a Specialized Enduro 27.5 kitted with a full SRAM gruppo.

Think you have a banger? This is your chance to see how you stack up against the best mountain bike photographers in the world. Just upload your shot and you can nominate up to three photos of your own or from other photographers for entry into the competition. Last year more than 1,064 photos were submitted and 382,461 votes were cast until ultimately only one image was chosen. This year's total is sure to be even bigger. You have until October 19 to nominate your favourite shots. The photo of the year will now be part of the Pinkbike MTB awards with the winner grabbing not only the title but also the trophy.

How Does it Work?

All photos taken and uploaded this year that are nominated by users are eligible. So upload your photos now to enter. Each Pinkbike user can nominate up to 3 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 randomly against another photo in a college basketball bracket-like showdown. At this point users will vote on the match ups and the photo with the 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 2014 Specialized Photo of the Year Powered by SRAM. Deadline for nominations is October 19.

Specialized 275 Enduro
  This beauty could be yours: a Specialized Enduro 27.5 with full SRAM build kit.


2014 POY
  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.

Rules
• Everyone is eligible except for judges
• Only one photo can be selected from each photographer into the final 32
• You must be the photographer who took the photo and have it uploaded on your personal Pinkbike account to be eligible

2014 Photo of the Year


Mentions: @SramMedia



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Member since Jul 22, 2013
3,460 articles

162 Comments
  • 260 4
 almost enough to buy a new demo...
  • 154 20
 Not including the $5,000 camera you'd have to buy to win this thing...
  • 29 17
 good point about the camera lol ! ^
  • 84 7
 and as usual the pro's always wins... it should be called "Photo of the year ( no noobs) 2014" !
  • 21 3
 Yup! @viatch and they already have major hook up on bikes.. sucks to be us
  • 55 4
 its not the camera although it helps
  • 35 54
flag mtber9491988 (Aug 21, 2014 at 8:47) (Below Threshold)
 @eddieoc3499 How is not the camera? Think about it, taking a picture of someone riding with an iphone/gopro vs using an expensive camera at same exact angle and place... which picture do you think will develop best? hmmmm
  • 92 2
 I know a bunch of people who have insane cameras and can't take shit for pictures.
  • 17 3
 im not talking about phones I'm saying low end dslr they take ggod pic they and are not expensive
  • 107 2
 A good camera helps like a good bike helps, you still need to know how to use it.
  • 10 2
 Exactly what laclan says.
  • 7 0
 This is an amazing sports camera that retailed for about 5000$ 6 or 7 years ago. 8 frames per second. Go buy one in great shape for 450$.



www.flickr.com/photos/btmlinedan/5645719005
  • 4 0
 That's the camera I use @paulclarke - best piece of photography gear I've ever bought. Bought mine 5 or so years ago and have never needed to upgrade - $450 is an absolute bargain!!!
  • 18 3
 I shoot with $1200 cameras and even use a $500 lens quite often so I don't see your point as being valid in any way.
  • 15 38
flag WAKIdesigns (Sep 15, 2014 at 22:37) (Below Threshold)
 Canon is ten times better than Nikon. Davetrump - pros need a Hasselblad
  • 10 0
 They didn't become "Pro's" because they take sup-par photos...
  • 2 0
 @paulclarke is right, a quick craigslist search and I found a photojournalist selling his 1d Mark II for $400 with three batteries! vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/pho/4600555111.html
  • 22 1
 A camera is to a photographer as a instrument is to musician. Cameras can't see and instruments can't hear. They are simply tools.
  • 7 7
 That means You dont know shit about photography.
  • 8 1
 Srry it was a comment on WakiDesigns. Razz
  • 14 1
 @viatch "and as usual the pro's always wins... it should be called "Photo of the year ( no noobs) 2014" !"

As usual the best ones win. The best ones are usually the pro's, so the pro's win. What do you want? Every competition is "no noobs", it's like complaining that you can't win Red Bull Rampage on a $150 bike from Walmart.
Btw talking about iPhone; the most expensive version of iPhone 6 Plus costs €1000 here in Europe. If you invest the same amount of money into a DSLR, you will be (theoretically) able to take the same photos as the pro's. Yes, you need a DSLR, but if you know what to look for, you don't need to spend $5000, the difference between a $5000 camera and $1000 camera is much smaller than between a $500 camera and $1000 camera.

WAKIdesigns:
1. It's the image sensor that captures the photo, not the logo, it's like comparing whether BMW or Mercedes is a better car - it depends which BMW to which Mercedes are you comparing.
2. Hasselblad is a slow camera for still photos (portraits, landscapes, architecture,...), you wouldn't be able to capture a shit if you wanted to use it for sports photography.
  • 8 26
flag WAKIdesigns (Sep 16, 2014 at 5:50) (Below Threshold)
 Steephill - chill out, I was trolling. BTW can you live up to your comment? @extremmist - it's cool, it was just a joke Wink
  • 5 0
 You don't assume a good cook can only make delicious food because of his oven do you?
  • 1 0
 No but that's what the original statement was. Something about not having a 10,000$ camera to win the contest.
  • 2 1
 Haha sorry dude yeah I was trying to reply to that comment and make him think a little
  • 1 2
 I can take awesome pictures with just a cellphone some people think I used a good camera no man I used a Galaxy Discover Smile .
  • 3 15
flag chyu (Sep 17, 2014 at 20:29) (Below Threshold)
 they should do it like strictly shot on phone camera only.
  • 1 2
 steephill-productions it also means you dont know shit all about photography, different cameras are better at shooting different things doesnt really matter the brand it matters what you want in a camera. If you want an easy to navigate interface then canon all the way, if you want an amazing picture camera that cant do video worth anything then nikon for sure.
  • 4 0
 Any interface is easy to navigate as soon as you get used to it (I was using both Canon and Nikon cameras for a few years).
  • 2 1
 true but I've always found that if your brand new to cameras canon is a little more user friendly
  • 3 2
 How about you guys take this to something like a photography forum instead of clogging up everybody's dash with an article posted over a month ago...?
  • 2 0
 Most expensive version of iPhone 6 Plus cost 1000 euros in your country? You're so lucky man Big Grin I live in Czech Republic and here the lowest version of iPhone 6 Plus cost 1000 euros Big Grin Big Grin
  • 8 2
 Moral of the story: F#ck iPhone Smile
  • 4 1
 Don't always believe the "you need an expensive camera" to take great photos, a great camera helps, but it still needs a great photographer to take a great photo, the same with bikes. Like a great photographer told me when I was in college, " It's not the arrow, but the Indian.." That always stayed with, and I've kicked butts with expensive cameras in many photo contests... So go out there with your "best" camera, which is the one you have right now, and start shooting..
  • 3 0
 @singlespeedtoday that was deep.
  • 1 0
 Well it is photo of the year, not photo of the year done by unknown photogs.... maybe PB will one day have an AM contest but as for now, who cares? This hasn't been advertised as anything else but the best photo to be published on PB over the past year.
  • 1 0
 I am currently in India, is this country available in this country?
  • 2 0
 Contest*** sorry.
  • 181 15
 if you are reading this, you are reading this.
  • 11 4
 what
  • 33 2
 You're lucky your up in Canada, otherwise the cops would bashing in your door to arrest you for blowing my f*cking mind bro!
  • 12 2
 I called the canadian internet police on your behalf, they are back tracing him as we speak
  • 4 0
 knock knock Eddy
  • 4 2
 ermegerhd wreawy?
  • 10 1
 Comment of the year.
  • 6 2
 I'm mindfucked
  • 4 3
 If you didn't read this, you didn't miss out on anything....
  • 110 14
 Would it really be possible to win a Specialized/SRAM photo competition, by submitting a picture of a Trek with full Shimano kit?
  • 14 4
 My thoughts exactly Big Grin
  • 173 4
 -Seeing as the sponsors are unchanged from last year and the winning photo featured a Shimano/Fox-supported rider on a Rocky Mountain, I think you have the answer to your half-baked conspiracy theory.
  • 14 3
 The big concern is the pitting photo against photo, if you get a bad draw your buggered from the get go even if its the second best photo out of them all you will be out first round if you come up against the best.it should be a simple look at them all, vote for your top 16/8/4 etc down to the final. you still cut the photos down by half but its fair and no reliant on a lucky pairing.
  • 5 2
 But at the end of the day the photos would be facing each other anyway. Lets say the two best photos are A and B (in this example A being the best photo). If they pair up in the first round and photo A wins then A will advance, however if they weren't paired in the first round and both won every pairing up until the final round then it would still be photo A vs. B and A would win. It's really irrelevant when the 2 best photos face each other because only one can win anyway. The only issue would be if there are second and third place prizes, which I don't think there is for this contest (but I could be wrong).
  • 4 4
 Yeah i did consider that but given the range of this competition I also did assume there would be other prizes?. But let me also give you another example.
If there are four great photos A, B, C, D. A been the best down to D

C goes against D and C advances. A goes against B and A advances, Now while B is better than C, C has advanced and gains another chance, so A and C move on. We know photos grow and change on us over time and with each look, we can change how we see them. So If B lost against A in round one. That does not guarantee it would lose in the final round. It also means that the best of the best are not the ones we see at the end. This is amplified by the larger number of photos.

I understand at the end of the day the best photo will win, but the best photo is subjective to who votes and its subjective to change over time by the viewer. The only fair way is to have a out right vote for top 50% at each stage and go by numbers. With voters allowed to change votes at anytime.
  • 6 3
 too much work. fuck it
  • 81 20
 I didn't even bother getting my camera out this year as I knew the prize would be some cheap 650b piece of rubbish. I reckon I could have won this contest easy- I got the new Gopro the other day.
  • 15 2
 hahaha! your funny Smile
  • 43 2
 I'm struggling to believe that some people thought that was a serious comment!! Thank God for the Aussies.
  • 3 0
 Kind of a buzzkill… he should win this bike, take the EWS championships on it, then retire and just watch all the cash accumulate.
  • 24 2
 Each year this comes up for debate. That myth that you need to be "pro" whatever that means to win a contest like this or even take top level photos, as well as the idea that you need $5k-$10k in equipment. It's all excuses and completely false. People take photos, not cameras. People get up at 3am and hike into the back country to find the perfect spot and the best light. People build trails and jumps used for photo shoots. People create, and the best don't look for excuses rther they look for solutions.

Here are a handful of pics shot from my backup camera and lens, both of which I bought used for a total cost $1200. and the pics were taken while just out for fun rides with friends, not during photoshoots or assignments.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/11403617
www.pinkbike.com/photo/11403605
www.pinkbike.com/photo/11403604
www.pinkbike.com/photo/10530718
www.pinkbike.com/photo/10530710
www.pinkbike.com/photo/10530699

A contest shouldn't be what motivates you to take photos. A passion for riding and photography should motivate you, and if you have those things it shouldn't be a huge stretch to invest $1k in equipment to get started. This contest is for the people who are willing, motivated, and passionate. Not for the lazy people who blame others for their own shortcomings.
  • 3 0
 great photos
  • 4 11
flag WAKIdesigns (Oct 14, 2014 at 2:48) (Below Threshold)
 You are such a hater Dave. Can't you see that some people have disfunctions. Like they get so absorbed by commenting, they create a persona that will say sht about anything, they just have to prove to other strangerd on the internet that they know something, that they have an opinion. They don't test it in real life, they are affraid to do so, maybe their environment creates little opportunity. Fated to pretend, Masterbation at it's best. I hate myself hahahah
  • 3 0
 Great pictures,inc a POD,I believe you know what you're talking about Mr Trump.
  • 25 1
 If you made a comment about needing an expensive camera you have exactly zero imagination or understanding of photography.
  • 2 1
 I know what you're getting at @StanMarsh but I was just meaning a small comp for those of us who don't have the budget to afford great cameras but still have an interest in photography. It would also be a great way to get more people interested in photography.
  • 1 2
 Sorry I didn't mean to post that here^
I'm not meaning a photography competition for people that are lazy and can't be bothered to be creative or imaginative, that would just be hypocritical. I was just suggesting a smaller competition for those with a genuine interest in photography but who don't yet have great equipment i.e. children/teenagers or people that have just started out in photography.
  • 5 0
 @Ally1: If you can't afford something, don't do it. I also don't complain that I can't enter the LeMans race because I can't afford a $500,000 car. Life's not fair, get over it, there's no reason why should everything be available to everyone.
Moreover DSLRs are more affordable than ever before, years ago I was shooting a MotoGP race with Canon 40D which now sells for $250 on eBay. Add another $250-$350 for fast a prime lens and you have good camera for sports photography.
  • 2 9
flag WAKIdesigns (Oct 14, 2014 at 2:43) (Below Threshold)
 @iRossum - One that makes such comment is appearing as someone who does know a LOT about photography. So the question is, can you live up to that baby?
  • 4 0
 Rossmonckton.com You tell me.
  • 13 2
 I'll try, with my gopro....
  • 8 2
 We should just do a blind photo eliminator. Doesn't matter what any of them look like cause the best one won't win. There is no best one.

"The concept of best is merely an implicit allusion to the existential fallacies of humanity's ubiquitous and idiopathic capacity for narcissism."

- loamydog, circa 2000 A.D.
  • 7 0
 How neckbeardy of you. A self quote.
  • 11 0
 "The only quotes that matter are self quoted"

-loamydog
  • 2 1
 Translation into English please Smile
  • 9 0
 If anyone has 26" bike photos they want to submit... I can photoshop wheels and rims to look like 27.5
  • 6 1
 I just nominated a picture I took with my GoPro while riding my 26" wheel bike. It's featured in my profile. So out of date, but I'm feeling lucky.
  • 6 0
 Didn't that Matt Hunter photo already win this? I mean is there any point in entering?
  • 3 0
 Remove all the photographers names and just let the pics do the talking. It removes a large element of bias so sackriders don't just vote for so and so's pics because they took their pic in a park one day and they think they are friends with them.
  • 3 0
 i think instead of spending thousands on an amazing camera to spend hours trying to take amazing pictures to win a sick bike, ill just spend thousands on the sick bike and spend hours riding it. cut out the middle man.
  • 1 0
 To any whiners complaining about not being able to buy a good camera : you can rent the best stuff out there for a weekend for the price of a carbon set of bars.. get out, do it, see what you've got.
Skills : you can't buy them, you study. For a while :-)
  • 4 1
 I'll submit a sick pick of a bar hump on a 3 foot table, win $10k, and spend it all on squid-lids.
  • 9 8
 $10000 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • 51 0
 Thanks to 42 exclamation marks I now understand how much $10000 is... Wink
  • 13 0
 To be fair, $10,000 in China (or in Ecuador, where I'm from) are not the same as $10,000 in USA or Canada, hence the !!! Smile
  • 6 1
 That's true. Because one square meter of an apartment will worth around that much of money in Beijing, while many people are earning 1/10 of that much of money monthly. What a crazy world.
  • 3 9
flag Mattin (Aug 22, 2014 at 3:05) (Below Threshold)
 I think $10.000 will be worthless in China because no one will accept the currency Smile
  • 2 3
 The comments in this thread alone make this contest stupid.

Here is how you win:
1. Own a nice Non iPhone/Go-Pro Camera. Seems like the consensus here is that $1,200.00 fits the bill... Let me just go get all that left over money I have from my bike purchase.
2. Call all your Pro riding friends up
3. Set up all your lights, reflectors and thingamabobs
4. Throw a shit ton of dirt into a berm
5. Have said Pro rider smash into the turn exploding dirt.

This contest should not be open to photographers that have received a paycheck from Pinkbike for photography during the calendar year. Too much bias and too much lame.

Either make actual categories or scrap the contest.
  • 2 0
 Isn't that a bit like saying a sports team can't win the playoffs because they were paid during the regular season?
  • 3 1
 @daugherd so you are saying Pinkbike shouldn't hire the best photographers in the business, and if they do then the best photographers in the business aren't eligible to take the "best" photo of the year?

Keep in mind that those of us who shoot/get payed by PB do it as independent contractors and only for specific events. I only shoot World Cups for Pinkbike, so by your logic the images I shoot the other 40+ weeks a year for other clients shouldn't be allowed?

as for your checklist.... #1 is pretty spot of but #'s 2-5 are pretty BS ;-)
  • 2 1
 Hey @davetrump

I see your point but still the problem is that it's one contest marketed to the masses that only pros can actually be competitive in. Hence the need for categories. It's like saying "Hey Ryan, you're invited to ride at Joyride and there is only 1 prize and you're competing against the top 20pros in the world and you'll have no chance at winning and your run won't even be on TV because it wasn't nominated to so"

Here is another sports analogy. It's like saying that there is a 3 on 3 hoops contest for everyone in Portland Oregon to win some new snow tires from Les Schwab then Portland Trailblazers starters show up. How is that competitive?

I'll stick to categories or scrap the contest.
  • 2 0
 Just had idea to make this contest more palatable. Photos are nominated right? Why not take all the people who nominated the winning photo and put them into a drawing for something equally rad. Adding that will make it more of a contest for the masses.
  • 3 2
 Remove the idea from your head that this is anything but a contest for the best photo. The best, not second best, not best amateur or pro or any other category. Just simply the best. It's not a contest to make everyone feel warm and fuzzy and for everyone to win something. It's pretty much a winner take all deal. I was in the final 4 last year and got absolutely nothing. No money, no prize, and that was just fine with me. Your sports analogy is so ridiculously off the mark I won't even address it, haha. My understanding is this contest isn't palatable to YOU and YOU don't like it for the simple fact that YOU don't think you can win anything in it. That's life It's a professional level photo contest, it's aimed at professionals and serious amateurs and I bet you will see a strong showing from a few guys with full time jobs who only shoot here and there for fun and a bit of money on the side.
  • 2 1
 To reinforce that comment, Dave, I'm pretty certain one of the former winners of POY has had a regular full time job his entire photo career. Everyone has an equal chance at winning given they have the skills to put a winning photo together, regardless of primary job title.
  • 1 2
 Sorry Dave but i see this contest differently than you and it looks like a lot of the PB community does given that this debate comes up every year. Since my opinion is shared it might be smart of Pinkbike to expand on the contest in one way or another to be a bit more inclusive. That doesn't mean they have to dumb down the "best" photo aspect it just means they may be able to add in another category so more people feel like they can be included beyond just voting hence my nominating idea. Realize my comments aren't about me winning. I'm not photographer and don't aspire to me nor do I have interest in entering the contest. I'm just commenting on mine and other perceptions of a contest that is marketed to be all inclusive yet it clearly isn't. That's not saying it has to be, it's just poorly advertised. If it weren't there wouldn't be this debate year over year.

Nothing against your opinions or others that differ from mine it's just that they differ and I'd hope people can be a bit more open minded about the way others view this contest.
  • 3 1
 Wait so you are upset that its a photo contest and since you are not a photographer you want some side contest so you can win something?

Where you are wrong is in your thinking that the majority of people share your opinion. Amd those that do it really is just silly.

Let's keep it simple for you. It's a photo of the year contest. That's all it is. ANYONE can enter and the best photos will rise to the top. That's it, that's all.

I'm still not following how it's not all inclusive? Anyone can enter.

That's not to say there will be some stiff competition at the top end but that's to be expected. The point is to showcase the best work on this site, how is that so hard to understand and how is it so unfair to you.

Honestly. What do you want PB to do for you?
  • 1 3
 You've missed the point Dave. This is an opinion based off my observations of this contest. That is all. I don't want anything from Pinkbike. My comments aren't about me at all nor am I upset about anything. You're inferring too much out of my opinion. I never said the majority of the people share my opinion. I just stated that it seems like a lot do and and it is evident that it is because it comes up every year about this same thing.

I completely understand it is a photo of the year contest and as I stated above and i'm not saying PB should change that or that they should diminish the fact that the best photo should be selected. I simply recommended that the contest should be expanded and include a few more aspects so it is more inclusive and others are more involved. It'd be more fun for the community to know that the photo you nominated could yield something cool for you come out of it should it get to the top. How is excluding people and making it only about the photographers the only way to administer the confest? It doesn't matter though because you're entitled to your opinion as am I entitled to mine. You're not wrong and I'm not wrong.

I apologize if my opinions/suggestions offended you because they aren't meant to. I just hope that you realize that my opinion is valid just like everyone else who has commented one way or the other on this topic. It is all a matter of perspective.
  • 2 0
 first you said this

"This contest should not be open to photographers that have received a paycheck from Pinkbike for photography during the calendar year. Too much bias and too much lame."

Right... That is just nonsense. And you went so far as to mock the process a successful photographer would have to go through to win which was super lame as well.

Then this
"I simply recommended that the contest should be expanded and include a few more aspects so it is more inclusive and others are more involved"

Were you not just trying to limit participation in your first comment? You keep missing the plain and simple fact that contest is open to ANYONE, and then as it progresses the entire community gets to vote for their favorite. In past years there have been 100K votes cast per round so I'd say community involvement is pretty high.

And finally this
"How is excluding people and making it only about the photographers the only way to administer the confest?"

ummmmmm..... It's a photo contest dude. It's only ever going to be about the photographers. Anyone gets to enter though and everyone gets to be involved during voting.

loose the sense of entitlement and your idea that PB needs to expand anything here to give prizes and free stuff to people just for participating and voting.

It's a contest, not a lottery or a raffle where everyone gets a fair share.

I'm all for well formed and informed opinions to be shared, but the ridiculous ones like yours not so much... Especially when they start off by mocking someone else's way of earning a living.
  • 2 0
 Damn didn't we just do this last year?
  • 2 0
 When is the voting. It usually happens by now
  • 1 0
 Yo Pinkbike, usually this is decided at the end of November. When is it happening this year?
  • 2 1
 Hey @radek @Margus @sterlinglorence @j-brantley, You guys should definitely enter.
  • 2 0
 when's this going down?...
  • 2 0
 I am currently in India, is this country available in this country?
  • 1 0
 good question
  • 4 3
 This bike is so beautiful!
  • 1 0
 time to grab my trusty instamatic
  • 1 0
 Where can I see years past winning photos?
  • 1 0
 i don't know..but let's try..
  • 4 2
 I would put 26's on it
  • 5 2
 26.5 might be faster! I will start the trend!
  • 10 2
 I'm sorry I meant 26.75 that way it's the best of both worlds. Not as big and 27.5 but still rolls faster that 26!
  • 10 1
 im going with the 26 rear and 27.5 front.............lol old school bighit style! or maybe a 24 rear and 29 front for some rake lol
  • 7 1
 You guys are dorks
  • 4 3
 I believe 27.5 is the dork wheel of choice
  • 3 1
 Nothing beats a 24" x 3.0" tyre set up!
  • 1 0
 how about "Amateur Photo Contest", meaning "NO Pros or industry types..."
  • 2 2
 Now, just tell me where this stupid button is...
  • 1 2
 I am able to nominate my own photo right?
  • 3 0
 See the second pic in this post (screenshot)? on the right side you have the logo of the competition, exactly below the logo there is a little blue text that says "Nominate this photo"...
  • 2 0
 and be aware of "All photos taken and uploaded this year that are nominated by users are eligible".
I cannot nominate any old fotos that I uploaded before 2014...
  • 1 1
 Aahhh k thx
  • 1 0
 I ll take it
  • 2 4
 Oh boy i can't wait to see all the photos that are going to be entered of people falling off the back of their bikes in berms.
  • 1 1
 Epic sworks!
  • 3 4
 CaneCreek DBinline!
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