Round 1 Voting Closed: 2020 Pinkbike Photo of the Year Contest
The 10th annual Pinkbike Photo of the Year Contest presented by Jenson USA is underway. The winner will join John Wellburn, Toby Cowley, Sterling Lorence, Christoph Laue, Sean Lee, Steve Shannon, Robb Thompson, Richard Baybutt, and JB Liautard in the Pinkbike Photo of the Year Hall of Fame. After all your nomination votes and a lot of spirited debate, the nominees have been narrowed down to 32 and we are ready to get started. Without further ado, here are the photos vying for the $10,000 in CASH.
How Does it Work?
From thousands of nominated photos, 32 have been selected to be pitted against one other in a college basketball, bracket-like showdown. At this point, it is up to you, the users, to vote on the match-ups. The photos with the most votes will move on to the next round. So 32 photos will narrow down to 16, then 8, 4, 2 until there is a single photo deemed the winner.
The 32 Finalists
Mark Mackay
Nathan Hughes
Dan Milner
Jan Cadosch
Tom McNally
Cameron Mackenzie
Roo Fowler
Jacob Gibbins
Tom Bowell
Toby Cowley
JB Liautard
Dave Smith
Ross Bell
Justin Olsen
John Entwistle
James Vincent
Christoph Breiner
Emrik Jansson
Colin Meagher
Dave Trumpore
Harookz
Jay French
Trevor Lyden
Henry Jaine
Friedrich Simon Kugi
Luke Jarmey
Skye Schillhammer
Ian Collins
Mason Mashon
Calvin Huth
Christophe Laue
Sterling Lorence
What's at stake? $10,000 Cash
• Winner will receive a check for $5000
• Runner-up will receive a check for $3000
• Other semi-finalists will each receive $1000
In addition, this year we also have user prizing for voters courtesy of Jenson USA. FIVE lucky Pinkbike readers that vote for the Photo of the Year will win a $200 Jenson USA gift card.
Thank you Jenson USA.
How can I enter for a chance to win one of five $200 Jenson USA gift cards?
By simply voting as we progress to the eventual Photo of the Year winner, you will be entered for a chance to win. One entry per user per round goes into a random draw for the prizes so keep coming back to vote each round!
For full contest rules and regulations, click here.
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Essentially, what I personally want is a beautiful landscape shot with some bikes in. The sort of thing to be a desktop background or even a wall poster.
I've had to vote against half of those type of photos, while I've been made to vote for some photos that are a bit meh contentwise (although all 32 have excellent photography skills).
I think random is the only way to do it. No tournament brackets - round of 32 sort them randomly into 16 head to heads. Next round sort them randomly into 16 head to heads and so on.
Interestingly, while we photographers might submit a few shots to the comp, with the hope that one will make the 32 cut, it's not necessarily the photographers own fave that makes the 32: thats upto the Pinkbike staff, and yes, they're selected to make the head-to head easier to judge.
It's Pinkbike's prerogative - It's their comp.
But then photographers can have personal attachment to certain shots, from knowing what went into getting them that can affect a photographers personal fave, that are irrelevant in the comp. Or the opposite. A couple of years ago I reached the semi finals with a shot I didnt even enter. Certainly if PB dropped the like-for-like pairing format, then photographers would feel confident about just entering one, single 'best' shot from the year... but it is how it is. If we land in the 32 its great place to be, whatever the outcome.
www.mtb-news.de/news/the-art-of-mtb-thomas-genon-jb-liautard
There might be a picture here and there, that would have made it to the second round against easier competition, but gets eliminated in the first, because it is pitted against a top shot - but so what?
Yes, theoretically the second best photo could be eliminated in round 1. But I didn’t see a picture take a price here in the last few years that didn’t fully deserve it.
"Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" is going to be a polarizing one, can't wait.
Can we do double elimination? Some of these could probably go 1-2 if they weren't pitted against each other.
Agreed about kicking into some of these guys as their photos are fantastic. Lots of them have their own websites and Instagram pages with great work.
I like seeing the mountain biker in the frame take more importance over the landscape. so anyways really feeling the energy in the Ross Bell shot and the creativity of Christophe Laue.
Mountainbiking is such a huge genre now, that one audience's cover can be another persons B-roll. It is what it is.
I wouldn't normally raise an eyebrow to it, but the fact that so many of the photos in this competition are using the same formula..."landscape with a rider in there somewhere" comes across as unoriginal not matter how beautiful and dramatic the landscape/lighting is. Guess id just like to see a bit more variety in the compositions.
end of the day...totally a personal preference thing, and everyone should tell their story how they want, just like geeking out a little bit trying to offer a different perspective -no pun intended haha.
Flame on, critics suck, I suck.....still all amazing photos though. good luck.
I want to be there,now
"Not enough __________ this year. Last year was better. __________ photo was insane!"
__________ got robbed!
An
Not enough B&W
Where are the women?
Doenst pass the smell test...