LAST HOUR TO VOTE: Round 2: 2016 Photo of the Year - $10,000 Cash Prizing

Feb 3, 2017 at 15:26
by Pinkbike Staff  
We started with 32 and now after more than 150,000 votes have been cast, we've got 16 photos battling for the $10,000 in CASH from our sponsor: SRAM.



Check out the voting page




Photo of the Year 2016 Powered by SRAM

The 6th annual Pinkbike Photo of the Year Contest voting is now well underway. Below are the Round 1 matchups and who won each after the votes were cast. Once you see whether your favorites made it through, head on over to the voting page and cast your votes for the next round!

The winner of the contest will join John Wellburn, Toby Cowley, Sterling Lorence, Christoph Laue and Sean Lee in the PB Photo of the Year Hall of Fame and they could walk away with $5,000.



Vote on Round 2




Matchup 1

Aaron Chase shredding over a cab windshield in Brooklyn NY. I had this Idea while I was driving along europe and forcing myself to think to new ideas and new point of view turned out winning the 2016 Red Bull Illume in the New creativity category.
49.8% Ale Di Lullo

Hooked up with Mr Div Devlin to scope locations and grab a few test snaps. Not only did it turn out to be the greyest day ever but it started to piss down the moment we set up the first shot. Div sent it regardless couple of flawless runs were followed by a brutal face-plant bleeding from the nose and mouth Div insisted we capture some lifestyle shit before the light faded. m We ve got some exciting projects in the pipeline
Martin Zielinski 50.2%





Matchup 2

No Hand
66.5% Valery Bekishev

Inspired by Philips Darklight project shot by sterl.
Utkarsh Rao 33.5%





Matchup 3

Brendan Fairclough - Deathgrip Movie
43.8% Duncan Philpott

Published in Bike Mag September 2016
JB Liautard 56.2%





Matchup 4

 everyweekisawesome
31.5% Ewia Production

that moment when you realize you re too close but it s worth it... Rider Nicola Pescetto www.wolisphoto.com
Bartek Wolinski 68.5%





Matchup 5

Bas Van Steenburgen through a sliver of light off the run in jump.
56.2% Dave Trumpore

Brett Rheeder
Nick Tingren 43.8%





Matchup 6

On saturday march 19th Matt Macduff sustained a terrible fall attempting to make his way around the Loop Of Doom. After over 3 year of research determination and hard work Matt managed to find everything he needed to make his project happen. Built in a month at the Garden Route Trail Park in South Africa the gigantic structure rises up to 40 ft. in the sky. The crash left him with 10 fractures in his right wrist and 3 fractures in his right ankle. The story behind his stunt is as impactful as the structure itself. A real story of determination.
62.7% Julien Grimard

Self Portrait Marin County November 2016 I m always pushing myself to find beautiful locations and exciting conditions to shoot but on this one my heart was beating particularly quickly as I ran back and forth between takes. I d been past this spot many times and thought about shooting there sometime but on this particular morning it was as if West Marin knew I was coming and put on a special effects show.
Satchel Cronk 37.3%





Matchup 7

Riding in thick fog.
17.9% Simon Nieborak

Natural fires are a huge influence on the Okanagan region of British Columbia. Inspired by a particularly bad wildfire season Harrison Mendel and I had been on the hunt to create a unique burn photo but we were after something real rather than a staged fire photo. Several clearcut burn piles left to smoulder high above Kelowna gave us a perfect opportunity. Hidden pockets of soldering embers and toxic smoke made this a hazardous location but when Harrison slashed into a pile of ash and this wave of molten embers erupted we knew it was well worth the risk despite a deep burn on Harrison s ankle. Huge thanks to Ben Schleith and Harrison for helping to make this photo happen.
Robb Thompson 82.1%





Matchup 8

Images by Margus Riga for the Tippie Doerfling and Stowards Generations - Video and Photo Epic
72.8% Margus Riga

Karla Stepanova climbing a hill in the super moon light.
Michal Cerveny 27.2%





Matchup 9

Robin Wallner at sunset on the slopes of Vulcan Villarica.
31.1% Matt Wragg

Reg Mullett riding Mount 7 from the summit to valley bottom. There was beer at the bottom so we rode fast.
Reuben Krabbe 68.9%





Matchup 10

Front flipping the lake jump before the big freeze.
48.1% Nathan Hughes

Shot for Diamond Back Bikes
Bruno Long 51.9%





Matchup 11

KC Deane and Geoff Gulevich in rsm rk Iceland underneath a spectactular Northern Lights show. The town of Reykjavik even demanded all lights be shut off in the city during this night due to the intensity of the showing here. Our crew went to Iceland with a vision to riding under the Northern Lights and we continually got shut down by weather. We photographed this the last night we were there on a 10 day trip and only saw the lights for two nights at the end of our trip departing our journey beneath a river of green in the skies.
87.8% Paris Gore

Semifinalist at Red Bull Illume 2016 in enhance category. The family team teamed up for this shot. Rider Malik Jeannet malikjeannet Photographer Benoit Jeannet benoitjeannet . The photographer himself upload this photo into that account that we are both using.
Benoît Jeannet 12.2%





Matchup 12

High up in the French Maritime gold. Jan 2016.
38.1% Sam Needham

Kenta Gallagher
Tommy Wilkinson 61.9%





Matchup 13

Jungle magic on La Palma.
78% Steve Shannon

Images for Brandon Semenuk - Lapse
Toby Cowley 22%





Matchup 14

Midnight biking in re Sweden.
17.8% Emrik Jansson

Kurt Sorge
Robin Oneill 82.2%





Matchup 15

About the photo The picture is called Icarus 2.0. Our inspiration for this shot was the Greek myth of Icarus. The symbol of the first flying man beating the laws of nature and gravity. According to the myth Icarus got wings form his father Daedalus to escape a maze on the island where they were imprisoned. The wings were made of wax so Daedalus told his son not too fly too close to the sun because the heat would melt the wings. He also told him to keep some distance from the sea because the water would make his wings too heavy. Their plan seemed to work out They managed to escape the maze and the island. On the way to freedom Icarus became a little bit too reckless. He flew too high and got too close to the sun - his wings melted and he fell into the sea. Our athlete Max Mey is flying - just like Icarus - over the water and very close to the sun. The difference between the two flying men is that Max lands safely. His skills and his experience let him know what risks he can take and when he should stop. And of course his bike is not made out of wax which is the advantage of the times we re living in today.
67.3% Christoph Laue

Casey Brown in Madeira Portugal
Sterling Lorence 32.7%





Matchup 16

Matt Hunter Matty Miles gettin irie.
44.4% Harookz

Photo Camilla Rutherford
Camilla Rutherford 55.6%




Go Vote on Round 2




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

Thanks to SRAM.

Photo of the Year 2016 Powered by SRAM


Mentions: @SramMedia



Author Info:
pinkbikeaudience avatar

Member since Jul 22, 2013
3,460 articles

54 Comments
  • 63 3
 Is gonna be another stupid roost shot isnt it?
  • 28 3
 I hope the hell it isn't. Great photography but played out subject matter. Over roost shots.
  • 13 2
 @h-beck83: i know what you mean of the ones we've had over the years this is probably the best one but im just sick of roost shots
  • 3 14
flag thedriftisreal (Feb 4, 2017 at 21:33) (Below Threshold)
 U WILL GET DIABEETUS IF U VOTE FOR ANYTHING BUT ROOST Feller
  • 2 5
 All vote for Bartek then.
  • 10 3
 I will vote against that roost shot every round, even if the other shot sucks. That's how bad I want the roost shot to not be POY.
  • 3 4
 Go Poland! I know you hate roost photos, but this one is just plain perfect...
  • 6 0
 Last year the apocalyptic explosive roost sho(i)t was defeated in the finals !!!
  • 3 0
 Well hopefully if it is another roost shot it is at least the dude roosting FIRE. I'm rooting for Paris gores shot with the northern lights. Looks totally sick!!!
  • 1 0
 They set it up so it's almost guaranteed.
  • 21 2
 Some of those match ups are hard to decide. Great bunch of photos this year
  • 31 2
 Yeah its funny when you spend 10 minutes staring at each one to decide. This is probably the only time in history where having a degree in photography pays off... naw jk, its worthless.
  • 16 3
 I feel bad for Benoit Jeannet because I think his photo is really amazing in terms of concept, lighting, colour, framing and action. But how do you beat a perfectly exposed shot of people riding under the northern lights?
  • 7 3
 No one appreciates modern art.
  • 3 1
 @Powderface: It's quite obvious people put 'cool!' at a higher priority than originality, technical and artistic merit. If the comp was run within a photog community then the voting would be totally different.
  • 10 1
 just like the gopro video contest where all but 1 video i voted didn't make it to round 2 , most pics i like didnt make it ... whats wrong with me ????? ex: match up 1 it's a nice ``we don't see the jump or landing`` back flip but a great bike pic from Inside a car with guy reaction and all and back flip won ....?????? i don't get it ....
  • 4 1
 Couldn't agree more! Thought that was a great shot!
  • 8 0
 Too many voters who like the jumps regardless of Pinkbike at the expense of great photos more creative, or that give a sense of what it means to do mountain biking ... the old men, vote more..fXXk !!
  • 7 1
 I chose the first 14 match ups as the majority. It surprised me to see Harookz image out.

I think it would be a better system to vote (say 1 to 10) all 32 images on first round, and then start the match ups on the second round: 1st vs 16th, 2nd vs 15th, 3rd vs 14th etc... so we don´t get favourites competing to each other on the earlier match ups...
  • 6 0
 Hope that Bekišev's shot wins! I love the stuff that those Russian guys are doing
  • 6 2
 Paris' northern lights shot and Margus' capture of the rider shredding Farwell Canyon are my two favs.
  • 2 0
 Troppi votanti che amano i salti a prescindere su Pinkbike a scapito di bellissime foto più creative o che danno il senso di che significhi fare mountainbike...dai vecchietti, votate di più cazzo!!
  • 6 2
 Poor dude from California had to go up against the wheel of death first round. Both of those pics are epic. Too bad.
  • 3 0
 Low Key is difficult to master; nailing it with a DH bike is just mind blowing! Well played Sir Trumpore.
  • 1 0
 Ok I know any contest will have a skew, popularity whatever, but this is insane. Match up the similar shots. Of course the artistic hazey fog shot is going to loose to fucking lava explosion.
  • 1 0
 That isn't lava...
  • 1 0
 @WolfStoneD: That isn't the point...
  • 1 0
 All these photos are spectacular, but I feel as though past photo of the years have had more interesting/impressive shots overall... In my opinion, none of these are as spectacular as last year's winner.
  • 5 2
 Round #2 just got significantly more difficult...
  • 4 2
 Surprised about match up 10. Although some voters probably got sick of seeing people upside down
  • 5 2
 I was surprised it was so close. That "zebra" shot, as an image, art or you name it, has a lot more value than a flip.
  • 5 2
 i can't belive that Ale Di Lullo is out !!!
  • 6 1
 I can.
  • 1 0
 I would like to know how much votes 0.2% actually are.
  • 1 0
 @kerberos: right ... this photo has won a redbull prize ...so not other word to write....
  • 6 4
 Matchup 8 no one did catch the E.T. references or what..? Big Grin

Steve Shannon POY2017
  • 6 0
 Everyone caught it
  • 3 0
 The Steve Shannon shot is definitely my fav
  • 2 1
 Liking that Wilkinson and Oneill Pics, shows some great riding and great looking scenery
  • 1 2
 Great scenery in Wilkinson's indeed, but as photo his round 1 opponent Needham is so much better, more complex and precise! Bad decision, folks!
  • 5 2
 No more roost please!
  • 1 0
 Too many damn hard choices to make! I wish we could just select our favourite half
  • 1 0
 Is it just me or does some or the pictures look the same as last year's competition
  • 1 0
 Camilla Rutherford's shot of the late great McGazza should win - keeping fingers crossed.
  • 2 1
 oh man that hurt, so hard to choose!
  • 2 0
 Our sport is fkg awesome
  • 2 1
 I felt like matchup 4 could have been the two finalists...
  • 1 0
 Allready getting tough to choose!
  • 2 1
 Laue
  • 1 0
 Reg Moolay! Weew!
  • 5 8
 Let me and Bartek win. We ll take everyone partying in the tropics (nick)
Below threshold threads are hidden







Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv42 0.033914
Mobile Version of Website