17 yr old mountain biker thru to Arc'Teryx photo comp final
10th Feb 2011
A 17 year old student and amateur photographer has won through to the finals of the Arc'teryx Adventure Shot Photography Competition. Sam Davies who studies at Gorseinon College in Swansea will now go up against four professional photographers in a live audience participation final hosted by comedian, climber & author Niall Grimes at the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival at 9pm on Saturday 5th March at the Showroom Cinema.
Sam says: "I'm a 17 year old student who enjoys photography, specifically Mountain Biking Photography including Downhill, Dirt Jumping and Freeride. I entered the competition because I saw the quality of some of the Mountaineering shots and wanted to see if my Mountain biking shots could compete through the eyes of non-mountain bikers. Also because I thought it would a good opportunity for me to showcase my photos in front of professionals and people in the industry."
Sam's slideshow can be viewed on MPORA
To listen to an interview with Sam Heason Events podcasts (or subscribe to Heason Events podcasts on iTunes)
Event organizer Matt Heason says: "The Arc'teryx competition is great for giving fresh new talent a platform. Last year amateur photographer & computer science PhD student, Alexandre Buisse, beat the four pros in the final. He wowed judge & event organiser, Arc'teryx sponsored mountaineer and professional photographer Ian Parnell. Alex went on to win over the audience and scoop the £500 cash prize and £1,000 worth of Arcteryx clothing. Alex has since won his first commission to take promotional pictures for adventure travel firm, Jagged Globe. This year the pros will have their work cut out again vying for 1st place against 17 year old Sam."
You can see Alex's pictures from the Jagged Globe Khumbu Climber Nepal trip on his website (www.alexandrebuisse.org).
2010 winner Alex Buisse says: "I love mountaineering & being in the mountains. I wanted to share the climbing experience with people who couldn't come with me. My vision is the drama of it, which is why it fits into the format of the Arcteryx Shaff competition which is short and fast-paced. The prize was really nice. It gave me contacts and credibility to win a competition against professional photographers."
"It's part of why I was sent by [adventure travel company] Jagged Globe to Nepal last month to use in their brochure to spend a month in the Everest Region on their Khumbu Climber trip. It was an amazing trip and my first commission."
"I've been trying to decide whether to go pro but winning the Arc'teryx Shaff competition really helps my confidence and helps push me towards doing the scarier, more interesting, more adventurous choice [of going professional]."
Click here to listen to a Heason Events podcast interview with Alex Buisse on the Shaff website (http://www.heason.net/Podcasts/ or subscribe via iTunes)
and click here to watch Alex's winning slide show online
The Arc'Teryx Adventure Shot Quiz & Shoot-Out - 9pm Saturday 5th March
This high energy, audience-driven event will start with a pub-style Quiz with prizes donated by Arc'teryx.
After a pub-style quiz hosted by Niall Grimes, there will be a "shoot out" by five adventure sports photographers vying for cash and a heap of Arc'teryx kit. Each will have 5 minutes in which to showcase their photographs to the audience who will rate their approval vocally.
The professional photographers are:
Steve Crook - running
Rob Eavis - caving
Henry Iddon - biking
Alex Messenger - climbing
All the entries to the competition can be viewed here: For higher res versions for press use please contact Matt Heason (matt@heason.net)
For more details click here and to buy tickets click here.
