As one of the most prestigious action sports photography competitions in the world, the OLYMPUS Pro Photographer Showdown has seen some of the top action sport and lifestyle photographers in the game battle it out for the title of Best in Show during the World Ski & Snowboard Festival (WSSF).
Every year, photographers from around the world submit their best work to the WSSF team in hopes they will be selected to compete in the event. This year, in celebration of the 20th annual World Ski & Snowboard Festival in Whistler, BC, no pre-submission was required. Instead, some of the top photographers in the action sports world were handpicked, invited, and will be flown in to compete at the event.
The chosen photographers will take the audience on a stimulating visual journey with some of the best photography they have gathered throughout their careers. This year’s event will showcase a broad range of action including skiing, snowboarding, surfing, skateboarding and mountain biking.
The OLYMPUS Pro Photographer Showdown will take place on Thursday, April 16 at the Whistler Conference Centre, where a panel of industry experts will determine who deserves the coveted title of Best in Show and the $10,000 grand prize.
THE LINE UP FOR THE 2015 OLYMPUS PRO PHOTOGRAPHER SHOWDOWN INCLUDES:
Brian Gaberman
Brian Gaberman is an international photographer based in Northern California. He has spent the last 19 years traveling the world with camera, producing countless editorial pieces and ad campaigns. The youngest photographer to ever be featured in B&W Magazine, Brian decided to take a detour from his art and dive into skateboard photography. By merging his background in fine art photography with his skateboarding work, he revolutionized the look of skateboard magazines forever. He continues to explore his medium and brands of the companies he works for with his unique aesthetic and style.
Lorenz Holder
Originally from Munich, Germany, Lorenz Holder grew up close to the Bavarian mountains. Those mountains have always played a major role in his life, eventually leading him to become a semi-professional snowboarder until a serious injury forced him to take a season off in 2003. During that time, he discovered his passion for photography and began his career as a professional snowboard photographer. Lorenz is currently the senior photographer for Pleasure Snowboard Magazine and a staff photographer for Nitro Snowboards. He spends his winters travelling with top snowboard athletes in search of the best snow conditions and creative locations to shoot.
Mattias Fredriksson
Swedish sharp shooter, Mattias Fredriksson, is one of the most published photographers in the ski and mountain bike industries, with over 300 magazine covers to his name. With a distinctive editorial style, his work has been featured in international print and commercial campaigns for the last 20 years. He started his career as a writer, but his passion for capturing skiing and mountain biking through his camera lens took over and he moved on from the position of editor and photo editor at the legendary Swedish ski magazine, Åka Skidor. For the last 15 years, Mattias has been working as a freelance photographer and is the only European photographer with the honorary title of Senior Photographer at both Powder and Bike Magazines. He was the winner of the 2010 Bike Magazine Photo of the Year and in 2009 he won the Deep Summer Photo Challenge during its inaugural year at Crankworx Whistler. This is also not Mattias’ first time competing in the OLYMPUS Pro Photographer Showdown. He was a finalist in 2003, so he is no stranger to the event or the community of Whistler.
Reuben Krabbe
Reuben Krabbe grew up on the flat prairies of Alberta, staring west at the Rocky Mountains. He now calls Whistler, BC home where he works as a professional ski and mountain bike photographer. As a younger photographer in the industry, he quickly became known for his unique creative photographs and remote destination trips that have brought him to the Tombstone Mountains of the Yukon Territory and the remote Alaskan Aleutian Islands between the mainland and Russia. Rueben actually volunteered as an event photographer for the World Ski & Snowboard Festival in 2009 and has said his inspiration to choose the direction he did in photography came when he attend the OLYMPUS Pro Photographer Showdown that year and was blown away by Jordan Manley’s winning slideshow.
Todd Glaser
Based in his hometown of San Diego, California, Todd Glaser is a surf photographer whose work has taken him to remote surf spots all over the world, including Europe, Fiji, Tahiti, Indonesia and Mexico. He is currently a staff photographer for Surfer Magazine where he has captured some of the biggest names in surfing and photographed some of the world’s most famous and dangerous waves. Highlights from Todd’s career include being featured in the 2010 release of Surfer Magazine: Fifty Years, being awarded a Follow The Light Foundation grant in 2008 and winning the Surfer Magazine Photo of the Year in 2009.
For more information about the OLYMPUS Pro Photographer Showdown and to purchase tickets, head to http://wssf.com/Olympus-
Pro-Photographer-Showdown.
Tickets to the evening gala events are now available for purchase at www.wssf.com.
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