Photographers seeking to participate in the Pro Photographer Showdown have just 2 weeks left to submit a 3-minute DVD presentation of their images set to music to the selection jury. The submissions are to be reflective of the work that would comprise their full 9-minute production in the Showdown.



The 11th annual showcase of the best in action sport and lifestyle photography will be held April 17 in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, and draws a 2000 strong, sell-out crowd to enjoy the visual feast turned out by 5 of the world’s top shooters.



Says Event Producer, Lilli Clark, “This year, the rules have been revised and clarified largely in response to the feedback we got from the audience. The original intent of the showdown was to showcase strong imagery in the context of a strong presentation. As editing technology became more widely available, the shows began to incorporate a lot of panning and zooms which the audience found very distracting. The overall feedback has been to bring the contest back to a simple presentation format, and take the audience along for a ride.”



A ride that won’t make them carsick, that is.



Eric Berger, Pro Photographer Showdown judge, and first winner of the coveted “Best in Show” crown explains, “We want to remove the razzle dazzle, and keep the playing field level. You’ve got to be able to tell a story with your images. It’s how you stitch it all together and tell the story as a whole that’s important. You don’t need a lot of technical wizardry to put together a show that has emotional connection. We were getting concerned that access to an advanced editing suite or partnering up with a skilled technician could mean the contest is no longer just about a photographer’s skills. The common denomination amongst the past winning shows has been the ability to convey an emotive visual journey through the right selection of imagery and music.”



The clarified rules and a prize purse that rewards the 4 runners-up, in addition to the Best in Show winner, have reinvigorated global interest in the TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival’s Pro Photographer Showdown.



“It’s storytelling that breaks through any language barriers,” says Clark, of the interest the photography call has generated from around the globe. “Great images are universal. And that’s the power of the Pro Photographer Showdown – that for 3 hours, two thousand strangers can take an identical journey, conducted through a spellbinding world by five of the world’s best photographers, simply using light, music and their cameras.”



The 2008 revised entry procedures for the Pro Photographer Showdown are available online at whistler2008.com.