International Mountain Summit Photo Comp

Kicking off as a side-event of the International Mountain Summit, the IMS Photo Contest has become the greatest contest of mountain photography worldwide. In its seventh edition, photographers compete for seven awards plus the title: Mountain Photo of the Year. With six different categories we expanded the possibilities to submit mountain photos once again. This year’s prize money will be a total of over € 18,000.

“Over the past six years, more than 12,000 photographers from all continents have been competing with each other in order to win an award in one of the categories of the IMS Photo Contest. This great commitment inspired us to develop the IMS Photo Contest into an event of its own. That is why we built up a new platform and continuously enhance the performance of the new website. We want to encourage photographic performances, photo culture and start over with a refreshing design and convenient functionality of the new website.” so the Contest President Markus Gaiser and Vice President Alex Ploner on the launch of the seventh edition of the IMS Photo Contest.

Mountains may appear immutable. But their interplay with nature creates ever new perspectives and captivating sights. Photos that capture these moments are summed up in the category Mountain Nature, which is presented by the world’s leading manufacturers of personalised decorative and lifestyle products Picanova.

The category Mountain Action is looking for the best shots of people performing mountain activities. Mountains are hiked or climbed; mountain bike tours lead up to the mountaintops; skiers descend mountains on steep slopes. Paragliders and hang gliders find the ideal upwinds near the peaks, while slackliners find the right anchor points. This category is powered by a long term partner of the IMS Photo Contest, the premium apple label KIKU.

Rain, snow covered landscapes or impressive waterfalls; there are endless forms of water in the mountains. Submitted photos may highlight the beauty – or the beast – of the fascinating pair mountain /water but also how it is used by mankind, from water reservoirs to energy production. The category Mountain Water is offered in collaboration with the South Tyrolean energy provider Alperia.

Many people who spend their leisure time in the mountains don’t want to take their heavy weight camera equipment with them, using their smartphones instead. The best picture submitted in the category Mountain Mobile will win the award, powered by the IMS Photo Contest founding event, the International Mountain Summit.

Photos in the category Mountain Faces tell stories of people in the mountains. The faces of people who live among rocks and fight against natural forces – from climbers and mountaineers to those living in the mountains – reflect the wild nature of mountains and the struggle to conquer the peaks. This category is also hosted by the International Mountain Summit.

Finally, there is the charity category Team Spirit. Not only in the mountains is it important to have a team by your side that you can count on. This category is looking for photos, which represent the importance of team spirit in the mountain. The net receipts of the administation fee for uploading photos to this category will be used to support the charity Laureus. The Laureus project “Schneetiger” is targeted at kids and young people with a disability, helping them to enjoy an active lifestyle by performing winter sport activities.

The members of this year’s Jury include, among others, Ray Demski, international photographer with focus on action and adventure photography, has worked for Audi, BMW, adidas, Red Bull, National Geographic and lots of other magazines and companies. Also part of the international Jury is Ulla Lohmann, a German photojournalist and documentary filmmaker with a BSc degree in Natural Resource Management who works freelance for clients like e.g. National Geographic, GEO, Stern View, the BBC, The New York Times.

Deadline for submissions: 31st August 2017. The Award Ceremony takes place on Saturday, 14 October 2017 at the IMS Photo Night at the International Mountain Summit (IMS) in Brixen/Bressanone, South Tyrol (Italy).

More information: www.imsphotocontest.com

The IMS Photo Contest 2017 is supported by KIKU, Picanova, Alperia, IMS.