Native Vision #1 Wins 2001 Banff Mountain Photography Competition

A striking image of a Blackfoot native in traditional headdress, set against a mountain backdrop, has taken the top prize in the Banff Mountain Photography Competition. Scott Spiker’s Native Vision #1 wins the 2001 Grand Prize. The competition is presented by Eagle Creek Travel Gear and the National Geographic Society. Spiker’s image topped an impressive collection of more than 2,200 photographs submitted from 17 countries in the sixth annual competition.

Spiker, a professional photographer from Columbia Falls, Montana, says his aim was to create a compelling environmental portrait. "A couple of phone calls put me in touch with John Ground of the Blackfeet Tribe in Browning, Montana ... His Chicken Dancing Headdress struck me, with its dramatic veil of metal beads on the front. I arranged to meet John near a group of canvas teepees at the edge of town, and we waited for sunset ... At the last minute, a thin strip of clear, blue sky split the dark clouds on the horizon and we had about ten minutes of fantastic storm light for shooting."

The 2001 Banff Mountain Photography Competition jury included Brad White, Alec Pytlowany and Carole Harmon of Banff, Alberta. Choosing the winners is hard work says White, "An image has to have some initial ‘grab’ to get the jury's attention and warrant a second look. The standard three components of colour (or tones), composition and content must all combine into something particularly striking in order to get to the final selections." In addition to the Grand Prize, the jury chose winners in five subject categories. Another ten photographs received special mention. Winners include:

GRAND PRIZE

Scott Spiker of Columbia Falls, Montana, for his photo Native Vision #1. Spiker wins: $1000 (CAD); a World Journey Travel Pack, 15" Folder, Half Cube, Medium Pack-it® Sac, and Padded Quarter Cube from Eagle Creek Travel Gear; and National Geographic's Voyage Globe and Atlas of the World, Deluxe Edition (Hardcover).

CATEGORY PRIZES

The following photographers won category prizes and will each receive:$500 (CAD); a Transcontinental Journey Travel Pack from Eagle Creek Travel Gear; and National Geographic’s The Complete National Geographic CD-ROM: 111 Years and Atlas of the World, Deluxe Edition (Hardcover).

• Best Photo – Mountain Adventure: Airtime, Jakob Helbig, Copenhagen, Denmark

• Best Photo – Mountain Culture: Samburu Honey Hunters, Bobby Model, Cody, Wyoming, USA

• Best Photo – Mountain Environment: A Himalayan Mountain Environment Transformed, Kakani, Nepal, Jack Ives, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

• Best Photo – Mountain Flora and Fauna: Skeleton with Flowers, Jaime Trento, Banff, Alberta, Canada

• Best Photo – Mountain Landscape: Sleeping Lady Afterglow, Larry Anderson, Anchorage, Alaska, USA

SPECIAL MENTIONS

In addition, each of the following photographers received Special Mentions:

• Klaus Fengler of Allensbach, Germany for Daniela Jasper Climbing "Chicken out of Control" (M8)

• Klaus Fengler of Allensbach, Germany for Will Gadd Climbing on 1000-year-old Glacier Ice

• Frank Grisdale of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for Jasper Slate #1

• Jerry Hadam of Fairfield, Idaho, USA for Launch Site at Boundary Creek, Middle Fork of the Salmon River

• Tim Hagen of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada for Himalayan Saddhu

• Jakob Helbig of Copenhagen, Denmark for Naked Trees

• Bobby Model of Cody, Wyoming, USA for Nepali Sherpa Girls

• François Portmann of New York, New York, USA for The Big "O"

• Jaime Trento of Banff, Alberta, Canada for Tonquin Valley

• Darwin Wiggett of Water Valley, Alberta, Canada for Wolf in Aspen Forest

The Banff Mountain Photography Competition is a program of the Banff Centre for Mountain Culture. Winning photos will be unveiled at Cascade Plaza in Banff, during the Banff Mountain Film Festival and Banff Mountain Book Festival (October 29 to November 4, 2001). The photos will remain on display in Banff through to October 2002 at The Banff Centre, and will be exhibited at select locations in North America and abroad. 

Electronic files of the winning photos are available for download at www.banffcentre.ca/mountainculture/ftp

Published photos must include a copyright symbol with the photographer's name, the photograph's title and the prize title and competition name (e.g "Best Photo, Mountain Culture, Banff Mountain Photography Competition 2001"). This information must appear directly above, under or beside the photograph. Failure to display the correct photo credit with the photograph may result in the user's liability for the full commercial value of photograph.