The 2025 Banff Mountain Photo Essay Competition is now closed - thank you to all entrants!
The competition's goal is to showcase the best in mountain-themed photo essays – to recognize outstanding stories told through a series of still images. We invite photographers to submit photos to illustrate their mountain related stories whether culture, adventure, wildlife, sport, environment, or natural history. The jury is seeking a sequence of technically and aesthetically striking images that conveys a compelling story or message – with each image strong enough to stand on its own while conveying a greater narrative when viewed in the photographer’s desired sequence.
We welcome submissions of professional quality images from amateur and professional photographers.
Entry Guidelines
- Submit three (3) to five (5) images which tell a story (maximum 2MB)
- Please include a short description of the photo essay.
- ENTRY DEADLINE: May 5, 2025.
- $3000 CAD Grand Prize
For questions please contact banffmountainphotos@banffcentre.ca.
Selection Process
- All entries will be viewed by a selection committee chaired by the Festival Director
- Finalists chosen by this committee will be viewed by an international jury
- The Grand Prize winner will be announced in June 2025
2024 Grand Prize: Peter Mather, Mountain Ghosts.
2024 Special Jury Mention: Adolfo Mesías, Through The Clouds And Among The Lonely Mountains.
2024 Photo Essay Competition Jury
JoJo Das
JoJo was born in Kolkata, India, and has since hopped and skipped his way through his home country, Canada, Indonesia, the United States, and Saudi Arabia. He had never considered himself as an outdoors oriented person until moving to Vancouver in 2013. On the ancestral and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations, JoJo developed a strong love and passion for rock climbing. JoJo spends his time focussing on small non-profit development, having spent years managing and creating communities through Mountain Mentors and VIMFF. These days, JoJo is working on a new project in Squamish, BC, called SOARE; a non-profit dedicated to supporting small recreation-technology businesses, and helping increase and improve access to the outdoor industry at the ground level.
Irene Yee
Irene is a professional west coast based rock climbing and adventure photographer. She started rock climbing out of pure joy, picked up a camera soon after, and continues that journey on her instagram @ladylockoff. Her focus is to uplift women, BIPOC, and the LGBTQIA2S+ communities; choosing to highlight those pushing their own personal limits and finding inspiration in those with passion over muscle. She is internationally published, a @natgeoadventure contributor, and works with today's largest outdoor brands and non-profits.
Mattias Fredriksson
Mattias Fredriksson is a photographer, journalist, and editor-in-chief for Interstellar, a mountain culture journal published by Stellar Equipment. For almost 30 years, Fredriksson has documented ski and mountain bike cultures globally. He is a veteran adventure photographer with over 500 cover shots to his name and impressive longevity in the outdoor space. Fredriksson continues contributing to many publications and photographs global campaigns for commercial clients. Originally from Sweden, Fredriksson now lives in Terrace, British Columbia.
mattiasfredriksson.com | @mattiasfredrikssonphotography
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