VIMFF 2020 Photography Competition

Mountain Adventure & Sport:

Photos of people engaged in climbing, running, hiking, or any other sport;

Mountain Culture and People:

Photos of people, who are not engaged in sport. Perhaps making a meal, or someone you came across on the trail;

Mountain Landscape:

Photos of the natural setting, possibly with people, but the people are not the core subject;

Mountain Painting:

We are happy to announce a new category for paintings and other non-photographic art. Take a photo of your work, and submit. As far as possible, we will judge on the merits of the art piece rather than the quality of the photograph, but a good quality photograph will make it easier to appreciate the piece in question.

Grand prize:

Best of all submitted images.

Best of BC:

Best image taken in British Columbia by a photographer based in British Columbia.

Best of Environmental Stewardship:

Best image depicting environmental stewardship or with an environmental message.

Youth Prize:

Best image taken by a photographer 16 years or under at the closing date for submissions.

Other additional categories may be announced later.

What file formats can I submit photos in?

You can submit your photos in JPG, GIF and PNG formats. If your file has the extension JPEG, you can rename it to JPG; however, if a file is submitted with the JPEG extension, we cannot process it. Files in TIFF, BMP or raw formats are too large and/or difficult to manipulate, so we cannot accept them.

Do you accept mail-in or email entries?

Unfortunately, given the volume of submissions, we can only accept entries through our website.

I would like my image to be considered in multiple categories. Is this allowed??

Of course! Just submit it in your favourite category; when we review the submission we will also categorize it in a second category if we feel it would fit. If we don’t feel your photo fits into the category you submitted it in, we will move it to a category we feel it does fit.

Why do you charge an entry fee?

There are two reasons for charging an entry fee. We obviously need to cover our costs in running the competition – the technical platform, printing, trophies, etc. But, more importantly, we want to make sure that we give our full attention to the best photos – by charging a small fee, we hope that people will be sending us their best work. Our aim is to find a balance where people can easily submit their best work.

Why do you charge an entry fee?

There are two reasons for charging an entry fee. We obviously need to cover our costs in running the competition – the technical platform, printing, trophies, etc. But, more importantly, we want to make sure that we give our full attention to the best photos – by charging a small fee, we hope that people will be sending us their best work. Our aim is to find a balance where people can easily submit their best work.

Can I get a reduced entry fee?

We offer discounted rates to a number of clubs and groups around the world… ask your camera club if they have talked to us. We are also partnering with high schools in Vancouver and the Sea to Sky Corridor to gain entries into the youth category – if your school is not yet participating, please contact us a [email protected].

You only provide five slots on the entry… am I allowed to enter more photos?

Yes! We would love to see as much of your work as you want to share. The five photo limit is for technical reasons. If you want to enter more, enter the first five, then go back in and enter the remaining photos.

I don’t have a credit card, or PayPal… is there another way to pay for my entries?

Unfortunately, we do not have any other way to receive the funds. The best option would be to ask a friend to make the payment, and then refund them in cash.

What is the deadline for submissions, and when will finalists and winners be announced?

The deadline for submissions will be announced when submissions open, but will be in late January or early February. Finalists will be chosen by ahead of the main Festival. Winners will be told in advance of the Festival’s Photography Night that they have won, but not which prize, and asked for some additional information about their work – each photographer will receive two complimentary tickets to Photography Night. The winners will be publicly announced at the Photographic Night, and some winners will be asked to accept their prize on stage, if they wish.

Where can I see the winning images?

The winning images will be announced at our Art & Photography night during the VIMFF festival and shown at all shows afterwards. They will be highlighted on the VIMFF website and officially exhibited at the VIMFF Summer Series (announced soon).

I want to host an exhibition!

Fantastic! The Exhibition is one of the newer aspects of the competition, and we are looking at ways to grow it. Please contact us by email: [email protected].