Signature Image 2024
By
Nicky Lynch
Posted on
May 30, 2024
Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival Signature Image
The 49th annual Festival and World Tour will be represented by Jordan Manoukian’s image of two alpinists in the French Alps.
The Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival signature image showcases some of the best mountain adventure photography from around the world. Every year we encourage photographers to submit their best images and we receive an array of of inspiring photos set in epic landscapes. From these submissions, we select one outstanding image to feature on the Festival poster and assets, as well as showcased in over 45 countries on the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour!
We received a diverse selection of entries in 2024, with our final batch featuring some fabulous images ranging from ice climbing in Iceland, skiing through a cave in the Rockies, rock climbing in Europe, and more!
The image that we chose this year is both atmospheric and timeless. There’s a feeling of calm in the alpinists looking across the valley in the morning light, inspiring a sense of awe and adventure. With mountaineering at the heart of the Festival, this image resonates deeply, representing the broad a spectrum of the outdoor adventure showcased at the Festival in Banff and in the films screened during the World Tour.
This photo was taken in the French Alps, with Charley Radcliffe and Sandy Tschofen, both alpinists from Chamonix. Says Jordan of his friends, “Charley is a passionate Englishman expatriated in Chamonix for his love of mountains and Sandy is one of these strong female mountain guides, very energetic, and always smiling when you can't keep up with her, haha!” Jordan captured this moment while on a commercial assignment with his teammates Florent Andreani and Mathis Dumas from his Mountains Legacy production company. “So this photo was actually taken on a work trip, but we always have fun!”
Jordan and the crew slept at the Torino Hut the night before he captured this photo, in order to wake up early and be on location between Entreves and Tour Ronde ridges for the sunrise. “That area is a very special place for my team. We call it ‘our studio’, because we often go there to create content – and at this time of year it’s a great spot with powerful early-morning light.” He adds, “It's a place where you see some big rock buttresses that create the blue shadow in the photo. I’ve always liked sunrise in the mountains because of these two dominant colors, blue and orange. Thanks to these two colours, the photo is diagonally separated in two, with the subjects in the middle.”
Initially Jordan was focused solely on capturing video footage for this shoot. “It happens quite a lot, that I often switch to photo mode just because I like to have memories of the day up there.” He adds, “when lights are starting to be banger I can't really focus only on filmmaking and I get back to my first love, photography.”
Commenting on his backyard playground in France, “When you're shooting up there it's rarely ugly. Chamonix is just one of those places where if you have a good team and beautiful weather, you always get good photos.” He adds, “I don’t consider myself as a technical photographer, but I'm often in good places with cool people, and luckily sometimes it creates good memories like this photo.”
Jordan Manoukian is a Chamonix-based director of extreme sports films and commercial productions, who enjoys traveling the world, discovering different cultures and photographing in remote mountain ranges. He began his career filming his brothers doing sports in the south of France in Marseille, his home town, together they co-created Mountains Legacy, a production company specialized in outdoor filmmaking. He is passionate about trail running, paragliding and mountaineering. He has followed mountain athletes around the world since 10 years and divides his time between high-profile commercial films and expeditions to incredible places with unique people.
That area is a very special place for my team. We call it ‘our studio’, because we often go there to create content – and at this time of year it’s a great spot with powerful early-morning light.
Jordan Manoukian:
Instagram: @jordan_manoukian
Coming Soon: Signture Image Search 2025
Last year’s signature image was a highliner, also located in the Alps (2023), and over the past few years we’ve featured climbers with stunning red rock and blue sky in Australia (2022), basecamp tents in Alaska (2021) and ski mountaineering in California (2020). We are celebrating a big milestone in 2025 with the 50th Anniversary of the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival! The 2025 search opens mid-November 2024.
Find out more about the Signature Image Search.
Sample of a 2024 Festival advertisement with Jordan's image:
Stay Updated
We are excited to share updates and news surrounding the 49th annual 2024 Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival (Oct. 26 - Nov. 3) and World Tour in the coming months as well as updates on our 2024 Banff Adventure Filmmakers Workshop, Film/Book/Photo Competitions, and more!
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