Calling all outdoor and adventure photographers... share shots of you taking things to extremes and you could be in with a chance of winning a Leica V-Lux 5 compact worth £1,770/$1,595 – and a haul of Shackleton clothing.
With four categories to enter, Capture The Extreme 2024 celebrates the incredible individuals, landscapes, wildlife and weather events of the planet's most extreme reaches.
The judging panel comprises Leica ambassadors Levison Wood and Emily Garthwaite, polar explorer and photographer Marin Hartley, and Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, the art director and chief representative of Leica Galleries International.
Wood is a photographer and explorer who has written several books, including Encounters.
The star of Shackelton's Live Courageously campaign, Garthwaite has walked over 1,500km through Iraq and has also documented the people and places of the River Tigris in western Asia, one of the most militarised rivers in the world.
Having explored some of the harshest and most remote regions of the world, Hartley is also well qualified to be a judge on Capture the Extremes; and with the responsibility for managing the 24 Leica galleries around the world, Rehn-Kaufman has curated many prestigious photography exhibitions.
The Leica V-Lux 5 is a travel-friendly bridge camera with a long zoom and 4K video capability.
It sports a 1-inch 20.1MP CMOS sensor and a 9.1-146mm f/2.8-4 lens – equivalent to 25-400mm in full-frame terms – and is a fast and capable camera that’s excellent in low light.
In addition to bagging a V-Lux 5 the winner will also receive an all-new Shackleton Frank Hurley Field Photographers Jacket – so new it hasn’t even been released yet; the winner will receive the very first jacket in the limited production run – a Shackleton Hero Sweater and a Shackleton Merino Watch Cap.
Three runners up will each receive a Shackleton Hero Sweater, and the Explorer's Choice winner will take home a Shackleton Frank Hurley Field Jacket.
Entry to the competition is free, and the closing date is 15 March 2024. The categories are:
- Extreme Landscapes – the planet’s remote corners
- Extreme Weather – at the edge of the climate crisis
- Wildlife at the Extremes – creatures that endure
- People in the Extremes – from native cultures to adventurers
The judges' results (overall winner and category winners) will be announced on 22 March, as will the Explorer’s Choice (people's vote) shortlist. The Explorer’s Choice winner will be announced on April 3.
Take a look at the best cameras for landscape photography, the best lenses for landscape photography, and if you like the look of the Leica V-Lux 5, the best bridge cameras.
