HE BEST ACTION SPORT PHOTOGRAPHERS IN THE WORLD COMPETE FOR FIRST EVER 10K
PRIZE PURSE AT THE PRO PHOTOGRAPHER SHOWDOWN

--New features push the Showdown's boundaries April 19th at the TELUS World
Ski & Snowboard Festival--


This year's Pro Photographer Showdown is poised to take the world-renowned
event to the next level with a new selection process, new presentation
format and a new cash prize incentive of $10,000 for the winning
photographer. Along with the talented and diverse line-up of finalist
photographers, this year's Showdown has all the makings of becoming one of
the best shows yet.

"We've always had big dreams for the Pro Photographer Showdown, but no one
really expected that it would become the iconic event it is today," remarked
Jack Turner, Commissioner of the Pro Photographer Showdown. "This event
isn't
just a collection of great photography. It's really about the passion and
commitment it took for each artist to capture their images and transform
them into a show worthy of the Pro Photographer Showdown."

The popular photography exposé opened up for the first time to submissions
from all action-sport & lifestyle photographers in the world, and close to
60 entries were received including from Sweden, Switzerland, France, UK,
throughout the United States and Canada. Organizers of the event were
particularly impressed with how the photographers pushed the bounds of
creativity with the new digital presentation format, encouraging a whole new
level of creative choreography. For 2006, established pros will compete
alongside new Showdown presenters. The five finalists are:

Blake Jorgenson - Awards and accolades for Blake's inspiring photography has
been steadily mounting, including winning both the 2001 Pro Photographer
Search and Showdown, Best of Show at the Andes Photo Challenge in 2002,
Powder magazine Photo of the Year in 2003, and recently, Whistler's
Photographer of the Year for 2004. Currently he is based out of Whistler,
B.C., and has senior photographer positions at Powder, Skier and Freeskier
magazines.

Kevin Zacher - With a degree in photojournalism from Northern Arizona
University, Kevin now lives in Santa Monica and has shot for such industry
leaders as TransWorld SNOWboarding Magazine, Burton Snowboards, Coca-Cola,
Quicksilver, K2 Sports, and MTV. As a previous presenter in the 2002 Pro
Photographer Search, his photography serves as a commentary for the pop
culture of snowboarding, and he has become an essential figure in
documenting the spirit of this lifestyle.

Corey Rich - From South Lake Tahoe, California, Corey is a climber,
adventurer, and photojournalist and has traveled the world on assignment for
many of the best clients in the industry, including Sports Illustrated,
Outside, Men's Journal, National Geographic Adventure, Nike, Patagonia, and
The North Face. He has just finished his first coffee table book, My
Favourite Place: Great Athletes In The Great Outdoors, which will be in
bookstores beginning April of 2006.

Scott Pommier - Scott is a local Vancouver photographer/writer who was
recently honoured as the 2005 Freesports Photographer of the Year. He has
served as the field editor at TransWorld SKATEboarding Magazine and a senior
editor for SBC Skateboard, and has also contributed to almost every major
skateboarding magazine in North America, including TransWorld, Thrasher,
Skateboarder, Slap, Heckler and Concrete Powder and popular advertisers such
as Vans, Circa, DC, Volcom, Billabong, and Element.

Jeremy Koreski - Based in Tofino BC, Jeremy has become one of the more
prominent recorders of the West Coast's current environmental and cultural
milieu. His images have appeared in Outside, The Surfer's Journal, Surfer
Magazine, enRoute, The Surfer's Path, Explore Magazine and many more.
Koreski is also the creator of Numb, an acclaimed Canadian surf video that
documents the surfing and snowboarding of his core group of friends - Raph
and Sepp Bruhwiler, Peter Devries, Ryan Erickson and Paul Henderson.

The artists are now putting together a 9-minute choreographed slide show set
to music for the infamous Showdown in Whistler, where one will be voted
"Best of Show" with a winner-take-all $10,000 cash prize, and international
television screenings. Finalists will feature the best work of their careers
in front of an audience of 2000 at the Showdown, and if you'd like to be
there to witness the best action-sport & lifestyle photography in the world,
tickets for the gala evening are $20, and available online at
http://www.whistler2006.com/estore/ More information on the Pro Photographer
Showdown and the presenting photographers can be found at
http://www.wssf.com/photo

The TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival is produced by W1 Inc., an
award-winning sports & entertainment marketing company with offices in
Whistler and Vancouver, and presented in partnership with Tourism Whistler
and Whistler Blackcomb. W1 is best known for founding and producing the
largest annual winter sports and music festival in North America - the TELUS
World Ski & Snowboard Festival, featuring major professional skiing and
snowboarding competitions, the largest free outdoor concert series in
Canada, the legendary Pro Photographer and Filmmaker Showdowns, and many
more unique art and cultural showcases. Founded in 1993, W1 has staged over
400 concerts and produced television specials for distribution in 120
countries. Please visit w1.ca for information on W1, and whistler2006.com
for details on the 2006 TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival, this year
from April 14-23.

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Media Notes:
Photos: The attached low-resolution photos are available for editorial use.
If you need publication-ready versions, please contact Cristiana Spooner
(details below).
Media room: www.whistler2006.com/media features what's new, event specifics,
photo gallery, online accreditation & info. about covering the Festival.

For more information, please contact:
Cristiana Spooner, Media Relations
W1 Inc. - Producers of the TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival
p: 604.938.3399 ext. 21
e: cspooner@w1.ca