More than 200 people arrived on Tuesday evening, May 30, to join Patagon Journal in celebrating 5 years of the magazine and the award ceremony and exhibition of the Third Patagonia Photo Contest.

 

The spectacular exhibition, which will be on display at the Centro Arte Alameda in Santiago for one month, features the 12 winning photos in the travel & culture, nature, environment and outdoor sports categories, as well as the winner of the Readers Prize and three honorable mentions.

 

The winner of the grand prize of the contest, Angel Adaro, received a trip for 3 days and 2 nights for two people to go on a winter trek in Torres del Paine National Park with Chile Nativo. In addition, he received a stay at Hotel Remota in Puerto Natales for two nights for two people, and tickets for two to travel on board the Navimag ship on their Puerto Montt - Puerto Natales route along the Chilean Patagonia coast.

The winners in each category received a gift card of 150.000 Chilean pesos (approx.. $US225) for purchasing products at the Patagonia stores in Chile and the second place winners received hand-crafted sun glasses from Karun. The winner of the Readers Prize won a stay for two persons for two nights, courtesy of Tompkins Conservation, at their Valle Chacabuco lodge in the new Patagonia National Park.

 

The panel of judges for the photo contest included Celine Frers, an Argentine photographer whose photos are featured in books such as Colores de Corrientes, Cielos Patagónicos and Tierra de Gauchos; Brian O’Keefe, one of the top fly fishing photographers in the world; and Pablo Valenzuela, one of Chile’s leading photographers whose works are also found in a plethora of photo exhibit-format books and expositions throughout the country.

 

Valenzuela also spoke during the award ceremony about photography in Patagonia, stressing the importance of capturing photographic moments with both the mind and heart. Other speakers included Hernan Mladinic, executive director of Tompkins Conservation, who gave a talk about the recently announced network of national parks in Patagonia that includes the creation of five new national parks in Chilean Patagonia; and Paulo Urrutia, a geologist, kayaker and member of the environmental group Bestias del Sur Salvaje, who spoke about how athletes who enjoy outdoor sports in the region should get more involved in confronting environmental problems in southern Chile.

 

The event also hosted the premiere of the documentary “Costa Perdida,” about a sea kayak expedition by Chilean explorer Cristian Donoso, who together with Spanish filmmaker Roger Rovira last year paddled 600 kilometers inside Bernard O’Higgins National Park.

 

After the video documentary, the attendees enjoyed a reception that included cheeses from Lacteos Futaleufu, wines from Viña Perez Cruz, and microbrews from Cerveza Quimera.

 

Below, more photos from the special event: