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Winning backcountry photos announced
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first place Mark Gribbon's "Shin Campos Method" won WAC's backcountry photo competition. by Mark Gribbon

The people — and, um, a panel of professional photographer judges — have spoken!

Collectively, they've chosen the top prizes in the 2012 Out of Bounds: Tales From the Backcountry photo competition, displayed at the Scotia Creek Gallery through October. A panel of four professional photographers awarded Mark Gribbon top place for his photo "Shin Campos Method." The stunning image depicts a snowboarder mid-air, launching off a cliff while wisps of snow trail behind.

"With all the amazing entries I saw in the show, I am very honoured that mine was chosen," Gribbon says in a release. "Thanks to Shin for his timeless riding style, and the Whistler Arts Council and all the sponsors for putting on the event. It is great to see the community getting behind local artists and photographers with cool events like this one."

The winning photo will be published in Mountain Life Magazine and Gribbon also took home $1,000. The jury made special mention of Rueben Krabbe's "James McSkimming Waterfall" and Russell Dalby's "Rusty Oakden."

In the Best of Show category, the voting public chose Sean St. Denis for his picture "The Hard Way." His prize for the image — offering a unique perspective of an isolated ski trail — is a snowcat trip for two. Cameron Hunter's "Elias Elhardt Front 3" was voted second and Brad Slack's photo "Joe on Plinth" won third place.

"The Out of Bounds exhibit brings together an amazing group of talented athletes and emerging photographers," says Andrea Mueller, event coordinator at the Whistler Arts Council, organizers of the event. "We had a great response to the public vote this year and it's exciting to see Whistler has an appetite for big mountain shots as well as a more journalistic approach to backcountry photography."

Group drawing

With winter around the corner, it might be tough to coax Whistlerites inside, but the Whistler Arts Council is trying! They're offering a free drop-in for a life drawing group on Tuesday evenings at Millennium Place from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.

While you're encouraged to bring your own supplies, they're providing the nude model. There's no formal instruction, but there will be someone on hand to offer pointers to beginners. Artists of all skill levels are encouraged to come out and brush up on theirs skills with shape, tone and texture. Fees usually run from $15 for drop-in to $65 for five pre-registered sessions.

Cultural centre honoured

Whistler's Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre has received an Aboriginal Cultural Authenticity award from the Aboriginal Tourism Association of BC.

The title is given to an Aboriginal tourism business that shows it's committed to accurately depicting culture through activities like dance, song, story telling or other events. "Our primary effort every day at the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre is to deliver an authentic, engaging experience to our guests," executive director Casey Vanden Heuvel said in a release. "We represent thousands of years of rich local First Nations culture and we are very pleased to be recognized by the B.C. tourism industry for our commitment to sharing that rich culture with respect through the efforts of our local First Nations ambassadors."

Earlier this year, it was also recognized by the tourism association as the cultural centre of the year. In 2010, it was awarded the National Cultural Tourism award by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada.