The winning photo in Red Bull Illume’s Emerging by Black Diamond category taken by Kohner-Flanagan: Jack Nugent finds a second to catch his breath while climbing a route known as “Queen of Heartbreaks” near Bishop, Calif.
Victoria Kohner-Flanagan, above, is a 2016 graduate of Hood River Valley High School, and recently graduated from Oregon State University Cascades with a degree in American Studies and Sustainability.
The winning photo in Red Bull Illume’s Emerging by Black Diamond category taken by Kohner-Flanagan: Jack Nugent finds a second to catch his breath while climbing a route known as “Queen of Heartbreaks” near Bishop, Calif.
HOOD RIVER — Victoria Kohner-Flanagan has been named Red Bull’s Emerging by Black Diamond’s photography contest winner for her picture of Jack Nugent climbing “Queen of Heartbreaks” route in Pine Creek Canyon near Bishop, Calif. Kohner-Flanagan was a 2016 graduate of Hood River Valley High School, and recent graduate from Oregon State University Cascades in Bend, where she earned her American Studies and Sustainability degree, which she admits is possibly the furthest thing from climbing or photography.
“I know it has nothing to do with climbing or photography,” said Kohner-Flanagan. “But it was super fun.”
Victoria Kohner-Flanagan, above, is a 2016 graduate of Hood River Valley High School, and recently graduated from Oregon State University Cascades with a degree in American Studies and Sustainability.
Dalton Johnson photo
Red Bull Illume announced her as the winner on Dec. 2 when they invited her to join an Instagram Live video. During the video, the hosts Tarquin Cooper and Will Gadd announced Kohner-Flanagan the winner of the Emerging category by Black Diamond, which is exclusively for photographers under the age of 25 who are trying to make a name for themselves. Of the thousands of submissions, her photo made it to the semifinals and was eventually selected as the top submission from the three finalists. Kohner-Flanagan’s good friend and climbing buddy, Will Saunders, won the overall category with his photo of a climber from Indian Creek, Utah.
Capturing the photo was not easy task for Kohner-Flanagan. She climbed the route next to the “Queen of Heartbreaks” and anchored herself into the granite wall. Once in the position, she dangled around and waited for Nugent to make his ascent. Kohner-Flanagan said that granite walls are especially interesting to climb.
“A lot of the features look almost improbable,” said Kohner-Flanagan. “But the subtleties kind of open themselves up to you as you climb.”
When she photographed Nugent on the “Queen of Heartbreaks,” it was the first time she herself had climbed that particular wall. She remembers looking up at saying to herself, “I have no idea how he’s going to do that.”
The “Emerging by Black Diamond” category was meant to shed light on the photographers behind the lens.
“You see these epic shots of athletes skiing, biking or climbing and you become really familiar with the athlete,” said Kohner-Flanagan. “But you wouldn’t know those athletes without the photographer behind the camera.”
Kohner-Flanagan has spent the past four years living out of her van, chasing the best weather around the country for climbing. She has been to many of the premier climbing spots around the west coast and midwest. Kohner-Flanagan has spent time climbing and snapping photos in Oregon, Washington, California, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada.
This winter, she will spend most of her time in Joshua Tree — a popular spot for climbers and photographers alike — working on some personal projects and doing some climbing in between.
“The future definitely looks like more of the same for me,” said Kohner-Flanagan. “As much climbing and as much shooting climbing as possible.”
Commented
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.