Photography Exhibitions

Once again, we present the winning photographs of the La Pedriza Mountain Photography Contest — a competition that, thanks to everyone’s effort and the support of the municipalities involved in the La Pedriza Festival, has become a key event in the mountain photography scene.

In this edition, we have reached a total of 1,600 photographs submitted by enthusiastic photographers who continue to enrich and give value to this photographic exhibition.

The jury had a difficult task selecting the winners. Many initially shortlisted photos were finally discarded for not fully reflecting the spirit of authenticity that defines this contest. The jury had to assess whether those spectacular images remained within the acceptable limits of editing, or whether they were more the work of an editor than that of a photographer.

We seek authenticity — it couldn’t be otherwise, living at the foot of La Pedriza del Manzanares, a unique place where nature sets its own rules and anything artificial fades into the background. We hope this message comes through in the selected photographs.

Enjoy the exhibition and venture along the trails that lead to the heart of our beloved Pedriza.

Exhibition Preview

You can see the full exhibition at Prado Puente

From December 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024

Between 2005 and 2008, I had the good fortune to embark, together with my partner, on a three-year van journey that took us from Spain to Southeast Asia. That period coincided with my first work as a photographer and documentarian for the Ministry of Education and Science, contributing to the creation of its image bank as an educational resource for schools.

During that time, I was taking photographs almost daily, learning in a self-taught way, and for part of the journey accompanied by a professional photographer who shared his knowledge with me and advised me on the equipment I should get to start properly.

“Pura Vida” is a carefully selected series of 10 images chosen from among thousands taken during that stage. Borrowing its title from the beautiful and inspiring documentary about the rescue attempt of mountaineer Iñaki Ochoa de Olza, it seeks to outline the vast and fascinating universe that Asia represents for Westerners — a continent that is the cradle of history, immense, full of color, and bursting with life.

That journey marked the beginning of my current path — dedicating myself to this challenging and uncertain profession in which every assignment feels like the first one. It has allowed me to discover extraordinary places, stories, and people, and it’s a craft to which I am one hundred percent devoted.

Exhibition Photos

From April 13, 2023 to November 30, 2023

This exhibition of award-winning photos from the 3rd La Pedriza Mountain Photography Contest is the result of the work of enthusiastic photographers capable of capturing the essence of nature and the mountains with a single click. What might seem simple — or at times casual — actually involves years of training, experimentation, and effort to distinguish between the essential and the trivial, the sublime and the ordinary, the spectacular and the insignificant. The magic of photography lies in this long journey that allows us, the spectators, to be transported to unbelievable places, fascinating moments, and even become, for an instant, protagonists of skiing, running, and climbing adventures in the heart of nature.

This new edition brings together international photographers alongside outstanding photographers from the Sierra de Guadarrama. Our aim has been to position the villages that lie at the foot of this mountain range as true ambassadors of the Mountain — to highlight their role as gateways to the National Park and to reaffirm La Pedriza de Manzanares as the natural monument it truly is.

Thanks to everyone’s collaboration, we have made it to this third edition, and we hope this adventure continues for many more years to come.

Exhibition Photos

From January 14, 2023 to April 12, 2023

The craft of seeing has its artists of the instant — geniuses who flirt with light, frame through imagination, and skillfully portray the divine within the human. They immortalize the fleeting in a brilliant heartbeat. Creators who understand photography as a means or an excuse to share feelings and emotions. Artisans of the image who chisel postcards that travel from enchantment to synesthesia, awakening awareness and smiles.

Between photojournalism and creative process, between technique and mysticism, Santi Burgos rescues moments from the turbine of time to crystallize them — to convey the experience of the unrepeatable, in prose and in verse, in color or in black and white. With life itself as a photographic studio and its people as an endless parade of images. Crossing mirrors to broaden perspectives, cropping realities to highlight solemn scenes or everyday events. To honor the ordinary and put the ceremonial into perspective.

From Madrid to New York: innocence breaking through police lines or splashing in the mud; buses moving to the rhythm of an accordion; politicians losing their step; anonymous superheroes; wedding kisses reflected in guests’ faces… Gestures, portraits, landscapes, moments — eternal flashes of transience. Joys, sorrows, light, shadows, introspection, fleeting existences.

Images from recent and emotional times. Analog, digital… timeless. Tangible essences, abstract certainties. Pause for a moment. To look. To feel.

Text by Faustino Sáez, journalist at El País.

Exhibition Photos

From October 1, 2022 to January 13, 2023

From the highest peaks on Earth to below sea level, life reveals itself in all its forms — mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, invertebrates, and more.

With this photographic exhibition, I aim to present a portrait of animal life — from the most distant and remote places I have been able to visit, to La Pedriza del Manzanares itself, “our home.”

From May 3, 2022 to September 31, 2022

In this new open-air cultural space, we present the fascinating winning images of the 2nd La Pedriza Mountain Photography Contest. In just two editions, the contest has managed to attract internationally renowned photographers eager to share their best work with us, while also giving well-deserved recognition to talented photographers from the Sierra who have much to show.

The selection of photographs on display this time beautifully reflects the variety and complexity of the nature that surrounds us — auroras, volcanoes, constellations, forests, wildlife… And among all this diversity that helps us understand our world, we find those who relentlessly push their limits — climbing impossible walls, descending unknown ravines, or skiing down dreamlike slopes — and there was always someone there to capture them.

We hope these images will spark your imagination and inspire you to set out in search of new adventures, or simply to discover new landscapes and hidden corners waiting for your gaze. Start close by — right here in La Pedriza del Manzanares — and let yourself be carried away by its trails, climbs, and peaks. If we achieve that, this exhibition will have been a success for everyone.

From March 4, 2022 to May 2, 2022

La Pedriza del Manzanares is a truly unique place in the world. When you immerse yourself in its forests and wander among its granite crags, you lose all sense of time and are transported to another era. Sentinels, towers, helmets, prehistoric beasts, impregnable walls, tales of princesses and bandits…

It is no surprise that our Festival of Mountain, Film and Adventure — and therefore this photography contest — bears its name. La Pedriza fills everything in the region; it is our visual, and almost spiritual, reference point.

The photography contest before you brings together stunning images of mountain landscapes, climbers, and our beloved Sierra de Guadarrama. We’ve managed to feature snapshots from around the world thanks to well-known international photographers, while also helping our own La Pedriza del Manzanares become recognized in distant corners of the planet.