The 3rd Red Bull Illume Image Quest photography competition, dedicated to world of action and adventure sports, has just announced the winners. Judges had to shift through over 28,000 entries submitted by 6417 photographers from 124 countries around the world. Snowboarder Xaver Hoffmann performing a jump at a satellite dish in Raisting, Germany won universal praise from the judges. Here’s a look at this and other award-winning action shots.
1. Overall Winner: Xaver Hoffmann snowboarding on a statellite dish
(Lorenz Holder)
“I told Xaver Hoffmann about the spot and he was also fascinated. My idea to shoot in heavy snowfall wasn’t going to be easy, as it only snowed once in this spot last season. So there was pretty much just a one-time chance to get this shot. I used two big Elinchrom strobes in the background to light up the snowflakes and create a ‘white wall’ where I could capture Xaver’s silhouette as he jumped.” --Lorenz Holder
2. Wings Category Finalist : Sky diving in Greece
(Dimitrios Kontizas)
“I never thought that at some point in my life, I would stand right at the edge of a 200-meter cliff, taking pictures of ‘crazy’ people jumping off it. But there I was in Zakynthos Island, Greece, where the 2011 ‘ProBase Shipwreck Boogie’ was taking place. Thirty BASE jumpers from all around the world had been invited to participate in this competition. This particular picture was taken right after the competition had ended, leaving all the BASE jumpers free of stress and letting them have 100% fun jumps.” -Dimitrios Kontizas
3. Wings Category Finalist: Surfer Bobby Okvist sails over a wave
(Benjamin Ginsberg)
"Surfer Bobby Okvist and I. First wave out, Bobby was in position for the largest peak of the day. The wave was breaking so far out that when the refracted energy peaked, it crumbled. The wave chased Bobby towards shore, only to heave over and start barreling in the shallow water where a wave usually first breaks. Without enough speed to make it back to shore, and the wave violently closing in behind him, Bobby carved up the face and aired off the back, shocking even himself." --Benjamin Ginsberg
4. Experimental Category Winner: Snowboarder Jordan Mendenhall in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
(Lorenz Holder)
“In the last couple of years I have been shooting 90% of my action shots from a tripod. I have been doing this because I messed up the framing of my pictures many times when I shot by hand. After a session I always end up with the same picture, with only minor changes when I flip through them. Pictures with riders, pictures without them and everything else that happened in the scene when I triggered the camera. As I had used a tripod so many times, I found out that I could flip different pictures in Photoshop and put them together again to create a totally different, new world that doesn’t exist in real life. All the pictures have perfect symmetry and that’s something I like a lot.” --Lorenz Holder
5. Energy Category Winner: Todor Spasov at Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in the Azores
(Romina Amato)
“It was not an easy day in the “office” when I took this photo. I was covering the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series on the Islet of Vila Franca do Campo in the Portuguese Azores from a boat...I like pictures where it leaves the viewer questioning, in this case: Where is he coming from? Will he survive this? Does that guy seriously think he can fly?” --Romina Amato
6. Playground Category Finalist: Riding the Turnagain Arm bore tide
(Scott Dickerson)
“This was when we first started surfing the Turnagain Arm bore tide on our stand up paddle boards and we were getting incredible 5 mile rides that would last up to 50 minutes. But the bore tide is a mysterious thing and sometimes it would be a clean perfect wave, and other times just a surge of turbulent whitewash, often both in the same ride.” --Scott Dickerson
7. Energy Category Finalist: Ice climbing at Helmcken Falls in British Columbia
(Christian Pondella)
"Helmcken Falls, located in Wells Grey Provincial Park in British Columbia, is the fourth highest waterfall in Canada with a height of 141 meters. The water cascades over a natural amphitheater where the mist from the waterfall freezes to the overhanging and horizontal rock, creating a recent discovery for the worldís elite ice climbers. Will Gadd and Tim Emmett were the first to discover and climb this severely overhanging cave. Due to the unique way the ice clings to the rock and the ability to place bolts into the rock, Will and Tim were able to scale the frozen walls with the safety of knowing their gear would not fail. The climbing here is the first of its kind and very cutting-edge as it is several grades harder than traditional ice routes." -- Christian Pondella
8. Spirit Category Winner: Surfing in a blizzard
(Chris Burkhard)
"Windows of clear blue skies are rare in these parts of Norway and each minute that passed as we gathered our boards and wetsuits seemed twice as long. Jumping into the truck, we drove the cold icy roads looking for peaks on the horizon. Then just over the frozen hillside the top of a wave could be seen...The waves seemed perfect and we thought it would be a long session of the best arctic waves any of us had ever scored. Suddenly the winds changed and that looming cloud on the horizon had snuck up and was almost upon us." --Chris Burkard
9. Lifestyle Category Winner: Furfers off the coast of Fiji
(Morgan Maasen)
Late one fall I gathered a group of America’s next generation of young surfers, and we departed for Fiji to try our hand at an impressive south swell. Arriving at Cloudbreak to perfect conditions and an empty beach, we had an absolute blast enjoying the dreamy scenario. The young surfers handled the size and intensity of the menacing reef break well, and we truly had an amazing trip of waves and weather. The kids consisted of Jake Marshall, Taylor Clark, Frankie Harrer, Colt Ward, Thelen Whorrell, Nolan Rapoza, and Dryden Brown, all young stand-outs with promising futures.” --Morgan Maasen
10. Sequence Category Winner: Sequence shot of a surfer at Oahu
(Zakary Noyle)
"I walked down the beach with my camera and a 70-200mm lens – I did not take a tripod, as it is easier to hand hold. I really love capturing the different elements of my surroundings, to be able to put the viewer of the image into the exact location of where I was and what I saw. By pulling the lens back, I was able to get the sand and sky, so it is almost as if someone were walking down the beach and looking over to see Gabriel doing this massive backflip.” -- Zakary Noyle
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