Red Bull Illume – The Very Best Action Sports Photography

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I just went through the Red Bull Illume final 250 photo gallery and I’m blown away by the effort, creativity and talent of those photographers. Action sports photography is what I do too, so it’s both humbling and inspiring to see what these guys have done – these photos are the best of the best.

Photo by Tim Kemple / Red Bull Illume

Red Bull Illume is the most prestigious action sports photography competition in existence. It’s open to everyone and attracts the absolute best skate, cycling, snowsports, watersports, climbing and lifestyle photographers in the world. The entries have been whittled down to 250 photos and the final winners will be revealed at the end of this month. The 50 judges, photo editors from some of the most respected action sports publications, will choose 50 photos from the 250 finalists, along with winners for ten categories, and one overall winner – the grand champion, if you will.

I’m looking forward to seeing the final winning photos from the 2013 Red Bull Illume contest. The previous winning photos have been mind-blowing and as I already said, the 250 finalists are insanely good. In fact, as far as I’m concerned, the guys whose photos made it into the top 250 are already winners. These are some of the most creative, exciting and inspiring outdoor and sports photos you’ll ever see. Check out the selected images below to see what I mean.
 

Red Bull Illume – The Very Best Action Sports Photography Gallery
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Photo by Anthony Acosta / Red Bull Illume
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Photo by Anthony Acosta / Red Bull Illume

Photographer: Anthony Acosta Athlete: Geoff Rowley Location: Tehachapi, CA, USA
Photo by Jara Sijka / Red Bull Illume
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Photo by Jara Sijka / Red Bull Illume

Photographer: Jara Sijka Athlete: Michal "Shimmy" Simara Location: Brno, Czech Republic
Photo by Jeremy Bernard / Red Bull Illume
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Photo by Jeremy Bernard / Red Bull Illume

Photographer: Jeremy Bernard Athlete: Jérémie Heitz Location: Les Marécottes, Switzerland
Photo by Vincent Perraud / Red Bull Illume
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Photo by Vincent Perraud / Red Bull Illume

Photographer: Vincent Perraud Athlete: Luc Legrand Location: Bilbao, Spain
Photo by Mike Leeds / Red Bull Illume
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Photo by Mike Leeds / Red Bull Illume

Photographer: Mike Leeds Athlete: Erik Boomer Location: Sahalie Falls, McKenzie River, OR, USA
Photo by Sebastien Boue / Red Bull Illume
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Photo by Sebastien Boue / Red Bull Illume

Photographer: Sebastien Boue Location: Fréjus, France
Photo by Thomas Frey / Red Bull Illume
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Photo by Thomas Frey / Red Bull Illume

Photographer: Thomas Frey Athlete: Stef Bakker Location: Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands
Photo by Scott Serfas / Red Bull Illume
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Photo by Scott Serfas / Red Bull Illume

Photographer: Scott Serfas Athlete:Travis Rice Location: Tordrillo Mountains, AK, USA
Photo by Fred Mortagne / Red Bull Illume
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Photo by Fred Mortagne / Red Bull Illume

Photographer: Fred Mortagne Athlete: Charles Collet Location: Secret Spot, France
Photo by Rainer Eder / Red Bull Illume
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Photo by Rainer Eder / Red Bull Illume

Photographer: Rainer Eder Athlete: Anna Stöhr Location: Thörishaus, Switzerland
Photo by Christian Pondella / Red Bull Illume
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Photo by Christian Pondella / Red Bull Illume

Photographer: Christian Pondella Athlete: Brandon Semenuk Location: Virgin, UT, USA
Photo by Olaf Pignataro / Red Bull Illume
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Photo by Olaf Pignataro / Red Bull Illume

Photographer: Olaf Pignataro Athlete: Stefan Lantschner Location: Verona, Italy
Photo by Dimitrios Kontizas / Red Bull Illume
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Photo by Dimitrios Kontizas / Red Bull Illume

Photographer: Dimitrios Kontizas Athlete: Hubert Schober, Kedley Oliveti Location: Zakynthos, Greece
Photo by Martin Lugger / Red Bull Illume
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Photo by Martin Lugger / Red Bull Illume

Photographer: Martin Lugger Athlete: Florian Ebner Location: Lienzer Dolomiten, Austria
Photo by Marcelo Maragni / Red Bull Illume
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Photo by Marcelo Maragni / Red Bull Illume

Photographer: Marcelo Maragni Athlete: Bboy Katatau Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Photo by Lorenz Holder / Red Bull Illume
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Photo by Lorenz Holder / Red Bull Illume

Photographer: Lorenz Holder Athlete: Benny Urban Location: Oberschleißheim, Germany
Photo by Tim Kemple / Red Bull Illume
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Photo by Tim Kemple / Red Bull Illume

Photographer: Tim Kemple Athlete: Tyler Bradt Location: Tlapacoyan, Mexico
2010 Red Bull Illume Winning Photo - by Chris Burckard
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2010 Red Bull Illume Winning Photo - by Chris Burckard

The overall winning photo from the 2010 Red Bull Illume action sports photography competition. Photographer: Chris Burkard Athlete: Peter Mendia Location: Buchupero, Chile
The 2010 Red Bull Illume Photo Exhibition
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The 2010 Red Bull Illume Photo Exhibition

Red Bull Illume Exhibit at The Denver Performing Arts Complex

You can see the rest of the Red Bull Illume photo finalists in their top 250 gallery, here. Be prepared to have your mind blown! Here’s the overall winner from the 2010 Red Bull Illume, a beautiful surf photo by Chris Burckard:

2010 Red Bull Illume Winning Photo - by Chris Burckard

The final Red Bull Illume winners will be chosen on August 29th in Hong Kong, where they’ll have a public awards exhibition featuring illuminated light boxes of the top 50 photos. That exhibition will run from August 29th to September 15th. The top photographer will win a Leica S camera – a medium format digital SLR that sells for over $20,000. He or she will also receive a compact, portable Broncolor Move outdoor lighting kit that’s perfect for outdoor action photography; and a Sun-Sniper camera strap package. The ten category winners will get Leica X2 compact cameras, Broncolor Para outdoor lighting kit, and Sun-Sniper camera accessories.

2013 Red Bull Illume Web Site >>

The 2010 Red Bull Illume Photo Exhibition

About the author: Photo-John

Photo-John, a.k.a. John Shafer, is the managing editor of PhotographyREVIEW.com and has been since the site launched back in 1999. He's an avid outdoor enthusiast and spends as much time as possible on his mountain bike, hiking or skiing in the mountains. He's been taking pictures for ever and ever, and never goes anywhere without a camera.


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