Red Bull Illume is the world’s greatest international photography contest dedicated to action and adventure sports. It showcases the most creative and captivating photography on the planet as art and aims to bring the public closer to the world of action sports. Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2016 is the fourth edition of the contest after 2007, 2010 and 2013.
The Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2016 saw 5.645 photographers from 120 countries submitting a record-breaking 34.624 images. A judging panel of 53 photo editors initially selected 275 images which were then whittled down to 55 finalists for the 11 varying categories (Close Up, Energy, Enhance, Lifestyle, New Creativity, Playground, Mobile, Wings, Spirit, Sequence by Sony, and the Masterpiece), before the winners, plus an overall winner were unveiled at the Red Bull Illume Winner Award Ceremony last week at the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois.
German photographer Lorenz Holder took the top spot (see picture above) for the second time running with his atmospheric shot of athlete Senad Grosic riding his BMX across a bridge in autumnal Gablenz, Germany.
All finalist images will travel across the world until mid-2018 as part of the Red Bull Illume Exhibit Tour - a unique nighttime outdoor photo exhibition.
Take a look below to see the rest of the category winners / finalists, and to find out more about the contest please head on over to the official website here.