Overall and Category Winners of the 2019 Red Bull Illume Image Quest contest announced in Italy
Every three years, the Red Bull Illume contest showcases the greatest images in sports and action photography. This year’s contest was titled Image Quest 2019, and the winning pictures did not disappoint.
Red Bull Illume is the world’s greatest adventure and action sports imagery contest. It showcases the most creative and captivating images on the planet, while illuminating the passion, lifestyle and culture behind the photographers that shoot them.
The dynamic compositions capture breathtaking moments by amateur and professional athletes framed and captured by photographers with a keen eye for detail and drama. The acts that these bikers, surfers, climbers and skaters and others perform, look all the more impressive when illuminated by smoke or shot from mind-bending points of view.
Image Quest 2019 saw a record-breaking number of entries. Thousands of photographers from around the world submitted 59,551 images, which meant the panel of 50 judges had their work cut out for them!
I was one of the judges. In many ways, being a judge was one of the most challenging but rewarding projects I have done in my decade long photo career. The images inspire you, they foster and desire to push your own boundaries in creating images and at times, the photo makes you stop and admire it over and over.
As judges, we were tasked to narrow down the thousands of pictures to a mere 60 finalists, 11 category winners, and one overall winner.
In November the winners of the Image Quest 2019 were crowned at a spectacular Winner Award Ceremony in LUMEN atop Plan de Corones in South Tyrol, Italy. The Museum of Mountain Photography will also host the first outdoor exhibit tour stop. The stand-alone exhibition will present the top 60 images of the Image Quest 2019 on 2x2m lightboxes in an amazing scenery at a height of 2,275m/7,464ft. above sea level. The opening of the exhibition coincided with the official start of the ski season at Plan de Corones on November 30 and will be open until December 15, 2019. After that, the images will be displayed in magical Brunico-Bruneck, Italy until January 6, 2020.
So, who took the top prize? Ben Thouard was the Overall Winner for his underwater photograph featuring athlete Ace Buchan surfing in Teahupo’o, Tahiti in French Polynesia.
Thouard highlights Buchan in the midst of a giant wave as the surfer uses all his force to stay upright and break free of the incredible wall of water. Of the shot, Thouard reveals, “I‘ve dedicated the last few years to shooting underwater, looking for new angles and a new way to shoot surfing and waves. Shooting surfing from underwater is a whole new world and I love it! Tahiti has some of the clearest water in the world so it was easy for me to take advantage of it and explore it as much as I could.”
Beyond the contest, Red Bull Illume has a deeper meaning. One of my favorite things about photography is that every photo is different, each time I pick up the camera, it’s a completely new experience than the last. I spoke to many of the finalists and it doesn’t matter how long you have been a photographer, there is a point that we all reach when shooting that when you feel like you’ve hit a creative wall, break through it by learning something new.
Best of Instagram by SanDisk: Baptiste Fauchille, France, with a shot from a buddies trip with a business goal showing Alex Bibollet’s shadow in the bowl of Fillinges, France.
Creative by Skylum: Denis Klero, Russia, for his visually striking image of Paul Alekhin to celebrate the change of season in Streetfire Club, Moscow, Russia.
Emerging by Red Bull Photography: Jean-Baptiste Liautard, France, joins the big leagues with this mirrored shot of Jeremy Berthier at his trail in Bourgoin-Jallieu, France.
Energy & Overall Winner: Ben Thouard, France, shows the power of surfing with this underwater shot of Ace Buchan kicking out from the barrel through the wave in Teahupo’o, Tahiti, French Polynesia.
Innovation by Sony: Laurence Crossman-Emms, United Kingdom, takes the imagination by storm with this image of Katy Winton BMXing through a puddle at Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales, United Kingdom.
Lifestyle: Alexander Wick, Germany, for his tribute shot of Philipp Bankosegger, Chris Rudolph and Luke Lalor taking a nap by Salathé Wall, El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, USA.
Masterpiece by EyeEm: Lorenz Holder, Germany, for his shot of Senad Grosic flying in the magical Game of Thrones location, The Dark Hedges, Northern Ireland 
Playground: Lorenz Holder, Germany, with a shot of Vladic Scholz in the surreal Ouse Valley Viaduct, South England.
RAW: Noah Wetzel, USA, for his shot of Chris Bule riding under the Total Solar Eclipse in Teton Valley, Wyoming, USA.
Wings: Philip Platzer, Austria, captures athlete Marco Fürst flying on an unthinkable hot air balloon swing in Fromberg, Austria.
The Red Bull Illume is always inspiring! I love how it captures the sports I love from a different view and inspires me to push my photography. Loving actionsportstoday.com