#News – Red Bull Illume 2016 winners announced
The winners of the world’s greatest action and adventure sports photography contest have been unveiled with an Australian crowned category winner.
The best action and adventure sports photographers from around the globe were celebrated in Chicago earlier today as the Red Bull Illume Image Quest winners were unveiled.
Celebrating a 2016 Overall Winner, 11 Category Winners and the Top 55 Finalist images, Red Bull Illume is excited to announce Australian, Luke Shadbolt, was awarded first place in the ‘Energy’ category. His black and white image, featuring surfer Renan Faccini against a huge swell in Brazil, showed the power of nature and impressed the panel of 53 judges.
Winning the ‘Masterpiece by Yodobashi’ and ‘Playground’ categories, German photographer Lorenz Holder took the top spot for the second time running. His atmospheric shot of athlete Senad Grosic riding his BMX across a bridge in Germany received the most votes from the panel of respected judges. In addition to the Overall Title, Lorenz’s winning image also took home the coveted Athletes’ Choice Award.
Following the award ceremony held at the Art Institute of Chicago, the winning photographers were able to see their images displayed on illuminated 2x2m lightboxes at the opening of the Red Bull Illume Exhibit Tour 2016. This unique nighttime photo exhibition will travel to cultural hubs and hotspots around the world for the next two years.
The tour will stay in Chicago until October 9. From there, the tour will head to Toronto, Canada; Yonkers, NY and San Francisco, CA, with further tour stops to be announced on redbullillume.com shortly.
The Overall Winner and the 11 Category winners are:
Close Up: Denis Klero, Russia with his black and white shot of climber Rustam Gelmanov showing his chalk-covered hands in Fontainebleu, France.
Energy: Luke Shadbolt, Australia for his black and white image showing the power of nature. Surfer Renan Faccini is set against a huge swell in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
Enhance: Dean Treml, New Zealand and his image of cliff diver Jonathan Paredes jumping from the 28 meter platform on the roof of the Copenhagen Opera House during the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, 2013.
Lifestyle: Jody MacDonald, Canada with her mesmerising image of her brother Ken MacDonald sitting atop a train during their adventure through the Sahara Desert.
Masterpiece by Yodobashi: Lorenz Holder, Germany showing Senad Grosic ride his bike over a bridge in an autumnal Gablenz, Germany.
New Creativity: Ale Di Lullo, Italy for his fun shot of Aaron Chase riding his mountain bike on the windshield of a NYC cab.
Playground: Lorenz Holder, Germany showing BMXer Senad Grosic ride a rusted viewing platform in Senftenberg, Germany.
Sequence by Sony: Daniel Vojtêch, Czech Republic with his shot of Flying Bulls pilots Miroslav Krejci, Jan Rudzinskyi, Stanislav Cejka and Jan Tvrdic in Jaromêř, Czech Republic.
Spirit: Dean Treml, New Zealand for his image showing kayaker Josh Neilson being supported by fellow paddlers Barnaby Prees, Sam Sutton, Tim Pickering, Ben Brown, Jamie Sutton and Jaren Seiler after a bad landing off Matze’s Drop, Storulfossen, Norway.
Wings: Micky Wiswedel, South Africa with his shot of climber Jamie Smith mid-fall as he attempts a new route on Table Mountain, Cape Town.
New for 2016 was the Mobile Category which was won by Vegard Aasen, Norway for his black and white mountaineering image taken in Hakuba, Japan.
The top 275 photos can be viewed on redbullillume.com and the Red Bull Illume social channels. These top images have also been published in a sleek, limited edition Coffee Table Book that can be purchased at redbullillumebook.com.
