The world’s best action and adventure sport photography
- Text by HUCK HQ
- Photography by © Jody MacDonald / Red Bull Illume
German BMX pro Senad Grosic is in perfect balance. With his front wheel anchored to the old stone bridge in Gablenz, his rear wheel and body pokes up into the air like a ballerina. His likeness is captured in the mirror-like surface of the water metres below, creating a reflection that’s almost too perfect to believe.
Shot by photographer Lorenz Holder, this image was the overall winner of the Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2016, the compeititon which celebrates the very best action and adventure sport photography.
5,645 photographers from across the globe submitted a staggering 34,624 images, that encompass everything from surfers riding atop freight trains in the heart of the desert, to wounded kayakers and death-defying skydivers. After judges selected winners for each of the 11 categories, which included Mobile, Close Up and Lifestyle, Lorenz Holder was crowned with overall victory.
The 275 semifinalist images from this year’s contest are showcased in a limited edition coffee-table book, which also reveal the finalists’ biographies, their stories behind each shot and the technical details. A selection of the judges’ favourite images also go on display in a travelling nighttime outdoor photo exhibition.
Find out more about the book and exhibition tour stops at Red Bull Illume.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
Latest on Huck
The party starters fighting to revive Stonehenge’s Solstice Free Festival
Free the Stones! delves into the vibrant community that reignites Stonehenge’s Solstice Free Festival, a celebration suppressed for nearly four decades.
Written by: Laura Witucka
Hypnotic Scenes of 90s London Nightlife
Legendary photographer Eddie Otchere looks back at this epic chapter of the capital’s story in new photobook ‘Metalheadz, Blue Note London 1994–1996’
Written by: Miss Rosen
The White Pube: “Artists are skint, knackered and sharing the same 20 quid”
We caught up with the two art rebels to chat about their journey, playing the game that they hate, and why anarchism might be the solution to all of art’s (and the wider world’s) problems.
Written by: Isaac Muk
The Chinese youth movement ditching big cities for the coast
In ’Fissure of a Sweetdream’ photographer Jialin Yan documents the growing number of Chinese young people turning their backs on careerist grind in favour of a slower pace of life on Hainan Island.
Written by: Isaac Muk
The LGBT Travellers fundraising for survival
This Christmas, Traveller Pride are raising money to continue supporting LGBT Travellers (used inclusively) across the country through the festive season and on into next year, here’s how you can support them.
Written by: Percy Henderson
The fight to save Bristol’s radical heart
As the city’s Turbo Island comes under threat activists and community members are rallying round to try and stop the tide of gentrification.
Written by: Ruby Conway