The world’s best action and adventure sport photography

The world’s best action and adventure sport photography
Breathtaking imagery — Red Bull’s Illume Image Quest 2016 selects the winning shot from tens of thousands of actions sports images, submitted by photographers across the globe.

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.

© Lorenz Holder / Red Bull Illume

© Lorenz Holder / Red Bull Illume

© Daniel Vojtěch / Red Bull Illume

© Daniel Vojtěch / Red Bull Illume

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.

© Dean Treml / Red Bull Illume

© Dean Treml / Red Bull Illume

© Denis Klero / Red Bull Illume

© Denis Klero / Red Bull Illume

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.

© Dean Treml / Red Bull Illume

© Dean Treml / Red Bull Illume

© Vegard Aasen / Red Bull Illume

© Vegard Aasen / Red Bull Illume

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.

© Micky Wiswedel / Red Bull Illume

© Micky Wiswedel / Red Bull Illume

© Ale Di Lullo / Red Bull Illume

© Ale Di Lullo / Red Bull Illume

© Lorenz Holder / Red Bull Illume

© Lorenz Holder / Red Bull Illume

© Luke Shadbolt / Red Bull Illume

© Luke Shadbolt / Red Bull Illume

Find out more about the book and exhibition tour stops at Red Bull Illume.

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