Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2021

Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2021 – Overall Winner

Will Saunders was crowned the winner for an outstanding image of a falling climber.

• For his breathtaking image of a climber falling from a rock tower in Indian Creek, Utah, USA, Will Saunders has won the Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2021.
• On Saturday evening local time, the American photographer was announced as the overall winner at a ceremony in Aspen Snowmass, Colorado, USA. His shot of climber Jake Talley striking a pose as he took a lead fall was voted overall winner by a panel of 53 judges worldwide.
• He said: “I’m just super grateful. I never thought I would be here. But it is a team effort, it takes so much more than an individual.”
• Saunders’s winning shot was already the category winner in the Masterpiece by SanDisk Professional category.
• Saunders wins a selection of prizes worth €50,000, including a Lenovo 9iPC, a Leica SL2 camera, a workflow bundle from San Disk Professional, and gear from Black Diamond and COOPH. In addition, he will receive a printed and framed copy of his winning image from WhiteWall.

Photographer: Will Saunders, Athlete: Jake Talley, Location: Indian Creek, UT, United States

About the shot: Whenever I go out to make some images, I do my best to come back with something that I haven’t done before. I’ve shot whippers many a time, but this time I wanted to try something a little different. A group of us rallied out to my favorite place in the desert to get some climbing in and make some imagery along the way. I asked Jake to really shape his body into more of a powerful movement rather than the classic falling position. With grace and style, Jake pulled this shape out of the air, allowing me to capture an image that is unique compared to most of the literal climbing imagery we see. His body reminded me of a superhero, which is fitting to me because most of my friends in this action sports world are my heroes. The ticket here was to just push the conceptual idea enough while also grounding the image in reality.

 

About the Red Bull Illume Image Quest

A judging panel of 53 renowned photo editors and experts reviewed a total of 41,447 submissions, narrowing down the selection in five voting rounds to reach 256 semi-finalists, 56 finalists, 11 category winners, and ultimately, the overall winner of Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2021.

The images are displayed in a limited-edition photobook and tour the world in a unique exhibition—many photographers credit Red Bull Illume for being the spark that ignited their careers.

Red Bull Illume’s founder Ulrich Grill said: “The standard of action sports photography has once again surprised us with its quality and originality, and in many cases, it has been a difficult call for the global panel of judges. Prepare to be amazed and inspired by the range of creativity.”

Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2021 – Innovation by EyeEm Category Winner

Photographer: Thomas Monsorno, Athlete: Dani Arnold, Location: Lake Baikal, Russia

About the shot: In February 2020, we traveled to Siberia with Mammut Pro Team athlete Dani Arnold for a challenging expedition above the deepest lake on earth, Lake Baikal. Siberian winters present difficult and fascinating conditions. The successful expedition involved moving from the lake’s expanse of ice to the vertical ice wall and opening ten new climbing routes. We found favorable conditions, challenging Dani in his favorite ice climbing area. At this time of year, conditions are extreme, with temperatures as low as -35° Celsius; for this reason, virtually no athlete has attempted ice climbing above the deepest lake in the world. The challenge proved tough from the beginning; cold temperatures, poorly documented climbing areas, and an unknown language made the search for climbing areas very demanding, requiring a lot of energy from our team, mentally and physically. Since we could only move around the frozen lake on a hovercraft, just the search for the perfect shot proved to be a unique adventure, with technical breakdowns at nightfall, exhaustion of fuel, and heating. The first steps on the ice of the lake were impressive – to see clearly through the thick ice of the deepest lake in the world was an extraordinary and absolutely unforgettable experience.

Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2021 – Energy by Red Bull Photography Category Winner

Photographer: Rod Hill, Athlete: River Mutton, Location: Huka Falls, Taupo, New Zealand

About the shot: This shot was not supposed to happen. River Mutton was supposed to leave for work but decided on one last run. I had already packed my gear away by the time they walked back up from the take-out point. Once they decided being late to work was worth it, it was a mad rush back down the river with my camera. It’s never a good idea to turn down a potentially fantastic photo opportunity. I didn’t have time to get to my normal spot, so instead, I tried this angle. All of a sudden, the light popped like I had never seen before. Straight away, I knew this was going to work.

Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2021 – Emerging by Black Diamond Category Winner

Photographer: Victoria Kohner-Flanagan, Athlete: Jack Nugent, Location: Bishop, CA, United States

About the shot: My friends and I spent the winter of 2021 living communally in an assortment of vans and cars amidst the Buttermilk’s monstrous granite boulders in Bishop, California. Our days looked like this: wake up, drink coffee, go climb. With our bouldering season coming to a close, as the snow melted and thoughts of long Yosemite climbs loomed, Jack grew eager to test his fitness on ‘Queen of Heartbreaks’ in Pine Creek Canyon. Before tying into the sharp end, Jack was clearly nervous. From the ground, the route’s 39 meters were daunting and blank. The holds remained obscured to me even as I ascended the fixed line to find the best position to shoot from. The sky darkened, and the winds picked up as Jack stepped onto the climb for his onsight attempt. Questing up the blank face, Jack found a cheeky no-hands rest. Doubt cleared from his face as I snapped the shot. Even as it started raining upwards, Jack cruised to the chains.

Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2021 – Playground by WhiteWall Category Winner

Photographer: Markus Berger, Athlete: Dominik Hernler, Location: Natureispalast, Hintertux Glacier, Austria

About the shot: A crazy location in Hintertux, deep in the mountain and below the surface. The ‘nature ice palace’ is a fairy tale world inside a glacier and also contains an underground lake with -0.8°C water. Red Bull set up a crazy crew to realize the first-ever wake action in such an environment. During a two-day production, we managed to get a cool action shot of Dominik Hernler, who completed this challenging task like a champ. With a 6.5mm wetsuit, he didn’t hesitate and was able to ride and turn in this very narrow location and under very difficult (AKA freezing) circumstances. In terms of photography, this was an extreme challenge as well, as we were facing extreme cold and moist and also very cold water. After more than three hours in the water, I didn’t feel anything below my waist, and one of my cameras failed as well. When Dominik finally arrived and pulled the action, it was also a matter of luck if I got the camera to trigger at the right moment. Such a relief to see the image pop up on my screen and get the shot. Right after this shot, the camera shut down and didn’t work for three days until it dried up completely.

Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2021 – Creative by Skylum Category Winner

Photographer: Jan Kasl, Athlete: Fanda Šesták, Location: Location: Prague, Czech Republic

About the shot: The idea of capturing this shot snuck into my mind as a side effect from a campaign I produced based on an optical illusion called ‘forced perspective.’ It sounds like a pretty sophisticated technique, but it’s basically exactly what thousands of tourists do when holding the leaning Tower of Pisa, hoping to get a unique photo of their holiday in Italy. It’s very similar for most adventure and action sports photographers. It doesn’t really matter if we’re on vacation, on a shoot, or just going on a random walk through the city – our imagination recreates interesting pieces of architecture into an action sports playground. With a tool like forced perspective, I felt like I could push it a little further, bending reality and bringing the athlete into an absolutely surreal environment.

Red Bull Illume Image 2021 – Best Mountain Photo by Black Diamond

Photographer: Colin Wiseman, Athlete: Eric Jackson, Location: Valdez, AK, United States

About the shot: A heavy crew including riders Austen Sweetin, Robin Van Gyn, Jamie Anderson, and Eric Jackson arrived in Valdez, Alaska, in early April of 2021 with high hopes. But just before we got there, a windstorm hammered the Chugach Mountains, making it difficult to find good snow in steeper terrain. With the help of guides Justin Befu and Travis Elquist, we were able to tap into a couple protected zones on our first fly day, including this late afternoon spot.

Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2021 – Lifestyle by COOPH Category Winner

Photographer: Carolin Unrath, Athlete: Andreas Müllner, Location: Munich, Germany

About the shot: The shot ‘Surfmask’ is part of a series I’ve created with Peter Scherb in Munich in May 2020. I’ve always loved seeing Munich’s Eisbach river wave surfers all over the city. That’s why we joined Andi on one of his first sessions when the river wave reopened after lockdown in 2020. The shot shows him on his way to the Eisbach.

Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2021 – RAW by Leica Category Winner

Photographer: Bruno Long, Athlete: Dylan Siggers, Location: Fernie, BC, Canada About the shot: Playing with dust and light has always been one of my favorite ways to shoot mountain biking. It’s such a random process, with the dust and light different in every situation. This particular section of trail was super steep, and local rider, Dylan Siggers, was in his element. This was his second or third time through this section, and by this try, I had figured out exactly where he would be in the frame and captured the moment as he emerged from the dust perfectly.

Red Bull Illume 2021 – Best of Instagram by Lenovo Category Winner

Photographer: Yhabril, Athletes: Jaime Rico and Javi Diaz, Location: Pico Malacara, HU, Spain

Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2021 – RAW by Leica Finalists

Photographer: Andrew Chad, Athlete: Corey Seemann, Location: Jackson, WY, United States

About the shot: If you ever want to frustrate yourself, try shooting skiing at night with a flash. We had an idea of what may happen if everything went in our favor, but that’s the beauty of photography, it usually doesn’t. So, when this image showed up on the back of the camera at the end of a week-long ski trip, we called it a night. Because sometimes a little bit of dumb luck is all you need. The image is fairly simple when it’s broken down. A dark room, a single flash, and a white bounce sheet are the basic concepts here. Tracking the subject through the dark was a little tricky, but thank god for modeling lights. But what makes it special to me is the fact that Corey was wearing his daylight lenses in the middle of the night. The colored lenses and the reflection of the snow in them is the real treat of the image.