Red Bull Illume 2019

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.

I have always been captivated by action photography. While I have no experience with the vast majority of extreme activities depicted in these images, I always feel a visceral secondhand sense of adventure by looking at them. Every year, Red Bull hosts the Red Bull Illume international adventure and action sports photography contest that aims to bring the public closer to the world of action and adventure sports. A few days ago, the winners of the 2019 competition were announced, and the winning photographs are stunning, as you can see in the winning images embedded in this blog post.

Lorenz Holder, Germany, with a shot of Vladic Scholz in the surreal Ouse Valley Viaduct, South England.

I feel that all of these photographs are visually breathtaking and as exciting as any of the action photographs I have ever seen. Though I probably won’t hang from a hot air balloon, surf the world’s heaviest waves in Teahupo’o, or skateboard in a real-world optical illusion in England anytime soon, I highly recommend experiencing the excitement of all of the winning photographs at the link below: https://www.redbull.com/us-en/illume-image-quest-winners