The fifth edition of Red Bull Illume, the world’s premier action and adventure sports imagery contest, is only eight weeks away from announcing the winners. The announcement will take place at the Winner Awards Ceremony on November 20, 2019 at the stunning LUMEN Museum of Mountain Photography nestled atop Mount Kronplatz in Italy’s Southern Dolomites. This edition broke records with a total of 59,551 images submitted by thousands of photographers from all around the world; all vying for recognition and their share of over $100,000 in prizes from global partners such as Sony, SanDisk, Skylum, and COOPH. The submission phase is officially over & the judging panel have selected the finalists, and, after much deliberation, the winners! What does this mean? Well it means that we can finally reveal the first round of semi-finalists!

Red Bull Illume

Selecting 60 Finalists, 11 Category Winners and 1 Overall Winner from nearly 60,000 images is no easy feat. That’s why the judging panel consisted of 50 photo editors and digital experts from world-renowned magazines and online platforms. It was up to the judges to select the best of the best images in various judging rounds and we’re excited to be able to announce the first selection of semi-finalists from the Innovation by Sony category. Semi-finalists include the previous edition’s overall winner, Lorenz Holder, and photographers such as Christoph Laue, Keke Lappala, Shawn van Eeden, and more.

The 60 Finalists will be invited to join a three-day event from November 18-20 consisting of workshops, seminars, and some of the most influential people in action and adventure sports photography. It all builds up to the big night, the Winner Awards Ceremony taking place the evening of November 20, which takes place at 7500-feet high in the breathtaking LUMEN – Museum of Mountain Photography atop Kronplatz mountain in South Tyrol, Italy. This is the night when the long-awaited names of the 11 Category Winners and the Overall Winner are announced. A night not to be missed. In addition to the over $100,000 in prizes, outdoor gear and apparel manufacturer Salewa will select a winner for the Best Mountain Sports Image, in which the chosen photographer will receive the Salewa Trophy.

Starting now, Red Bull will be announcing the semi-finalists in each category every week. And don’t forget to mark November 20 in your calendar as the Winner Awards Ceremony night – it will be the first time ever that fans will be able to watch it via live streaming. So, stay tuned to all the latest news and updates on redbullillume.com. Excitement levels are running high and the eight-week countdown has only just begun!

“Eric and I went and performed these tricks in the middle of a secret location between these wild rhinos. We spent weeks letting the rhinos get used to us and the ramp and once they saw we were not a threat, we managed to get within a couple of meters while doing these tricks.” – Shawn van Eeden
“Eric and I went and performed these tricks in the middle of a secret location between these wild rhinos. We spent weeks letting the rhinos get used to us and the ramp and once they saw we were not a threat, we managed to get within a couple of meters while doing these tricks.” – Shawn van Eeden
“These days many people would think of photo editing this background first, but that was not my way of doing it. To create this image, I bought a huge beach ball that looked like the earth and hung it up in the background of the action.” – Christoph Laue
“These days many people would think of photo editing this background first, but that was not my way of doing it. To create this image, I bought a huge beach ball that looked like the earth and hung it up in the background of the action.” – Christoph Laue
“Another unusual angle to twist your mind. I shot many skaters during the Deathrace; Roope just got it perfectly aligned when he passed, and I managed to capture my idea into a picture.” – Keke Lappala
“Another unusual angle to twist your mind. I shot many skaters during the Deathrace; Roope just got it perfectly aligned when he passed, and I managed to capture my idea into a picture.” – Keke Lappala

Red Bull Illume is now down to 60 finalists – the 11 category winners and 1 overall winner will be announced at the awards ceremony on November 20 at the spectacular LUMEN Museum of Mountain Photography atop Mount Kronplatz in Italy’s Southern Dolomites.

Check Out More of the Finalist Images Here
*Images shared with Permission from Red Bull Illume