Capture The Extreme
Nobody’s story is the same. Everyone has their own individual struggles and challenges to overcome. We’ll never know the inner turmoils others are going through, although maybe we should take the time to find out sometime. One way or the other we find ourselves in this very moment. Some sitting in a waiting room reading a magazine, others on the side of a cliff. One person presses the shutter and captures the moment. The other flicks the page, onto the next thing.
If you’re an extreme sports photographer there’s one big competition you should aspire to dominate, and that’s the Red Bull Illume, the world’s largest imagery contest that celebrates adventure and action sports. The competition has run for 17 years now and welcomes everything from skaters to spelunkers. An international body of judges take the images and judge them within ten categories. They don’t have the names or individual stories that made each image happen. They judge it purely on its artistry. The winners this year feature ice climbers, kayakers, surfers, bikers, skaters and other athletes in some of the world’s wildest environments. The grand prize this year went to Australian photographer Krystle Wright who convinced the Red Bull Illume Judging Panel consisting of more than 50 renowned judges with her shot of climber Angela VanWiemeersch illuminated in a crack, deep within Long Canyon, Utah, United States. She is the first female photographer to take the top spot, after numerous high placing entries over the years.
Her response is indicative of how under-celebrated this particular craft has been. “This is incredible. I wanted to earn my place in this industry and my work to get recognized. Red Bull Illume is the only platform that truly recognizes what we do.”
Every photographer who entered is a winner in my book. Cause they’re all photographing what they love. Naw isn’t that cute. How about a less schmaltzy answer. Choosing which pictures to include in this piece was difficult because there were no weak contenders, even among the runner ups.
For those that want to support the competition further there is the limited edition Red Bull Illume 2023 Photobook. It showcases the top 250 images alongside the stories and biographies of the top 50 finalists. That includes Ydwer van der Heide, an incredible photographer who was made quadriplegic after a nasty foil surf session accident. Being paralysed from the chest down and being wheelchair dependent hasn’t stopped his drive to find and capture amazing shots.
The book is a super limited run of just 2,500 items individually numbered and stamped, so don’t be surprised if they’re already all gone.
Available at store.cooph.com
“I’m sweating, cold sweating. The tension suffocating the air is vulnerable to being cut with the tip of my ice pick.”
When shooting Mason Gardener climbing above The Remarkables, NZ, Australian photographer Julian Morgan put his body on the line. As the light and his subject began to fade, he knew he needed to take the shot. “Mason flakes an arm, the pump causing him to vent out a pained scream as the blood drains. It was now or never, the frame is only centimeters off. In a split decision, I rip the screen out and thrust the back of the camera into the rock behind me.”
“In the end of 2017, my life came to a turning point. While on a trip to Chile I was diagnosed with brain cancer.”
“Back in Germany I underwent surgery and started my long term recovery.”
“This personal crisis made me question my photography work and subsequently led me to redefine my approach. Since 2020, I am focusing heavily on personal artistic projects that unify my deeply rooted architectural photography skills with my passion for action sports.”
Jan Faßbender
