See The Absolute Best Action and Adventure Sports Photos of 2019

Absolutely stunning.

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(Photo: Lorenz Holder/Red Bull Illume)

Category Winner Lorenz Holder’s image with athlete Senad Grosic in The Dark Hedges, Northern Ireland.

The winning images have been announced in the fifth edition of the Red Bull Illume Image Quest photo contest, which highlights the wild world of action-and-adventure sports.

Finalist Dasha Nosova with athlete Sebbe De Buck in Folgefonna, Norway

A judging panel of 50 digital experts and photo editors narrowed nearly 60,000 submissions to just 60 of the very best photos, which they select culled to pick 11 Category Winners and one Overall Winner.

Finalist Hamish Frost in Ua Pou, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia

The contest wrapped up with the Winner Award Ceremony that was held in late November at the stunning Lumen Museum of Mountain Photography in Plan de Corones, Italy.

The Lumen Museum of Mountain Photography in Plan de Corones, Italy.

High up in the Italian Dolomites at 7,500 feet above sea level, the museum has arguably the most incredible view of any museum in the world.

The view of the Dolomites from the Lumen Museum.

But it was the images in the contest itself that were truly stunning. Standouts included two-time Overall Winner Lorenz Holder’s haunting photograph of a BMX trickster in the Dark Hedges in Northern Ireland and Noah Wetzel’s brilliant shot of a total solar eclipse using an in-camera double exposure.

Finalist Chris Tedesco with athlete Tom Parsons in Swing Arm City, Utah.

“Red Bull Illume is the most elite photography contest for action sports and adventure imagery in the world,” Wetzel told Maxim.com. “I couldn’t be more honored to join this group of talented artists at the Lumen Museum of Mountain Photography…one of the most beautiful settings for an awards ceremony that can imagine.”

Below, check out the winners of the Red Bull Illume photography contest.

Overall Winner and winner of the Energy category: Ben Thouard

French Polynesia

(Photo: Ben Thouard/Red Bull Illume)

With athlete Ace Buchan in Teahupo’o, Tahiti, French Polynesia.

Category: RAW

Noah Wetzel
USA

(Photo: Noah Wetzel/Red Bull Illume)

With athlete Chris Brule
in Teton Valley, Wyoming.

Category: Masterpiece by EyeEm

Lorenz Holder
Germany

(Photo: Lorenz Holder/Red Bull Illume)

With athlete Senad Grosic in The Dark Hedges, Northern Ireland.

Category: Innovation

Laurence Crossman-Emms
United Kingdom

(Photo: Laurence Crossman-Emms/Red Bull Illume)

With athlete Katy Winton in Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales, United Kingdom.

Category: Best of Instagram by SanDisk

Baptiste Fauchille
France

(Photo: Baptiste Fauchille/Red Bull Illume)

With athlete Alex Bibollet in Fillinges, France.

Category: Emerging by Red Bull Photography

JB Liautard
France

(Photo: JB Liautard/Red Bull Illume)

With athlete Jeremy Berthier in Bourgoin-Jallieu, France.

Category: Playground

Lorenz Holder
Germany

(Photo: Lorenz Holder/Red Bull Illume)

With athlete Vladic Scholz in the Ouse Valley Viaduct in Sussex, England.

Category: Creative by Skylum

Denis Klero
Russia

(Photo: Denis Klero/Red Bull Illume)

With athlete Pavel Alekhin
at the Streetfire Club in Moscow, Russia
.

Category: Wings

Philip Platzer
Austria

(Photo: Philip Platzer/Red Bull Illume)

With athlete Marco Fürst
in Fromberg, Austria.

Category: Lifestyle

Alexander Wick
Germany

(Photo: Alexander Wick/Red Bull Illume)

With athletes Philipp Bankosegger, Chris Rudolph, and Luke Lalor at the Salathé Wall at Yosemite National Park.

Category: Moving Image

Rupert Walker
Canada

With athlete Brandon Semenuk
in Paso Robles, California.

The winning images are displayed in an outdoor exhibition at the museum, and the images of the finalists will be displayed in capitals and cultural hubs on three continents on the Red Bull Illume Exhibit Tour in 2020. 

(Photo: Noah Wetzel)

You can also view the entire gallery right here.

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