Breathtaking photo of a falling climber wins Red Bull Illume 2021 contest

If you like action sports photography, here is a real treat for you. The Red Bull Illume Image Quest has announced its 2021 contest winners, and there are truly striking. In this article, we bring you the overall winner, as well as the category winners that will take your breath away.

Will Saunders from the USA was awarded the overall winner in this year’s contest. His stunning image shows a climber falling from a rock tower in Indian Creek, UT, USA. He’s tied up, of course, but still – just looking at this image made me feel short of breath!

The fearless climber in the image is Jake Talley, caught while striking a pose as he took a lead fall. For this photo, Will also won first place in Masterpiece by SanDisk Professional category. “I’m just super grateful, I never thought I would be here,” Will said upon receiving the award. “But it really is a team effort, it takes so much more than an individual.”

41,447 images were submitted by photographers all over the world. So, I imagine that choosing the best of the best must have been a tough choice. Still, there are ten more winners other than Will who won first place in different categories, and they are:

• Best of Instagram by Lenovo – Photo: Yhabril (Spain)
• Best of Instagram by Lenovo – Moving Image: Bruno Diego Cavalcante (Brazil)
• RAW by Leica: Bruno Long (Canada)
• Photo Story: Philipp Klein Herrero (Spain)
• Playground by WhiteWall: Markus Berger (Austria)
• Lifestyle by COOPH: Carolin Unrath (Germany)
• Emerging by Black Diamond: Victoria Kohner-Flanagan (United States)
• Creative by Skylum: Jan Kasl (Czech Republic)
• Innovation by EyeEm: Thomas Monsorno (Italy)
• Energy by Red Bull Photography: Rod Hill (New Zealand)

Take a look at the remaining category winners below, and make sure to visit Red Bull Illume’s website for more photos and information about the contest.