The agony of waiting is certainly tough for photographers who have submitted their amazing images to Red Bull Illume, but spare a thought for the judges who have the difficult challenge of selecting best shots from such an impressive field.
“It's not going to be easy,” says Rudi Übelhör, photo editor at The Red Bulletin. “There's a lot of great stuff.”

From their first impression right down to the finest cluster of pixels, the judges have been studying every image. The panel comes from all over the world – and consists of a number of top editors who deal with spectacular images on a daily basis.  

After going through the images, James Mullinger, photo director of GQ (UK) told us: “Oh my word, the standard is high! What incredible photos.”

All the judges are equally impressed, and none take their task lightly!  

Over the next few weeks, the panel will continue to cast their votes in three judging phases. The top 50 finalists will be unveiled in Hong Kong at the end of August where the top 10 and ultimate winner of the 2013 Red Bull Illume will be announced.  

Two top-class photographers will offer great hands-on courses as part of the SUNBOUNCE Photo & Lighting Workshops taking place at the photo festival "horizonte zingst" from May 25 - June 2 in Zingst, Germany. Fashion and lifestyle photographer Steve Thornton and fashion and commercial photographer Martin Krolop will offer courses for pros and semi-pros as well as for enthusiastic beginners. The above video from 2011 gives a good idea of what one can expect from the "horizonte zingst".

The following workshops are available:

26/05/2013 - Workshop with Martin Krolop
Image design: Reflections, shadowing, softening

27/05/2013 - Workshop with Steve Thornton
Fashion: Professional portrait production

28/05/2013 - Workshop with Martin Krolop
Image design: “Lightning hits the light-reflector” I. BOUNCE ABC

29/05/2013 - Workshop with Steve Thornton
Fashion: Professional portrait production

30/05/2013 - Workshop with Martin Krolop
Image design: Reflection, shadowing, softening

31/05/2013 - Workshop with Steve Thornton
Fashion: Professional portrait production

Be sure to sign up via the Sunbounce website and take advantage of the expertise of these two great photographers.

In one of two separate workshops, Red Bull Illume photographer Christian Pondella gave a lecture at the University of Texas on April 18. After showcasing various examples of his work, he spoke about techniques he used and how he went about setting up the shots. Later the students had an hour to shoot stunt motorcyclist Aaron Colton.

“I always tell young shooters to shoot things they are passionate about. Don't be afraid to experiment with your camera and take chances when shooting a subject, basically be willing to fail in the process of getting a great shot,” says Pondella.  

The students later edited their best photos from the shoot and discussed each photo back in the lecture hall where Pondella critiqued what he saw. One of the students, Amyn Kassam was chosen as the winner and won a media credential for the Red Bull Moto GP and the opportunity to shadow Pondella and learn how a pro operates.  

Another action sport photography workshop was hosted by Romanian Red Bull photographer Mihai Stetcu on the 16th of April. Out of around 150 photographers who applied for the two day workshop, only 40 were selected to attend based on three of their own photographs they had submitted.

The first day was used for theory, and Stetcu shared his experiences and delivered technical advice in preparation for the following day. The next day was spent at a photo shoot in a skate park with Red Bull athlete Mihnea Groseanu and a few other riders. After the shooting, everyone went to the F64 studio for editing and analysis, and Stetcu showed the students examples from the 2010 Red Bull Illume exhibition to inform and inspire them.

You can enjoy a gallery below of the shots taken from the workshops. A number of the students from both workshops submitted to Red Bull Illume and will be waiting to see if they have made the cut. Christian Pondella is also looking forward to it: “I am very excited to see what photos make the final 50!”

It’s an incredible experience receiving floods of truly hair-raising images from every corner of the globe. The response from the global community of action and adventure sports photographers has been tremendous and we’re proud to share a few of the official numbers with you...

We received a total of 28.257 images, that’s almost 25% more than in the 2010 contest.

We received submissions from 6.417 different photographers, an increase of almost 50% from the last competition.

Photographers come from 124 countries – the top three are USA, Brazil and United Kingdom.  

The most popular category was Playground which received a total of 4.608 images, followed by Energy with 3.699 images.

Approximately a third of the total submissions were submitted in the final 36 hours.

Amount of thanks from the Red Bull Illume team to all the photographers who took the time to submit: countless!  

So what is next? The award ceremony takes place end of August in Hong Kong, but right now our judges are faced with the Herculean task of narrowing down the images to the finalists. All we can say is good luck!