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Just One Shot
Red Bull Illume photographer Tim Kemple recently had the honor of one of his shots being nominated Extreme Photo of the week for National Geographic Adventure. Kemple was part of a team shooting rapids and waterfalls in Mexico with kayakers Tyler Bradt and Erik Boomer.
The photographer’s shot of Bradt plunging over Tomata 1 near Tlapacoyan was taken as the photographer dangled from a zipline stretched across the waterfall.
“We could have touched the paddlers as they went by,” Tim Kemple told National Geographic: “We were literally dangling a few feet away from the lip of the waterfall.”
“The idea of this vertigo-inducing view, looking straight down a waterfall, was definitely one of those shots that we talked about before arriving in Mexico. That became the challenge: How could we use light, perspective, and creativity to capture images that people hadn't seen anywhere before?” Kemple told the online magazine.
The photographer was part of a team of talented filmmakers who have produced the film, Cascada.
Kemple added: “Kayaking waterfalls is a one-take situation. It’s hard to believe Tomata 1 is only one-third the height of the biggest waterfall Tyler has run. We hadn't met before the trip, but I can honestly say that I can't wait for my next adventure with Tyler.”
Kemple used a Phase One 645DF+ with IQ180 digital back and 28mm lens at 1/1600th shutter.
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The judging is complete!
It has been an exhaustive process and some extremely tough decisions have been made by our team of 50 judges. But the votes are now in, all judging is complete — and we have an overall winner and 50 finalists.
They will not be announced until the end of August at the official Red Bull Illume Winner Award event in Hong Kong.
However, over the next five weeks, we are going to publish the images that made the top 250. Starting Monday June 24th, we will publish 10 random images every weekday on our new 2013 gallery.
Of course, the finalists and overall winner will be among them, but their identity will remain a closely guarded secret until the Winner Award event.
Until then, the next five weeks offers an exciting chance to see and judge for yourselves the best action and adventure sports photos from the 2013 Red Bull Illume.
Gearing up for a 4,400km kayaking expedition in Mongolia
Photographer Krystle Wright has just set off on another adventure — paddling across Mongolia. Wright and two others will be documenting their journey along the Amur River. Starting one day's travel north of Ulaanbaatar near the birthplace of Genghis Khan, the 818-km stretch of flowing water travels through Mongolia, along the Russia/China border, and finally out to the Pacific Ocean.
"Two whole months, and virtually no access to e-mail or computers — it's going to be great!" says Wright. The expedition has received a lot of media attention so far, and the team has even received a grant from National Geographic to help fund their trip.
The team will be out of comms for two months which poses quite a dilemma for a photographer — exactly what to take. It's a question the Wright answered for a post on National Geographic Adventure. For any adventure photographers, it makes an interesting read.
Here is a list of the gear she’ll be taking along:
Canon Cameras: 5D Mark III and a 1DX
Aquatech Underwater Housing for 5D Mark III with dome port
Hard Drives: Four 1TB Lacie Mini Rugged + One 500GB Lacie
Sandisk SD Cards: tons and tons of these little guys
Goal Zero Sherpa Solar Kit
Surefire P2X Fury Tactical LED Lights: For shooting at night
Heliopan 77mm Variable Gray ND Filter
Lenses: 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 24mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.2, 85mm f/1.2, 24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8
Tascam DR-40 digital recorder
Manfrotto Tripod
Rode Video Mic Pro Compact Shotgun Microphone
Garmin eTrex legend gps units
11” Macbook Air with Lightroom Pro and Satellite Modem Software
Inmarsat BGAN Satellite Modem and Phone
Be sure to check out their Facebook page, and their website. No doubt this adventure will result in some more great shots from Wright.
See our interview with her here.
Red Bull Illume judging phase continues...
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.
SUNBOUNCE workshops at "horizonte zingst"
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.
Action Sports Photography Workshops
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!”
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