Before annual Christmas lights begin flickering in Bern, the city will be lit up by the glow of 25 light boxes displaying the top 50 Red Bull Illume 2010 Image Quest photographs. The after-dark exhibition is currently open and will run every day from 19:00 to 22:00 at Bern’s Waisenhausplatz until Sunday, October 23.
One of the five Swiss photographers whose shots made it into the top 50 is Thomas Stöckli. In his photograph, he created a unique light setup to make the outlines of a quarterpipe stand out like a gleaming crescent. The only other vibrant subject in the photograph is snowboarder Markus Keller, who is soaring through the air with a high Backside Air.
“I wanted to reduce the jump to its essential details,” says the Zurich photographer. His image shows the value of having a clear concept in mind before pressing the shutter. According to Stöckli, it took almost one entire season to fix a date with Markus Keller, but on the actual day of shooting it took less than an hour to get the perfect shot.
Today, this photograph illuminates the night sky above Bern. “I usually don’t get the chance to see my photographs this huge and enlightened,” he says.
Asked about his personal favorite of the exhibition, Stöckli says: “If I had to choose one I’d go for the one by Sébastien Anex.”
Anex’s photograph captured a snowboarder gliding past a barren tree in the fogs of Japan – all black and white, totally reduced. Anex provides just another outstanding perspective offered in an exhibition of dazzling extreme sports photography.
Be sure not to miss any of these breath-taking angles at the world’s premier action sports photography exhibition. So if you’re in Bern be sure to pencil in a trip to the Waisenhausplatz- it will certainly brighten up your night!
For more pictures from the opening night, go to the Exhibition page.