What kind of images did you feel you were missing from your body of work coming into this winter?
“I was definitely good on the snowboard side of things. I had done a few surfing trips and one or two BASE jumping trips previously, and I wanted to have these sports included in the show, but I didn’t have enough. I pretty much decided just to shoot portraits, landscapes, surfing – I needed some big wave surfing photos – and a lot of BASE jumping.”
How difficult was it paring all that work into an eight minute slideshow?
“I had a lot of photos to choose from, but at the same time, you want to just use your best work. The photos needed to be the right fit with the order, other photos, with the music, the motion and the mood of the final piece. I just created a bunch of folders on my phone and on my iPad, I created a playlist and I just played those songs over and over looking at the photos. I would constantly change the order and constantly change the photos that were in it. I did that for so long that everything just fell into place.”
Is there a set of photos or a photo in that slideshow that you’re most proud of?
“That’s something that I had to deal with myself when I was editing the piece. You’re emotionally attached to certain photos because you know the amount of time and money and the crazy acts behind the scenes and the stories that happened, but you don’t even know if the photo is that good. You really want to have that photo in it because it took so much effort to get it, but at the same time you don’t really know if it’s that good.
There are certain photos that I’m really proud of. I flew to Bulgaria for one photograph: Vancouver to Montreal, from Montreal to Paris, from Paris to Munich, from Munich to Sofia. I flew there for 48 hours and ended up getting the shot and an extra photo the next day. And pretty much after 48 hours, I flew back the exact same way.”
Which locations is photography going to take you next?
“There are lots of places that I’d like to return to. Whistler backcountry has a special place in my heart. Tahiti and Alaska. But it just doesn’t stop. I went to Nepal to shoot one portrait photo and when I was flying out of there and I saw the Himalayas from the airplane, it just broke my heart. I was like, “I need to come back here.” I was in China and I didn’t get the chance to go to Tibet, so I really want to go there. I want to travel pretty much for the rest of my life.”
View Jussi’s slideshow here. For more of the man’s work, visit his website or Instagram.
While waiting for the unveiling of the winners on September 28, 2016, visit the Red Bull Illume social channels on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for a sneak peek of this edition’s entries. These randomly selected shots showcase just-how impressive the 2016 Red Bull Illume submissions really were.
Catching up with Jussi Grznar
Whether on snow, in the water or on concrete, Jussi Grznar is a master of arresting stillness in moments that are hectic by design. We caught up with the action sports photographer and talked about the process of putting together a slideshow of his best work.

© Jussi Grznar