Red Bull Illume, the world’s premier action and adventure sports photography contest and exhibition, opened in Cologne, Germany last night in front of hundreds of spectators. The exhibition took place on the city's Rhine Promenade and was the perfect way for photography enthusiasts flocking from all over the world to kick off the renowned week-long photokina photo trade expo.
Scores of photographers and industry leaders including Leica's CEO Alfred Schopf attended the exhibition to take in the sights of the life-sized, illuminated lightboxes featuring the 50 winning images from the Red Bull Illume contest.
Many athletes also attended, among them Julius Brink, the German beach volleyball Olympic Champion, and BMX Flatland rider Viki Gómez who wowed visitors with some of his acrobatic moves.Alongside the athletes, the photographers were of course the stars of the evening.
“It's a great honor to be represented by Red Bull Illume, especially right before an international event as big as photokina,“ said Claudio Casanova whose image of a snowboarder seen through a crystal ball is a close-up category finalist. “The exhibition is a great showcase of action sports photography.”
The 2x2m lightboxes are on display until September 21, and the exhibition comes to life every evening from 7pm until 11pm. More information on the event can be found here.
The Cologne tour stop is the fifth stop after Hong Kong, Scottsdale, US, Vancouver, Canada and Atlanta, US. The exhibition is the first on European soil and will continue traveling around the world's capitals and cultural hubs for the next year and a half as a unique night-time exhibition.