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it really does give you wings!

Check out some of the breathtaking snaps thrillseekers have entered into the Red Bull Illume photography contest

Described as the world's greatest action and adventure sports photography competition, the Red Bull Illume was inundated with a whopping 34,000 images submitted by photographers from 120 countries

THE winners of the 2016 Red Bull Illume have been revealed.

Described as the world's greatest action and adventure sports photography competition, the Red Bull Illume was inundated with a whopping 34,000 images, submitted by photographers from 120 countries, in 11 categories.

 The overall winner and winner of the Masterpiece category was Lorenz Holder from Germany, with his photo of BMX cyclist Senad Grosic performing a trick on a bridge in Gablenz, Germany
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The overall winner and winner of the Masterpiece category was Lorenz Holder from Germany, with his photo of BMX cyclist Senad Grosic performing a trick on a bridge in Gablenz, GermanyCredit: www.redbullillume.com

The photographs make stunning viewing – with many depicting daring stunts.

The overall winner and winner of the Masterpiece category was Lorenz Holder from Germany, with his photo of BMX cyclist Senad Grosic performing a trick on a bridge in Gablenz, Germany.

Explaining how he got the shot he said: "When we got there the sun was just above the trees and it was lighting up the full colour-spectrum of the autumn leaves in a very soft way.

“One thing that was a little annoying was that the lake was covered with leaves which had fallen from trees, so the reflection of the bridge in the lake was just not there.

“But sometimes you just need a bit of luck: I had been on a fishing trip some days before and still had my fishing boots and a net in the car.

“So I tried to clean the lake by hand. It took a while until it was almost perfectly clean – at least where it was relevant.

"I'd chosen a very low camera position to get an almost perfect mirrored scene on the water surface. The bridge looked like a perfect circle and the light was still very good.

“When Senad was on the bridge, it took us two or three tries to get the shot. There was also no more time for another try because the wind came up and the perfect reflection on the water was gone."

Other categories winners were:

The Wings category

 Won by Micky Wiswedel from South Africa with this photo of Jamie Smith climbing Table Mountain in Cape Town
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Won by Micky Wiswedel from South Africa with this photo of Jamie Smith climbing Table Mountain in Cape TownCredit: www.redbullillume.com

The New Creativity category

 Won by Ale Di Lullo from Italy, for this photo of Aaron Chase riding on the windshield of a taxi in Brooklyn, New York
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Won by Ale Di Lullo from Italy, for this photo of Aaron Chase riding on the windshield of a taxi in Brooklyn, New YorkCredit: www.redbullillume.com

The Spirit category

 Won by Dean Treml from New Zeland with this photo of Josh Neilson being supported by fellow paddlers as he waits for a helicopter evacuation after a bad landing off Matze's Drop, Storulfossen, Norway
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Won by Dean Treml from New Zeland with this photo of Josh Neilson being supported by fellow paddlers as he waits for a helicopter evacuation after a bad landing off Matze's Drop, Storulfossen, NorwayCredit: www.redbullillume.com

The Sequence category

 Won by Daniel Vojtěch from the Czech Republic for this composite shot of the Flying Bulls aerobatic team in action
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Won by Daniel Vojtěch from the Czech Republic for this composite shot of the Flying Bulls aerobatic team in actionCredit: www.redbullillume.com

The Enhance category

 Won by Dean Treml from New Zealand with this photo of Jonathan Paredes of Mexico diving from the 28-metre platform on the roof of the Copenhagen Opera House
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Won by Dean Treml from New Zealand with this photo of Jonathan Paredes of Mexico diving from the 28-metre platform on the roof of the Copenhagen Opera HouseCredit: www.redbullillume.com

The Lifestyle category

 Won by Jody MacDonald from Canada for this photo of her brother on board a train carrying iron ore across the Sahara Desert
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Won by Jody MacDonald from Canada for this photo of her brother on board a train carrying iron ore across the Sahara DesertCredit: www.redbullillume.com

The Close-up category

 Won by Denis Klero of the Russian Federation for this portrait of rock climber Rustam Gelmanov
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Won by Denis Klero of the Russian Federation for this portrait of rock climber Rustam GelmanovCredit: www.redbullillume.com

Playground category

 Won by Lorenz Holder from Germany with a photo of BMX cyclist Senad Grosic on a rusting old viewing platform in Senftenberg, Germany
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Won by Lorenz Holder from Germany with a photo of BMX cyclist Senad Grosic on a rusting old viewing platform in Senftenberg, GermanyCredit: www.redbullillume.com

The Energy

 Won by Luke Shadbolt from Australia with this amazing photo of Renan Faccini in the sea in Rio de Janeiro
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Won by Luke Shadbolt from Australia with this amazing photo of Renan Faccini in the sea in Rio de JaneiroCredit: www.redbullillume.com

The Mobile

 Won by Vegard Aasen from Norway, who captured this stunning shot using a Huawei P8 phone in Hakuba, Japan
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Won by Vegard Aasen from Norway, who captured this stunning shot using a Huawei P8 phone in Hakuba, JapanCredit: www.redbullillume.com

The judges also chose four finalists per category, some of these included:

 Finalist, Wings category: Vernon Deck, Switzerland
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 Finalist, Wings category: Vernon Deck, SwitzerlandCredit: www.redbullillume.com
 Finalist, Masterpiece category: Ben Thouard, French Polynesia
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Finalist, Masterpiece category: Ben Thouard, French PolynesiaCredit: www.redbullillume.com
 Finalist, Spirit category: Greg Mionske, United States
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Finalist, Spirit category: Greg Mionske, United StatesCredit: www.redbullillume.com
 Finalist, Close-up category: Alexandre Voyer, France
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Finalist, Close-up category: Alexandre Voyer, FranceCredit: www.redbullillume.com
 Finalist, Enhance category: Klaus Thymann, Denmark
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Finalist, Enhance category: Klaus Thymann, DenmarkCredit: www.redbullillume.com
 Mobile phone category entry. Photographer: Skip Brown
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Mobile phone category entry. Photographer: Skip BrownCredit: www.redbullillume.com
 Photographer: Markus Rohrbacher Red Bull Illume 2016 Category: Enhance
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Photographer: Markus Rohrbacher Red Bull Illume 2016 Category: EnhanceCredit: www.redbullillume.com
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