Homer photographer Scott Dickerson has been selected one of 50 finalists in the third Red Bull Ilume international sports photography contest. Dickerson’s photograph of three people surfing the bore tide on Turnagain Arm made the final cut in the “Playground” category. 

The top 50 photographs were exhibited at an awards ceremony in Hong Kong and will be in an exhibit opening Nov. 14 in Scottsdale, Ariz. The photos will be shown in light boxes along the Scottsdale waterfront.

A total of 28,257 photographs were submitted by 6,417 photographers from 124 countries for the Red Bull Ilume action and adventure sports contest. Photographers entered in 10 categories. German photographer Lorenz Holder won the Playground and Experimental categories, and was named overall winner, receiving a Leica camera and other equipment
worth $40,000.

“There are talented photographers and then there are gifted photographers,” said Jym Wilson, senior photo editor at USA Today and one of the judges. “I saw a lot of talent but also saw truly gifted photographers. These are not just action photographers, but people with great technical and artistic skills.”

Dickerson took his photo shooting from the air in a paramotor, or powered parachute.

“It was an incredible morning with a picture-perfect wave and beautiful light from the sunrise,” Dickerson said in a press release. “My three friends managed to ride the wave for about 40 minutes and I was able to shoot the entire time, flying back and forth over this spectacle of nature. In all the time I’ve surfed or photographed the bore tide, none was as photogenic a moment as this.”

Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong@homernews.com.