Tim Rochas wins The Illume aerial category

French photographer Tim Rochas has won the Aerial Category of The Illume Awards 2026 for his photograph of Pierre Bottero flying in Factory Butte, Utah. Captured while in flight, Tim’s image places Pierre against the vast, rugged desert landscape, creating a striking contrast between the scale of nature and the small human presence in the air.

“I’m super stoked to win this prize,” Tim says. “I wasn’t planning on submitting a picture so I’m surprised to win the category.”

Tim was encouraged to enter by one of the Red Bull X-Alps team who knows his work (they are part of the same company) and so he decided to enter a few images. The Utah image caught the eye of the judges who include the pilot and photographer Adi Geisegger and Cross Country magazine’s art director Marcus King, as well as Gavin McClurg.

“It’s actually not my favourite from that day,” adds Tim, speaking from Vietnam where he’s visiting the Niviuk factory. “But it shows the contrast between the glider and the immensity of this rock spine. I’m really happy it won.”

Check out our story of Tim’s Utah road trip here

Tim had another image shortlisted, of pilot Oliver Nef flying above the south-eastern corner of Lake Geneva. “In the shallow waters near the shore, the sand underneath and clouds of pollen floating on the surface can transform the lake into a surprising turquoise colour, almost making it look like a tropical lagoon,” Tim says.

“The idea behind this picture was to match the colour of the paraglider with the water and create a simple composition around different shades of green and blue. The soft shadows of the clouds scattered across the lake add another layer of texture, creating an incredible mix of colours and tones. I also liked the presence of the sailboat, quietly moving across the water.”

Tim is not a professional photographer. He’s a designer and test pilot for Niviuk but is passionate about photography. “For me it’s a way to share my adventures and my point of view with family and friends,” he says.

Other images include Ben Horton’s stunning autumnal photo of Patrick von Känel playing in strong winds on Monroe Peak, also in Utah. Another image that caught the eye of the judges was Christian Nunnally’s shot of Evan and Ava Riggs taking a laid back approach to ground-handling. Christian said he was motivated to capture some speed flying images that were not extreme.

“Dramatic landscapes with small wings and tight spirals [are] the images we see,” he says. “But there is much more [to the sport] than a perfect line – there’s hours of kiting, playing with the wind. There are conversations which can seem mundane. But there’s magic to those moments. That’s why I took this photo. It isn’t the most dramatic but I believe there’s magic in it.”

Built on the legacy of Red Bull Illume, The Illume is the world’s most recognised adventure and action sports photography award. Since 2006, the contest has received more than 210,498 submissions from over 30,489 photographers across 122 countries. The overall winner will be announced in January.

The Illume