Svalbard glacier waterfall photo wins Illume prize

A drone photograph of a kayaker dropping down a waterfall off a glacier on Svalbard has won the Adventure category of the Illume Awards 2026, Digital Camera World reported. The Chilean photographer Gonzalo Robert Parraguez took the picture of the kayaker Aniol Serrasolses.

The image shows a wide wall of blue-white ice, with a figure in a boat tipped steeply downward as it falls through a notch in the glacier's edge. Parraguez shot it from a Mavic 3 Pro drone hovering over the water, at 1/1000 second, f/2.8 and ISO 100.

Parraguez called it one of his favourite photos, of a great friend. He dedicated the award to Serrasolses, who he said pushed for the whole project to happen so the team could make photos and videos on a glacier in the Arctic.

Parraguez had already won the Emerging category of the Illume Awards in 2023, Diario AS reported. The Illume Awards honour adventure and action sports photography. Judge Christian Bugnon, a publisher, praised the picture's balance of icy landscape, light and the athlete's commitment.

Coverage: Diario AS