Best Aerial Photos
Photographic competitions have long honored the skill and artistic eye of photographers across the world. Whether they are professionals in a particular field or amateurs learning their craft.
The rise of aerial photography with drones means that there is a whole new group of photographers to celebrate. 5,900 of them from 28 countries submitted their best aerial photos for the Dronestagram competition. Here are the winners and runners-up for the three top categories.
Travel
First place went to a stunning landscape photo from Francisco Cattuto. That shows that best aerial photos are about more than the equipment.
Here the photographer has considered the angle, conditions and time of day. To line up the final shot of this beautiful architecture appearing through the clouds in the evening sun.
Second place went to something a little more abstract and artistic compared to the landscape above. Todd Kennedy’s shot shows Cable Beach, Western Australia, with the pristine pale sands and azure sea.
A line of camels captured by the birds-eye view of the quadcopter. With the elongated blue shadows stretched over the shore.
Third place went to an impressive shot of a tourist resort in Gran Canaria by Karolis Janulis. Rather than focus on the landscape, the artist has made use of the aerial view to look straight down on the same parasols and sun-loungers.
The result is a distorted, patchwork effect of repeated shapes and patterns that highlight the scale of the resort.
Nature
First place in the life category went to Michael B. Rasmussen’s shot of a pine forest in the snow from above.
Again, the angle distorts the shapes of the trees and allows the user to focus on the contrast between the patch of lush green forest and the bare, snow-covered landscape behind.
Second place went to Szabolcs Ignacz for his photograph of a herd of sheep in Romanian. The distance of the drone turns these individual animals into a herd of uniform white shapes dotted across the green grass and leaves the viewer wondering how far the line of animals spreads beyond the frame.
Third place went to a shot by Jonathan Paget that captures an active volcano in swirls of brown dusty mountainside, white steam and mist and bright orange lava.
Bonus points had to be awarded for bravery as not only was this shot hard to capture in the heat and winds; Payment required a mask to avoid the sulfur fumes.
Sports
First place went to Max Seigal for his shot of a climber on a sheer 400ft cliff face. The angle of the drone and the height it reached both add an extra sense of drama to the shot, highlighting the scale of the landscape and the accomplishment of the small figure in green.
Second place went to Juan Pablo Bayona for his alternative take on swimming photography. Where most would look for the fast paced action close to the water, Bayona made a birds eye view of the competitors warming up across multiple lanes. The result is engaging and unusual.
Third place went to Tj Balon for his aerial shot of a snowboarder on the Chugach Mountain Range in Canada. Again, it is all about the height and angle.
The scale and shape of the slope are distorted into flat plain of snow, which enhances the shapes made by the snowboarder as he creates a snaking trail and kicks up the snow.