Heaven's View: The Winners of This Year's Drone Photo Awards

Back then, we could only dream about what the world looked like from the heavens. Nowadays, with the gift of modern technology, the view from above is only a click away.

Source: Drone Awards

The Annual Drone Photo Awards

Every year the prestigious Siena Awards celebrates aerial photography thru the Drone Photo Awards. Sponsored by the non-profit association Art Photo Travel, it is a contest open to all photographers around the globe.

There are a total of eight single shot categories: Weddings, Nature, People, Urban, Animals, Abstract, Sports, and Empty Cities: Life Under COVID-19. Besides these, interested applicants can also submit videos and photo series comprising of five to nine shots.

The Winners

There are 45 winners for this year’s competition. The grand prize winner is Australian photographer Jim Picôt.

His phenomenal photo of the year is entitled “Love Heart of Nature” Picôt managed to capture a unique phenomenon you can only see from above–a shark surrounded by a school of salmon in a heart-shaped formation.

Source: Drone Awards

The timely category Empty Cities: Life Under COVID-19 showed us how the world has changed during the pandemic.

Many international photographers submitted eye-opening, stunning pictures. Category winner Tomer Appelbaum‘s photo entitled Black Flag portrays protesters observing social distancing in Israel’s Rabin Square. It depicts how people are continuing life during this uncertain time.

Source: Drone Awards

Entries also gave us a glimpse of a world that stood still. Runner-up in this category, Rafal Ganowski, shares a hauntingly still photo of a once busy area in Warsaw. Other photographers submitted pictures that showed empty highways and an abundance of parking slots during the lockdown.

Source: Drone Awards

The winning entries are showcased in the “Above Us Only Sky” exhibition in the Museum of Natural History of the Accademia dei Fisiocritici in Italy from October 24 to November 29 this year. The exhibit is “a showcase of aerial photography from around the world and will explore how artists stretch the boundaries of traditional photography to reflect the environmental perceptions of our time.” However, given the current climate, you can check out this year’s winning photos on the Drone Photo Award’s website gallery.

For a sneak peek, continue on scrolling!

Source: Drone Awards