Drone photography has become very popular over recent years and it already has official awards for them. The latest drones are equipped with high-quality cameras that can capture great shots and the pictures just keep getting better.
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These drones have allowed us to see things from a different perspective. Aerial shots get to capture how things look from above and allow us to photograph wide and monumental things. Read on to see a list of photos that shows how stunning drone photography can be.
Mont Saint Michel Abbey
This breathtaking shot of the famous Mont Saint Michel Abbey wrapped in morning fog was taken by Derek Baumgartner. This photo won the grand prize for the 2018 Skypixel contest – a well-deserved win.
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The monastery has been around since the 10th century. During the Middle Ages, pilgrims from all over the world would come to pay their respects to Saint Michel. Today, monks and nuns from the Monastic Fraternities of Jerusalem run and live in the Abbey.
Woman in the wash
One look at this picture and you will immediately appreciate how beautiful this shot is, It is actually a self-portrait by Bobo taken from her drone at the shores of Taiwan. The shot was nominated as a professional image in the portrait category.
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What makes it so amazing is the way Bobo lay by the edge of the water so that the whitewash of the waves crashing to the shore blended well with the skirt of her white dress.
The red train
Sebastian MZH was able to capture a breathtaking winter photo that shows a brilliant contrast between the snowy terrain and a bright red train. This photo is taken in Switzerland.
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This train is the famous Bernina Express, a historic red Swiss mountain ride that can take you for a ride along one of the most scenic railway routes in the world. If you want to get a full view of the Swiss alps, the Bernina Express is the best way to do it.
When in Rome
This beautiful shot by Mauri Pagliai won the People’s Choice Prizes in the Sky Pixel Contest. It definitely captured how beautiful Rome is at night with the Roman Colosseum as a focal point. This shot even captured the night sky beautifully.
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The Roman Colosseum is a magnificent architectural piece that captures Rome’s history. Pictures from the ground have been impressive enough but an aerial shot of it with the full nighttime splendor of the streets of Rome is breathtaking.
Freewheeling
This mind-blowing image of a cyclist mounting the side of a skyscraper is captured by Nigel Kwan and his drone. The image plays with your mind and it has easily captured how exciting the scenario is.
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This image was taken using a Mavic Pro drone. As you can tell from this image, the quality of drone photography have greatly improved these days as it was able to capture a lot of details in this shot.
Duoyishu Terraces
This picture was captured by Ran Tian and is one of the awardees in the 2021 Drone Photos Awards under the Abstract category. Ran Tian has perfectly captured a famous area in China where rice is grown because of its colorful terraces.
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The Duoyishu rice terraces were listed as a World Heritage Site in 2013. They say this scenic area is the best place to watch the sunrise. In fact, the area has been so popular that they have photography and walking tours.
Lotus temple
This beautiful shot by Amos Chapple perfectly captures a great view of the Lotus Temple in Delhi, India, and the grounds around it. From this angle, you can clearly see the flower-like shape of the temple.
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The temple is a Baháʼí House of Worship but its doors are open and welcome everyone regardless of religious belief. Because of its unique architecture, the Lotus Temple has become a popular tourist attraction in Delhi.
Bathing hippos
This unique shot of hippos taking a bath in the mud won first place in the 2018 Dronestagram’s drone photography awards. The winning shot was captured by Martin Sanchez and he claims this was the highlight of his trip to Tanzania.
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According to Sanchez, he was lucky enough to witness a big group of hippos taking a bath. Since he can’t get close, he used his drone to take this shot. He recalled that it was like a game of Hungry Hungry Hippos.
Elemental
Max Foster captured this drone photo 1,500 feet above the rivers of Iceland. The way the drone captured the swooping lines with such detail is amazing. It definitely captured the beauty of water.
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Iceland is not just about snow, glaciers, and misty mountains. It is also known to have some of the most beautiful rivers on the whole planet. The majority of these rivers come from glaciers.
A deserted college
Amos Chapple was able to use his drone and capture this hauntingly beautiful scene of an abandoned college located in the countryside of the Republic of Abkhazia. Nature has clearly taken over the deserted building.
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The eerily enchanting scene actually has a tragic history behind it. During the 1990s, an ethnic cleansing took place in the region. Now this abandoned college stands as a reminder of such tragic times.
Peace, Spain
This shot was taken by Luis Saguar Domingo in Madrid, Spain. He just received his drone as a gift for Christmas when he was 24 years old. He was flying it around when he noticed this landscape.
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Domingo said he thought it was a really cool and symmetrical landscape. And you know that it only takes a drone to be able to capture it this way. As you can see, even beginners can take incredible photos with a drone.
Dawn on mercury tower
This picture was captured by Alexy Goncharov, a physicist working at Moscow State University. He says he had made it a habit to take some drone photos on his way to work in the early mornings.
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One dawn, he was trying to capture reflections in the mirror windows of Mercury Towers. According to Goncharov, “I liked the way their work looked from that perspective. They seemed to wash the city itself, not just the building’s windows.”
Summer trim, France
This unique shot of the lavender fields in Valensole, France, was captured by Jerome Courtial. And this shot happened to win the first prize in the 2017 Dronestagram awards. This photo has become a personal favorite of the photographer.
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Courtial said that he wanted to take an original picture instead of the usual view of the fields with the sunset in the background. It took him hours to take a great shot and he was thankful that his girlfriend was patient throughout it all.
Geometry of liquid gold
This interestingly symmetrical picture was captured by Javier del Cerro. He was flying his drone over the olive tree groves of Castilla La Mancha in Spain when he decided to take this shot.
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Their olive groves are known to be famous for the way they are arranged. Aside from the olive tree groves, Castilla La Mancha is famous for being the setting of the stories of the literary hero Don Quixote of La Mancha.
Savior on Spilled Blood
Amos Chapple was able to capture Russia’s most famous landmark in all its glory – the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. This architectural masterpiece is located in Saint Petersburg.
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The Russian Orthodox church started construction in 1883 and was finished in 1907. The spot was built on marks where Alexander II was assassinated on March 1, 1881. This is how the colorful church got its name.
Next Level
Thibault Beguet, a photographer from Rennes, Brittany, used his drone to shoot a unique way to announce to the world that he and his girlfriend, Manon, was expecting. They wanted an original and fun way to do it and they nailed it with this shot.
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Beguet uses his drone to take photos and make films for agencies, companies, TV, and many more. So it was no surprise that he thought of this creative shoot. “We love Normandy, the sea, and outdoor activities, so we choose naturally to shoot on the beach.”
Ice formation
This drone photo was captured by Florian Ledoux during the wintertime in East Greenland. It is an area considered to be one of the most remote places on earth. Flying the drone around the area was a bit difficult as it kept getting attacked by gyrfalcons.
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Ledoux moved to Reykjavik when he was 27 years old to be closer to the Arctic. He wanted to take pictures to report changes in the Inuit culture and to witness the beauty of nature on a huge land.
A bird’s eye view of Lombard Street, San Francisco
Bryan Dumas was able to capture the famous Lombard Street of San Francisco, which is known to be the most crooked in the world. The iconic street looked like a snake in this photo.
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Lombard Street is a one-block section that is not only steep but also has eight hairpin turns. The famous street is also nearby other famous San Francisco spots like the Fisherman’s Wharf, North Beach, and China Town.
Sunrise in Bagan
Witold Ziomek was able to capture this beautiful sunrise in Bagan using his Mavic Pro drone. The way the hot air balloons can be seen in the background and the ancient structures of Old Bagan in the foreground is a perfect combination of the old and new.
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Old Bagan is an ancient city and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was once the capital of the Bagan Kingdom, which was the first kingdom to unify the regions. This became the foundation of Myanmar.
Baby lobsters breeding farm
Trung Pham flew his drone over the waters of Vietnam and was able to capture this vibrant picture of a lobster breeding farm. The striking colors of the man-made materials with the turquoise water made this shot one of a kind.
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Lobsters are an important source of income for a lot of people in Vietnam. Vietnam happens to have an extensive coastline so most of the coastal communities thrive on aquaculture for a living.
Infinite road
Calin Stan captured this image for the Transylvania Roads Project. He has worked in photography for more than a decade and has been making a business out of it. Here, he was able to capture the famous Cheia DN1A road.
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The Cheia DN1A road is recognized to be one of the most popular and challenging roads for the biker community. This is because of its very tight turns and hairpins. To add to the challenge, the road has a lot of bumpy areas thanks to the heavy trucks driving on it.
Santa Maddalena village, Italy
This drone shot by Valentin Valkov can easily look like it’s a page from a fairytale book. The picture perfectly captured the beautiful green hills and the majestic rocky mountains surrounding the Santa Maddalena village in Italy.
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This village is considered to be one of the best places in Italy. The spot where the Santa Maddalena church is built is the spot where the miraculous statue of Santa Maddalena was washed up after a storm.
Whoops
An accident on the highway was captured by Ilya Martyanov’s drone and it actually turned out to be an awesome shot. The load of the tipped-over lorry has spilled out on the ground and all the elements have turned it into a good aerial photo.
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As you can see, you can still appreciate drone photography even if you do not travel much. It’s not just about scenic views. Capturing life in the city can also make beautiful and thought-provoking subjects.
Fire and ice
This brilliant drone photo is captured by Kevin Frank using a Mavic Pro. He took this shot as he was flying his drone over Yellowstone National Park in America. Yellowstone happens to have a lot of sulfur vents in the area.
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The pictures show how the icy surface blends with the hot sulfur water. Among the sulfur vents in the national park, the most popular one is the sulfur caldron and it is one of the most acidic hot springs.
Pyramid of Austerlitz
Here is a different way to capture a pyramid. This amazing shot of the pyramid of Austerlitz was captured by Jelle Oostrom using a DJI Mavic Air 2 drone. This pyramid was built by Napoleon’s soldiers in 1804 and is 36 meters high.
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An obelisk was erected on top of the pyramid 90 years later and you can see it in the center of this shot. You can find this pyramid on top of the Utrecht Hill Ridge, in Woudenberg, the Netherlands.
Star fort at Bourtange
Amos Chapple captured this scenic shot of Fort Bourtange and the beautiful countryside in the Netherlands. You can clearly see why the fort is called that way. Without a drone, you probably would never know that the fort is literally a star from the ground.
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Fort Bourtange was built in 1593 to defend and control the road between the city of Groningen and Germany. From above, you can see that the fort is surrounded by defensive moats. Today, the fort is converted into a historical museum.
Balmoral ball
This aerial shot of the Auckland basketball court was taken by Petra Leary. The bright and beautiful image won first prize in the 2017 Skypixel awards under the professional portrait category.
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The shot wonderfully shows the brilliant symmetry of the geometric figures on a basketball court. The fact that the basketball court was painted with contrasting colors also added to its beauty.
The long ride
This shot by Jesper Guldbrand is a series of different drone images that were stitched together to achieve this result. Stitching has been popular lately as it gives the impression of a world that stretches to infinity.
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But this work actually took some time. According to Guldbrand, it took him a month and a half to completely stitch 20 images together. The shots were also taken in different locations in Sweden.
Above the polar bear
Florian Ledoux won the grand prize for the 2017 Skypixel awards with this shot. Ledoux was using a Phantom 5 Pro when he captured this lone polar bear leaping across icy waters.
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With global warming melting the ice caps, the environment of polar bears is also affected. Polar bears now often have to leap between ice floes to move around. Ledoux was lucky to capture one on the move.
Two cows
This amazing photo was captured by Luke Bell, a videographer and photographer from Cape Town. He took this photo on an early cold morning on a farm in Stellenbosch, South Africa. He says he probably would not have gotten this shot with just an ordinary camera.
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“Two cows drinking from a nearby dam caught my eye when I saw their long shadows.” Bell started when he explained how he took the shot. He immediately launched his drone to capture the scene right away.
Basilica del Voto Nacional
This impressive drone shot was able to capture the full glory of the Basilica del Voto Nacional and the streets surrounding it. The shot was captured by Alex Javier using a Phantom 4 Pro drone.
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From this angle, the sunlight clearly shows the details of the towers of the historical Roman Catholic church. The church looks like it is dominating the horizon of Quito, Ecuador. It is no wonder this church is one of the biggest attractions of Ecuador.
Sun’s up, nets out
Zay Yar Lin was able to capture this brilliant photograph with his drone early in the morning on Inle Lake. According to the photographer, “An Intha fisherman sets up his net to fish as he paddles his boat with a unique leg-rowing technique in Mayanmar’s Inle Lake”
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Indeed, you can clearly see the fisherman using his leg to row his boat while he retrieves his net from the waters of the lake. The whole thing was captured with the morning fog still over the lake like a mysterious mist.
