Before drones, only professional photographers who specialized in aerial photography had access to the world from above. Today, technology has democratized the air, making it possible for regular people to take mesmerizing aerial photographs. No helicopter needed.
As technology has gotten better, so have people’s skills. This is what the Drone Photo Awards 2021 celebrates. The awards have selected the best drone photography around the world, separated into eight categories.
These are the best of the winning drone photographs.
'Space Invaders'
Gilad Topaz / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Urban
Location of shot: The Dead Sea, Israel
'Back to Adventure'
Qasim Al Farsi / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Wildlife (1st Classified)
Location of shot: Oman
'Synergy'
Mauro Pagliai / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Sport
Location of shot: Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy
'Blooming Delivery'
Mike Tesselaar / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Urban
Location of shot: The Netherlands
'The Great Divide'
Janessa Anderson / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Nature
Location of shot: Alaska
'Julier Snake'
Roberto Moiola / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Urban
Location of shot: Julier Pass, Switzerland
'Deep Blu'
Paolo Crocetta / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: People
Location of shot: Trentino Alto Adige, Italy
'Dali's Dream'
Ignacio Medem / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Abstract
Location of shot: Huelva, Spain
'Melting Ice Cap'
Florian Ledoux / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Nature
Location of shot: Svalbard, Norway
'Poisoned River'
Gheorghe Popa / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Abstract (1st Classified)
Location of shot: Geamana, Transylvania, Romania
'Camel Shadows at Sunset'
Jim Picôt / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Nature
Location of shot: Stockton Beach, Australia
'Fishing'
Hoai Nguyen Phuoc / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: People
Location of shot: Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh, Vietnam
'The Tower'
Kristian Stigel / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Urban
Location of shot: Ronnede Camp Adventure, Denmark
'Colour Series II'
Ilanna Barkusky / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Sport
Location of shot: Vancouver, Canada
'Chessboard'
Cezar Gabriel Popescu / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Abstract
Location of shot: Mamaia, Romania
'Buddhists Are Praying'
Khanh Phan / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: People
Location of shot: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
'No Stress'
Zsolt Ódor / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Abstract
Location of shot: Santa Maria, Cape Verde
'Caleidoscopio'
Paolo Crocetta / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Abstract
Location of shot: Veneto, Italy
'Lake Natron'
George Steinmetz / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Nature
Location of shot: Great Rift Valley, Tanzania and Kenya
'Drying Steamed Fish'
Tuan Nguyen Tan / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: People
Location of shot: Long Hai, Ba Ria Vung Tau, Vietnam
'Red Chillies Harvesting'
Md Tanveer Hassan Rohan / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: People
Location of shot: Bogura, Bangladesh
'Like a Tree'
Istvan Csak / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Abstract
Location of shot: Mohács, Hungary
'Game Board'
Volker Sander / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Urban
Location of shot: Gronau, Germany
'One Shot'
Lampson Karmin Yip / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Sport
Location of shot: Tuen Mun, Hong Kong
'People at 10100 Feet Snow Valley Restaurant'
Dipabrata Sur / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: People
Location of shot: Kongdoori, Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir, India
'Follow Me'
Pierluigi Orler / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Sport
Location of shot: Bernau, Germany
'Bank of Buriganga'
Md Tanveer Hassan Rohan / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Urban
Location of shot: Dhaka, Bangladesh
'City of Angels'
Silvano Paiola / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Nature
Location of shot: Serbia
'Sheep in Congress'
Yoel Robert Assiag / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Wildlife
Location of shot: Ramot Menashe, Israel
'A Still Point In Time'
Jay Roode / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Nature
Location of shot: Dorob National Park, Namibia
'Scrap Head'
Al-amin Partho / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Abstract
Location of shot: Comilla, Bangladesh
'Floating People'
Raf Willems / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: People
Location of shot: Lake Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
'Dusk at Rohingya Refugee Camp'
Azim Khan Ronnie / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Urban
Location of shot: Cox's Bazar
'Hippopotamus Group From Above'
Talib Almarri / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Wildlife
Location of shot: Khwai, Botswana
'Chishan Lake in Winter'
Wujiang Zhu / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Abstract
Location of shot: Nanjing Liuhe Chishan Lake Park, China
'Plastic Recycling'
Md Tanveer Hassan Rohan / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: People
Location of shot: Tangail, Bangladesh
'Baby Flamingos'
Seyit Konyal? / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Nature
Location of shot: Cihanbeyli, Konya, Turkey
'Fishing in Mangrove Forest'
Trung Pham Huy / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: People (1st Classified)
Location of shot: Hue, Vietnam
'Volcano Show'
Oleg Rest / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Nature
Location of shot: Iceland
'The Mighty Ruacana'
Jan Roode / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Nature
Location of shot: Namibia
'Abyss Tentacles'
Juan Garcia Lucas (pixelecta) / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Sport
Location of shot: Jiloca, Aragón, Spain
'Duoyishu Terraces'
Ran Tian / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Abstract
Location of shot: Yuanyang District, China
'Extragalactic'
Martin Sanchez / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Nature (1st Classified)
Location of shot: Iceland
'Mitosis'
Siman Laszlo / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Abstract
Location of shot: Hungary
'Capillary Landscape'
Ignacio Medem / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Abstract
Location of shot: Huelva, Spain
'Tree of Life'
Jay Roode / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Nature
Location of shot: Deadvlei, Namib Naukluft National Park, Namibia
'Racing on Planet Mars'
Joseph Cheires / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Sport
Location of shot: Baja California, Mexico
'Emus of the Salt Lake'
Gary Steer / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Wildlife
Location of shot: Lake Gairdner, Australia
'Collecting Water from Driedout Riverbeds'
Sujon Adhikary / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: People
Location of shot: Khulna, Bangladesh
'Shark Companion'
Ido Meirovich / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Sport
Location of shot: Hadera, Israel
'Visit Fishing Nets in Bien Lake'
Pierluigi Orler / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: People
Location of shot: Gia Lai, Vietnam
'Enjoy Wrestling'
Amitava Chandra / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: People
Location of shot: Kolkata, India
'High Tide'
Reza Bagheri / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Nature
Location of shot: Zanzibar Archipelago, Tanzania
'Church on the Fields Before Storm'
Andrej Tarfila / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Urban
Location of shot: Kranj, Slovenia
'Pink-Footed Geese Meeting the Winter'
Terje Kolaas / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Photo of the Year
Location of shot: Levanger, Norway
'City in the Sky'
Hugo Healy / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Urban
Location of shot: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
'Sleeping Beauty'
Martin Gregus / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Wildlife
Location of shot: Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
'Wild Night In the Adriatic'
Miroslav Zadravec / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Nature
Location of shot: Hvar Island, Croatia
'Above Si'ine Pillars'
Alexey Kharitonov / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Nature
Location of shot: Yakutia, Sinyaya River, Russia
'Metaphorical Statement About City and Winter'
Sergei Poletaev / Drone Photo Awards 2021
Category: Urban (1st Classified)
Location of shot: Dzerzhinsky, Moscow Region, Russia