Drone Photo Awards 2020. Best drone photos and videos

8 Окт 2020, 17:00

Animals, landscapes, protests and empty streets captured by aerial photographers from a bird's eye view have been honored by the judges of the annual Drone Photo Awards 2020. This contest features photo and video work taken with drones, and organizers say they receive tens of thousands of entries each year.

The organizer of the Siena International Photo Awards has selected more than a dozen images as winners of the Drone Photo Awards 2020. A few years ago the contest had only a few categories, but now their number has grown to 9, and there are also 2 categories for video. The contest did not stay away from world events and dedicated an entire category to photos and videos showing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with some memorable landscapes of empty cities.

As an overall favorite, the judges selected an image by Australian photographer Jim Pico illustrating a school of salmon that miraculously formed into a heart shape.

The award-winning photos will be exhibited in a group photo exhibition, "Above Us Only the Sky," to be held in Siena, Italy in late October/early November. The winner of Drone Photographer of the Year 2020 will receive the Pangea Prize crystal ball on the night of October 25 at a special award ceremony in Siena at the Teatro dei Rozzi theater.

2020 Photographer of the Year

The heart of nature
Author: Jim Picot

A shark hunts a flock of salmon during the winter season. The school of fish has taken a bizarre heart-shaped form.

Urbanity

1 place

Alien architecture on Earth
Author: Tomasz Kowalski

Sometimes we need to change the angle of view to feel the power of architecture more strongly. The Petronas Towers, also known as the Petronas Twin Towers, are skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

2nd place

Dubai Marina
Author: Carmine Chiriacò

It is extremely interesting to see the architecture of the buildings, streets and marina of the Dubai Marina district contrasting with the ocean water.

Highly appreciated:

A dewdrop on a blade of grass
Author: Milosz Kuss

An old mill located in the middle of a field. This green path contrasts beautifully with the surrounding field and looks like a dewdrop on a blade of grass from the sky.

Buffalo Man
Author: Alex Cao

Breeding semi-wild water buffalo to feed freely in the vast plowed fields after harvest.

Sunrise at the summit
Author: Rex Zou

At 4:30 in the morning, mysteriously shrouded in clouds, this is what the second tallest building in Shanghai looks like.

Wildlife

1 place

Where herons live...
Author: Dmitrii Viliunov

Many people think that herons nest in reeds or in the marsh. In fact, they nest in the tops of huge trees, and sometimes you can see them with a drone.

2nd place

Mobula Munch School
By Mark Carwardine

Although it was hard to appreciate how huge this shoal was from the boat, the drone showed a small group of thousands of Mobula munca stingrays (also called Munch's dwarf devil rays) swimming in one circular direction.

Highly praised:

An afternoon drink
Written by Rajarshi Banerji

With the onset of the dry season, when grass becomes scarce and water sources dry up, Indian rhinos look for new pastures where they can graze.

Heart from a flock of flamingos
By Thomas Vijayan

The abundance of algae in the lake once attracted huge numbers of flamingos, with flocks lining the shore. In 2013, the lake experienced an alarming rise in water levels, causing the flamingos to migrate to Lake Bogoria in search of food.

Returning home
Author: Mehmet Aslan

A herd of buffalo run past the lake before moving to a safer place to rest.

Sport

1 place

On the sea
Author: Roberto Corinaldesi

An aerial view of the swimmers, at the moment when the blue sea surface becomes a hiding place between the white foam of the waves.

2nd place

Confusing
By Brad Walls

The tense movements of the tennis player before hitting against the clean line of the court creates a harmonious effect for the eye.

Highly rated:

Surfing in Margaret River
Author: Shane Richardson

Margaret River, an area widely known for its wineries, is also one of the most challenging surf spots in the world.

Matty buys a wakeskate
By Tyrone Bradley

Wakeskater Matti Buys does a 360° jump on an LED-lit wakeskate. The strobe lights were manually triggered at the final moment when Matty catches the board over a concrete bridge.

Waterfall
Author: Davide Lopresti

A surfer tries to challenge the waves. They're hard enough to stay on, let alone tame them and be able to ride them.

An aerial view of the continental basin in New South Wales.
By Sagi Roitfarb

Humans

1 place

Ice land
By Alessandra Meniconzi

At minus 30°C, winters in the Eurasian steppes can be harsh. But life doesn't stop, and locals sled from one village to another, crossing icy rivers and lakes.

2 place

2,000,001
Written by Tugo Cheng

Two million Hong Kongers took to the streets on June 16, 2019, calling on the government to withdraw a controversial extradition law. The night before the historic march, in which nearly a third of the population participated, protester Leung Ling Kit took his own life by hanging a banner with the people's demands in the city center.

Highly praised:

Salt Mountains
Author: Igor Altuna

Aerial photo taken at a saltworks near a small town on the central coast of Vietnam.

Crossing the field
Author: Khanh Phan

A girl, her mother and their herd of cows walking through a pasture, returning home after a day of work.

Women peppering red chili peppers
Written by Md Tanveer Hassan Rohan

Women picking red chili peppers under the sun for more than 10 hours a day for a small wage work in one of the many factories specializing in drying peppers.

A carpeted field
Author: Mehmet Aslan

Hundreds of handmade carpets are spread out on a field to be painted in different colors, with the burning effect of the sun's rays. A couple of workers lie down on the carpets after finishing their work to relieve the day's fatigue.

Nature

1 place

A gray whale plays with tourists
Author: Joseph Cheires

Last year at the end of the "gray whale season" I was told about a gray whale that has been coming for the last 3 years and likes to play with boats, gently pushing them. So we went back a year later, and unbelievably..... the famous gray whale showed up and this photo was taken as a result!

2nd place

Flamingos on Lake Logipi
Author: Martin Harvey

The early morning sun illuminates the flamingos gathered on the shore of Lake Logipi, next to an interesting fan-like geological formation.

Highly appreciated:

Lonely Road
Author: Hong Jen Chiang

Driving along Ring Route 1, serdi of a magical and enchanting landscape, I was prepared for everything that lay ahead of me.

Island
Author: Pawel Zygmunt

A series of craters
By James Rushforth

Fascinating craters in the vast interior of Iceland. The intense red color on the edges is caused by scale stained by the oxidation of iron minerals in the lava, which contrasts greatly with the surrounding basalt. A white car drives underneath the craters.

Abstraction

1 place

Phoenix Rebirth
Author: Paul Hoelen

The phoenix is a symbol of rebirth from the ashes. It symbolizes the beginning of a real regeneration process at the Owens Lake industrial mining site. After a devastating past and the emergence of America's most polluted lake, migratory birds return and life begins anew.

2nd place

Largest community
Written by Azim Khan Ronnie

More than 600,000 pilgrims participated in South Asia's largest Eid-ul-Fitr gathering. Eid-ul-Fitr is a Muslim festival of happiness celebrated around the world.

Highly appreciated:

Whirlpool
Author: Boyan Ortse

Abstract shot of the chemical reaction of Pink Lake in Western Australia.

Spring zebra
Author: Lukasz Rajs

This small village in the Czestochowa region is characterized by large crops of rapeseed, which create beautiful patterns that stretch as far as the horizon.

Fishing net
Author: Trung Pham Huy

A fishing net, during anchovy fishing season, looks like a flower floating in the sea from the air.

Life in time Covid-19

1 place

Black flag
Author: Tomer Appelbaum

Thousands of Israelis maintain social distance due to Covid-19 restrictions as they protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Rabin Square on April 19, 2020.

2 place

The heart of Warsaw
Author: Rafal Ganowski

The oldest part of Warsaw, which before the pandemic was filled with crowds of people and umbrellas from nearby restaurants.

Highly rated:

Corona
Author: Levent AteŞ

Muslims perform Friday prayers, maintaining social distance and getting used to living with the coronavirus.

Self-isolation
Author: Bachir Moukarzel

Dubai's busiest highway, filmed without cars during a lockdown to sanitize the municipality.

Covid-19 landed
Author: Ingrid Hendriksen

We got permission to fly over Avalon Airport to document a case of an airplane landing due to Covid-19.

Wedding

1 place

Tropical bride
Author: Mohamed Azmeel

I used flowers and leaves left over from wedding decorations to make something creative.

2nd place

Lovers in the middle of a field
Author: Krzysztof Krawczyk

We were looking for some kind of abstraction. We had a boat, a drone and.... a lot of time. Strong wind created a beautiful storm in the field. The unusual weather conditions and the sight of a couple in a kayak showed me the "eye of the tiger" or "eye of the deer". A wonderful combination: beautiful lovers, fabulous nature, strong wind and this landscape.

Highly appreciated:

Pebble / Wave
Author: Dominic Lemoine

After the ceremony, the couple headed to the beach and decided to go for a swim. We were lucky enough to find perfect waves that only touched the hem of the dress.

Framed
Author: Tobias Froehner

It was the perfect combination. A beautiful couple, VW Beetle, frame. It was easy to create a great composition.

Wedding party
Author: Dejan Zagar

After noticing the square pattern on the ground of Curzon Hall, I asked the groom, bride, bride's friends and groom to lie down in a symmetrical position.

Series photos

1 place

Empty seas and crowded shores
Written by Srikanth Mannepuri

This is a tale of slowly disappearing marine life, where the fastest fish are not fast enough, the gentle giants are not big enough, and the top predators are not strong enough to withstand the weight of human greed and over-consumption. This is a tale of desolate seas and crowded shores that will soon threaten humanity's very existence.

2 place

Continuity
Author: Yura Borschev

This is a photo project for EVRAZ corporate calendar, which shows all production facilities located thousands of kilometers away from each other. In 3 weeks I visited 5 EVRAZ locations; I saw how steel is made, met the people who make new bridges and stadiums come to life. What really inspired me was the fact that they are all interconnected with each other despite the distance. This became the core concept of the whole project: one light line from the drone connects the 12 months and all of EVRAZ's sites.

Highly appreciated:

Autumn above the Arctic Circle
Author: Joson

Alaska's Arctic Gateway National Park and Preserve is the most remote national park in the United States without roads. It remains virtually unchanged except for the forces of nature. These photographs explore this majestic and pristine second largest national park in the United States, soon to be opened to commercial mining. It is the last glimpse of a vanishing landscape.

Faces of Quarantine
Author: Adas Vasiliauskas

When quarantine was first announced in Lithuania, all my photography projects for advertising and events were canceled. I started thinking about how I could photograph people from a distance with a zoom lens, and then I came up with the idea of using a drone. I shot some of my friends, the photos got lots of likes and the project went viral!

Arid landscapes of Australia
Written by: David Gray

This series looks at the effects of one of the worst droughts Australia has ever experienced. Up until recently, the entire state of New South Wales was officially declared a drought. The harsh results of this nearly decade-long drought are best shown from above: the catastrophic lack of water on the landscape and the harsh reality that farmers have had to face.

Video. Empty cities: life in the time of Covid-19

1st place

New York on pause
Written by Pablo Barrera Edward Kostakis

The city that never sleeps is taking a nap in 2020. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the city to rethink, rebuild, and wake up tomorrow for a brighter future.

2 place

Russia Corona Moscow Covid-19
Author: Pushkin Fly Team

Shocking drone video from Moscow, Europe's largest city, which was effectively shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020.

3rd place

Self-isolation - Dubai
Author: Bachir Moukarzel

Quarantine in Dubai day and night: empty beaches, empty parks, Dubai fountain, empty Dubai malls, empty streets.

Highly praised:

Aloud
Author: Valerio Ciampicacigli

As people retreat into their personal spaces due to the pandemic, the city stands still and expresses itself with a new explosive force. Architectural beauty and history fills the lifelessness the world felt during the quarantine.

The day Lima stopped
By Daniel Martínez-quintanilla Pérez

Completely silent and paralyzed, Lima emerges from the sea into the mountains, completely unrecognizable. Peru's normally busy and bustling capital remains unusually quiet and clean for the first time in centuries due to its mandatory isolation from COVID-19.

MTL-COVID-20-AVRIL
Author: David Etienne Durivage

A short trip to the city to capture what Montreal looks like on March 26, 2020. Interview: Luca Durivage. Images and music: David Etienne Durivage.

Unlocking Rome
Author: Mauro Pagliai

The eternal city of Rome is reborn after the Covid-19 quarantine.

Video: General category

1 place

Showreel 2019
Written by: Bachir Moukarzel

This is my Showreel 2019, an exciting journey with my drone all over Dubai, from city shots to sports. Dubai from my point of view.

2nd place

Colors of the real world
Author: Fran Arnau

Inspired by Catalan dub performer Alex Serra, I edited this video using the best selection of my drone footage shot from the air around the world. Flying my drone over natural scenes is one of my best hobbies. Love it!!! Turn up the volume and enjoy! Ready to take flight?

3rd place

Drone Showreel 2020
Written by: Pushkin Fly Team

Filmed on: Dji Inspire 2, camera: Dji X7 LED, drone: Dji Matrice 600 Pro.

Location: Russia, Kazakhstan, Ossetia, Indonesia, Dagestan, Thailand. Pilot, producer, director - Victor Pushkin.

Highly praised:

Ingo Images
Author: Ingo Gebhard

Images of seascape by photographer Ingo Gebhard.

Lights and sky
Author: Mauro Pagliai

Le luci ed i cieli del GranSasso, qualcosa che non puoi rinchiudere in un frame. Hyperlapses, droni ed un cane. Lights and Air of GranSasso Massif, something that you can't lock up in a frame. Drone Hyperlapses and a dog.

Lights and Air of GranSasso Massif, something that you can't always lock up in a frame. Drone, hyperlapses and a dog.

Botswana from a drone
By Martin Harvey

If you're looking for one of the last true wilderness areas in Africa, Botswana is the place to be. Enjoy this aerial cinematic celebration of the Okavango Delta and the Makgadikgadi Trench. All shot with a DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone.

Cambodia on fire
Written by Sean Gallagher

Deforestation is accelerating across Cambodia, and it is estimated that only 3% of virgin forests remain nationwide. The forests of northern and central Cambodia experienced a record number of fires in 2018. At their peak during the dry season from January to March, it is estimated that up to 1,800 fires were burning in the country - more than any other Southeast Asian country at the time.

The main drivers of deforestation in Cambodia are the conversion of forest land to agriculture and the targeted cutting of valuable species such as rosewood for Asian furniture markets.

Essex Coastal Trail
By Philip Cooper

These are the main views of the Essex Coastal Path in the UK, starting at Burnham-on-Crouch, around Harwich, with recent shots in Skegness.

The Real Kingdom
Author: Alex Casas

There is only one realm, and that is the realm of the wild. It is a realm where there are no lies. There are no excuses. There is no mercy. But love and feelings are always present.

The full shortlist for all categories can be viewed on the official Drone Photo Awards 2020 website.