Check Out these Breathtaking and Award-Winning Aerial Pictures of our Planet
Pic by Albert Dros / Aerial Photography Awards
Contents
- The Jury
- Take a look at the winning pictures of the Aerial Photography Awards 2020:
- The Lady of the Sea
- Fire Attack
- Fairway Of The Gulf Of Finland
- Energy Storage
- Flying Flamingos
- We Are In It Together
- Arctic Paradise
- The Wreck
- Shanghigh
- Abstract Greece
- Ball Up
- Spanish Rainbow
- The Frame
- Forest Path
- Flood Water has Damaged Crops
- Collective Series
- On The Edge
- Skyggnisvatn
- Tatacoa Desert
- Eid Congregation
- Umbrella Crossing
- Colors Of Dubai
- Chromata
- Anchovy Catching
- The Winner
- The Founder
- More Pictures
For its first edition, the Aerial Photography Awards 2020 (aerialphotoawards.com) invited photographers from around the world using drones, helicopters, kites, balloons or airplanes to submit their best photos in an attempt to win $10,000.
The competition received thousands of entries from 65 participating countries. The prestigious Jury, who voted without knowing the name or country of the participants, awarded 106 photos in 22 Categories and 11 photographers in the 6 master Categories.
The Jury
The awarded photos were selected through a 10-day vote by the members of the Jury. In order to elect the “Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020”, the photographer was selected on the average of the overall scores and the number of winning photos per photographer in different categories.
Aerial Photography Awards
The Jury includes Jeffrey Milstein who has exhibited in many museums and galleries around the world, Daniel Beltrá, winner of numerous prestigious photography awards, Dirk Dallas, seen as an early leader of the drone movement, Alex MacLean, author/co-author of thirteen books, Benjamin Grant, creator of the popular Instagram feed Daily Overview, Peter Essick, named one of the 40 most influential nature photographers in the world, Florian Ledoux, whose work is recognized by international conservation organisms, Hulia Boz, Aussie photographer who has recently held an exhibition in New York, Abstract Aerial Art, two brothers dedicated to taking bizarre aerial images around the world, Noura Al Murr Al Neyadi, who started photography at the age of 11, Costas Spathis, a Greek aerial photographer widely followed on Instagram as well as Elena Buenrostro, pilot, trainer and leader of the Women Who Drone movement.
Take a look at the winning pictures of the Aerial Photography Awards 2020:
The Lady of the Sea
In the Daily Life category, “The Lady of the Sea”, a photo taken by Vietnamese photographer Duy Sinh, shows a fishing net thrown from a boat, which forms a woman’s face.
Duy Sinh / Aerial Photography Awards
Fire Attack
In the Documentary category, photographer Marc Le Cornu takes first place with a photo of the Jersey Airport Rescue & Firefighting Service training on a burning plane.
Marc Le Cornu / Aerial Photography Awards
Fairway Of The Gulf Of Finland
In the Transportation category, the first place goes to a photo of a merchant ship navigating in the middle of the ice in the Gulf of Finland, shot by Russian photographer Alexander Sukharev.
Alexander Sukharev / Aerial Photography Awards
Energy Storage
Joel Jochum’s enigmatic image of an energy storage facility in Germany received the jury’s best votes in the Industrial category.
Joel Jochum / Aerial Photography Awards
Flying Flamingos
Chinese photographer Hua Shang’s image of a group of flamingos flying over Lake Natron in Kenya was chosen by the Jury in the Wildlife category.
Hua Shang / Aerial Photography Awards
We Are In It Together
In the World in Lockdown category, dedicated to photos that deal with the consequences of the Covid 19 pandemic, the picture of the Indian photographer Prabu Mohan, depicting a building in Vietnam whose windows were all covered with the national flag as a sign of support, won first place.
Prabu Mohan / Aerial Photography Awards
Arctic Paradise
In the Waterscapes category, the image of the UK based photographer Kyle Vollaers of a surrealist iceberg drifting off the coast of Qeqertarsuaq, Greenland was awarded.
Kyle Vollaers / Aerial Photography Awards
The Wreck
The photo of a WWI ship ruin on the French coast, photographed by the Belgian photographer Reginald Van de Velde received the best votes from the Jury in the Abandoned Places category.
Reginald Van de Velde / Aerial Photography Awards
Shanghigh
The Chinese photographer Yiran Ding and his photo of Shanghai seen through an airplane window won the Travel category.
Yiran Ding / Aerial Photography Awards
Abstract Greece
In the Architecture category, it’s the photo of the Belgian photographer Sebastien Nagy, portraying an almost abstract cityscape, that takes the first place.
Sebastien Nagy / Aerial Photography Awards
Ball Up
In the Sports category, it is a refined photo of a tennis player ”Ball up” , by Australian photographer Brad Walls, which seduced the Jury.
Brad Walls / Aerial Photography Awards
Spanish Rainbow
The colorful roofs of Gran Canaria Island shot by Sebastien Nagy win the Cityscapes category.
Sebastien Nagy / Aerial Photography Awards
The Frame
In the Constructions category, it’s a photo of the Dubai Frame, known as “the largest photo frame in the world”, photographed by the Lebanese photographer Bachir Moukarzel who is in the first place.
Bachir Moukarzel / Aerial Photography Awards
Forest Path
In the category Trees & Forests, the photograph of a herd of sheep crossing an autumn forest by Mehmet Aslan won first place.
Mehmet Aslan / Aerial Photography Awards
Flood Water has Damaged Crops
In the Environmental category, the photo of farmers in the middle of a field devastated by floodwater, taken by the Bangladeshi photographer Azim Khan Ronnie received the best votes.
Azim Khan Ronnie / Aerial Photography Awards
Collective Series
It’s the series of montages made from hundreds of aerial photos by the Brazilian photographer Cassio Vasconcellos in the Digitally Enhanced category that caught the attention of the Jury.
Cassio Vasconcellos / Aerial Photography Awards
On The Edge
The poetic photo of a child trying to grab a plastic bag by Canadian photographer Ryan Koopmans won first place in the Fine Art – Other category.
Ryan Koopmans / Aerial Photography Awards
Skyggnisvatn
In the Landscapes category, it’s a landscape from another world, shot in the highlands of Iceland by the Swiss photographer Sebastian Müller, that is best voted.
Sebastian Muller / Aerial Photography Awards
Tatacoa Desert
In the Abstract category it’s a photograph of the Tatacoa desert in Colombia, shot by the photographer Johan Vandenhecke, that is best voted.
Johan Vandenhecke / Aerial Photography Awards
Eid Congregation
In the World culture category, it is a photo of 600 000 devotees participating in the largest Eid-ul-Fitr congregation in Southeast Asia, taken by the Bangladeshi photographer Azim Khan Ronnie.
Azim Khan Ronnie / Aerial Photography Awards
Umbrella Crossing
In the Patterns category, a photo of multiple umbrellas crossing each other in the streets, taken by Japanese photographer Daniel Bonte won the first place.
Daniel Bonte / Aerial Photography Awards
Colors Of Dubai
In the Accommodations category, the Jury chose a minimalist and colorful photo of the apartments of the Burj Khalifa, taken by the German photographer Kevin Krautgartner.
Kevin Krautgartner / Aerial Photography Awards
Chromata
In the Hotels category, the photo of clean white lodgings, shot in a hotel located in the Greek islands by Sebastien Nagy won first place.
Sebastien Nagy / Aerial Photography Awards
Anchovy Catching
Thien Nguyen’s shot captures smoke billowing from the engine of a fishing boat along the Phu Yen coast in Vietnam. Beneath the surface, green nets cast out in search of anchovy are illuminated.
Thien Nguyen / Aerial Photography Awards
The Winner
Aerial Photography Awards
The winner of the title “Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020”, goes to photographer Sebastien Nagy (Instagram) from Belgium. Thanks to several awarded photos in different categories and a high average score.
His thoughts after receiving this award:
“To be honest, I had never participated in a contest before, but I had heard about this one in a very positive way, so I took part in the game. I didn’t think I would win anything and it was mostly for fun. So I was very surprised when I heard the good news. It was a bit hard to believe at first as it was the Grand-Prix, but I did feel a real joy and pride. To be named first in a contest where the theme is what we love most, our passion, is incredible and very satisfying! This award made me want to test myself in other things and why not, to be able to judge others in my turn one day 😉 .”
The Founder
The Founder of Aerial Photography Awards, Christophe Martin says: ”For a first edition, the quality and diversity of the awarded photos demonstrates the evolution of aerial photography and the standards it has reached today. Aerial photographers prove their ability to amaze us. New visual writings are being built.
Thanks to the participants and to the Jury, the 22 categories create a panorama of the most exciting aerial photography currently being made. This is a unique source of inspiration for photographers, drone pilots, content creators who seek new perspectives.”
More Pictures
Head over to aerialphotoawards.com and have a look at all the other awesome aerial shots!
What do you think? Are you into aerial photography? Let us know in the comments!
