Spectacular Winning Images of The Drone Photo Awards 2021

The Drone Photo Awards have announced the 2021 winners. The contest’s categories include Wedding, Nature, People, Urban, Animals, Abstract and Sport for single still images. There’s also an Open category for video and a Series category for photographers to enter five to nine images on the same theme. Among these categories are many fantastic photos from talented photographers around the world.

Melting Ice Cap. Nature Commended. In summer 2020, Svalbard archipelago broke meteorological records when the air temperature suddenly reached 21.7ºC. This image brings evidence of the amount of fresh water falling from the melting Austfonna ice cap into the sea. The average air temperature in Svalbard has risen by 3-5°C over the past 50 years. (Photo by Florian Ledoux/Drone Photography Awards 2021)

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Cascate del Mulino. People Commended. Tourists in the natural thermal pools in Saturnia, Tuscany, northern Italy, each one assuming a different position of relaxation. (Photo by Christian Gatti/Drone Photography Awards 2021)

Poisoned River. Abstract Winner. A detailed photograph of a stream filled with poison. “Poisoned Beauty” is a personal project that tells the story of the natural disaster in the Apuseni Mountains in Transylvania, which was a result of chemical waste generated by copper and gold mining, but in a beautifully abstract way. (Photo by Gheorghe Popa/Drone Photography Awards 2021)

Sailor of Red Chilies Sea. People Commended. A farmer cycles home after laying out red chilies on plastic sheets under the bright sun. During the harvesting season, tons of chilis are laid out to dry creating a patchwork effect on green fields in Panchagarh, northern Bangladesh. (Photo by Sujon Adhikary/Drone Photography Awards 2021)

Wild Night in the Adriatic. Nature Commended. Stari Grad, on Hvar Island, with fork lightning and a waterspout on the open sea. (Photo by Miroslav Zadravec/Drone Photography Awards 2021)

Zohreh River. Abstract Commended. Faux colour infrared image of the Zohreh River where it enters the Persian Gulf in southern Iran. The image was taken at 665nm, on an infrared-converted Sony Nex 5N. Red and blue channels were swapped in Photoshop. (Photo by Jon Bowles/Drone Photography Awards 2021)

Skimboarding at the Wedge. Sport Commended. The Wedge is a spot in Newport Beach, California, known for its large wedge shaped waves that make it a popular spot for surfers and Skimboarding – a sport in which a skimboard is used to glide across the water’s surface to meet an incoming breaking wave, and ride it back to shore. Wave-riding skimboarders perform a variety of surface and air manoeuvres, at various stages of their ride, out to, and back with, the wave. (Photo by Sagi Roitfarb/Drone Photography Awards 2021)

Sheep in Congress. Wildlife Commended. “In the north of Israel, I documented during summer and winter a herd of 1,500 sheep which became more than 1,900 heads. I followed them when they moved from one location to another mainly for searching for fresh grass but also for preparing to give birth and cut their wool”. (Photo by Yoel Robert Assiag/Drone Photography Awards 2021)

Shark Companion. Sport Commended. A lone kayaker is escorted by a group of sharks. Every year from December to April, a school of dusky sharks arrives to the area near the Hadera power station in Israel. The warm waters around the station attract fish and their predators – which in turn attract kayakers, scuba divers and swimmers. (Photo by Ido Meirovich/Drone Photography Awards 2021)

Floating People. People Commended. People in inner-tubes attend a concert on a floating stage. (Photo by Raf Willems/Drone Photography Awards 2021)

No Stress. Abstract Commended. A lone dog naps on the beach near the parasols. (Photo by Zsolt Dor/Drone Photography Awards 2021)

Flamingos Flying Over Lake Magadi. Nature Commended. Magadi Lake, in Kajiado county, Kenya, shot from a helicopter. This is a salt lake, whose water is colourful and changes with climate conditions, and is a habitat for flamingos. (Photo by Ying Shi/Drone Photography Awards 2021)

Caleidoscopio. Abstract Runner Up. This shot was inspired by the colourful patterns of the Navajo people of the south-western US. The colours of the containers and the diagonals created by the play of light and shadow create an interesting pattern. (Photo by Paolo Crocetta/Drone Photography Awards 2021)

Dusk at Rohingya Refugee Camp. Urban Commended. Kutupalong refugee camp is the world’s largest refugee camp. It is in Ukhia, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, and is inhabited by Rohingya refugees who fled from persecution in neighbouring Myanmar. Millions of Rohingya refugees live here in huts and tents. (Photo by Azim Khan Ronnie/Drone Photography Awards 2021)

Four Seasons. Urban Commended. A lonely chapel in the middle of a field shot in the four seasons. This is the fifth in this series. A tractor is working the field. (Photo by Ovi D. Pop/Drone Photography Awards 2021)

A Still Point in Time. Wildlife Commended. A flock of greater flamingo wades through the obsidian brine pans south of Walvis Bay, Namibia, with the grace of ballerinas. This image was taken hand-held from a fixed-wing aircraft. Flamingo are sensitive to noise and vibration and normally take to flight when disturbed. (Photo by Jay Roode/Drone Photography Awards 2021)

Gold at the End of the Rainbow. Sport Winner. A surfer, Ollie Henry, escapes a monster wave off the coast of South West Western Australia. (Photo by Phil De Glanville/Drone Photography Awards 2021)

Wrong way buddy. Sport Highly Commended. One cyclist goes against the tide during the Big Easy cycling event in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. The event attracts hundreds of cyclists on the region’s cycle paths over the Easter weekend. (Photo by John Cowpland/Drone Photography Awards 2021)

Pink-Footed Geese Meeting the Winter. Overall Winner. Thousands of pink-footed geese roost in central Norway in spring, on their way to breeding grounds on Svalbard in the Arctic. Probably because of the climate crisis, they arrive earlier every year and often the ground and the fields where they feed are covered by snow. The geese tend to use the same paths, and this photo was taken when waiting for them in the air. (Photo by Terje Kolaas/Drone Photography Awards 2021)