Lightning storms, a fairy tale rail ride and more: These snaps from Drone Photo Awards are out of the world
The winners of ’the most important international contest of aerial photography’, have been released, showcasing a dazzling new perspective of our world. The overall winner is an image of thousands of pink-footed geese flying over snowy ground by Norwegian photographer Terje Kolaas, announced the Siena Awards
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Titled Wild Night in the Adriatic, it was snapped from a point above Stari Grad town on Hvar Island, Croatia. In the background two bolts of lightning illuminate the sky as a waterspout rotates close by. Image Courtesy: Miroslav Zadravec/Drone Photography Awards 2021
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‘Beach Season’ was snapped on ice hummocks at the Kapchagai reservoir in the Almaty region in Kazakhstan. ‘The air temperature on that day was -10 degrees Celsius. For our region and season, it could be said to be warm, and so, without waiting for summer, we decided to open the beach season,’ the photographer explains. Image Courtesy: Alexandr Vlassyuk/Drone Photography Awards 2021
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This image shows the Kingdom Centre, which stands at 992 feet (302m) high. ‘The Kingdom Centre was the tallest skyscraper in Saudi Arabia when completed in 2002 - and is considered only the second to have been built in the country - but is now fifth on the list,’ the photographer notes. Image Courtesy: George Steinmetz/Drone Photography Awards 2021
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The photographer captured this striking snapshot in Levanger, Norway. ‘Thousands of Pink-footed Geese roost in central Norway in spring, on their way to the breeding grounds on Svalbard in the Arctics,’ the photographer explains. ‘Probably because of climate change, they arrive earlier every year and often the ground and the fields where they feed are covered by snow when they arrive.’ The photographer adds that the geese tend to travel in the same paths, so he was able to wait for them in the air with his drone. Image Courtesy: Terje Kolaas/Drone Photography Awards 2021
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A small train known as The Vaccanonesa, which connects the Italian city of Trento with the villages of Val di Non and Val di Sole in the province of Trentino, crosses a breathtaking gorge at a height of over 150 metres. Image Courtesy: Paolo Crocetta/Drone Photography Awards 2021
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A poodle-shaped wood surrounded by fields of bright yellow rapeseed in lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, is what’s catching your eye above. Image Courtesy: Jan Ulicki/Drone Photography Awards 2021
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Taken in Khwai, Botswana, the image portrays a hippopotamus group creating an interesting pattern. ‘All hippos are adults except one baby who is in the centre,’ the photographer says. Image Courtesy: Talib Almarri/Drone Photography Awards 2021
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A foggy morning in downtown Dubai. The photographer says the ‘very rare’ fog was ‘caused by the cold nights and warm mornings’. He admitted the conditions created the ‘perfect scene for an aerial photo’, with the city’s skyscrapers ’emerging out of the low clouds and creating an impression that the city is floating in the sky’. Image Courtesy: Hugo Healy/Drone Photography Awards 2021
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This fascinating photograph was taken in Zambia and shows the carcass of a buffalo that two male lions had killed. After they left, hyenas and vultures moved in to finish off the remains. Image Courtesy: Igor Altuna/Drone Photography Awards 2021
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The photographer directed his drone into the air over Henningsvaer in the Lofoten archipelago, Norway, in a bid to capture the picture. ‘The football field of the fishing town called Henningsvaer is a special one,’ the photographer says. ‘The green artificial grass stands out from the winter landscape’. Image Courtesy: Nando Harmsen/Drone Photography Awards 2021
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Titled Dusk at Rohingya Refugee Camp, it was captured in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, and shows the Kutupalong refugee camp, the world’s largest. The photographer says, “It’s inhabited by Rohingya refugees that fled from ethnic and religious persecution in neighbouring Myanmar. Millions of Rohingya refugees are living here. They made small homes from tents and houses to survive.” Image Courtesy: Azim Khan Ronnie/Drone Photography Awards 2021
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This image was taken in Namibia. The Kunene River travels through Angola and surges over a mighty precipice on the Namibian border at the Ruacana waterfalls, the photographer explains. “Here a young baobab tree clings to a rocky outcrop as the waters of the Ruacana rage around it.” Image Courtesy: Jan Roode/Drone Photography Awards 2021
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