Aerial photography has an uncanny ability to literally offer a fresh perspective on subjects that have been photographed to death, and this ability is on full display in the winners gallery of the first annual Aerial Photography Awards.
The Aerial Photography Awards was created as a catch-all for aerial imagery. Rather than limiting entries to drones or some other form of airborne transportation, the contest invited photographers from around the world to submit any aerial image they deemed worthy: whether it was captured from a drone, helicopter, kite, balloon, or airplane.
The public responded. Thousands of entries came in from 65 participating countries, and the awards’ founder Christophe Martin crowned an overall winner and 22 category winners in everything from Architecture, to Transportation, to Waterscapes.
This year, the grand prize went to Belgian Sebastian Nagy whose drone photography placed in the top five in 5 separate categories, earning the highest “average score” of any submitting photographer and winning the title of Aerial Photographer of the Year. You can see his 1st place submissions in the Architecture, Cityscapes, and Hotels categories below:
Photo by Sebastien Nagy | 2020 Aerial Photography Awards
Spanish Rainbow by Sebastien Nagy | 2020 Aerial Photography Awards
Chromata by Sebastien Nagy | 2020 Aerial Photography Awards
“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,” says Nagy. “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 […] To be named first in a contest where the theme is what we love most, our passion, is
incredible and very satisfying!”
Of course, Nagy’s images weren’t the only impressive shots of the bunch. Scroll down to see all 19 of the remaining category winners, and if you want to learn more about the photographers or see all of the images that were recognized in each category, head over to the Aerial Photography Awards website.
Construction
The Frame by Bachir Moukarzel | 2020 Aerial Photography Awards
Industrial
Energy Storage by Joel Jochum | 2020 Aerial Photography Awards
Transportation
Fairway of the Gulf of Finland by Alexander Sukharev | 2020 Aerial Photography Awards
Landscapes
Skyggnisvatn by Sebastian Muller | 2020 Aerial Photography Awards
Waterscapes
Arctic Paradise by Kyle Vollaers | 2020 Aerial Photography Awards
Wildlife
Flying Flamingos by Hua Shang | 2020 Aerial Photography Awards
Trees & Forests
Forest Path by Mehmet Aslan | 2020 Aerial Photography Awards
Daily Life
The Lady of the Sea by Duy Sinh | 2020 Aerial Photography Awards
Sports
Ball Up by Brad Walls | 2020 Aerial Photography Awards
World Culture
Eid Congregation by Azim Khan Ronnie | 2020 Aerial Photography Awards
Abstract
Tatacoa Desert by Johan Vandenhecke | 2020 Aerial Photography Awards
Patterns
Umbrella Crossing by Daniel Bonte | 2020 Aerial Photography Awards
Abandoned Places
The Wreck by Reginald Van de Velde | 2020 Aerial Photography Awards
Documentary
Fire Attack by Marc Le Cornu | 2020 Aerial Photography Awards
Environmental
Flood water has damaged crops by Azim Khan Ronnie | 2020 Aerial Photography Awards
Travel
Shanghigh by Yiran Ding | 2020 Aerial Photography Awards
World in Lockdown
We are in it together by Prabu Mohan | 2020 Aerial Photography Awards
Accommodations
Colors of Dubai by Kevin Krautgartner | 2020 Aerial Photography Awards
Other
On the Edge by Ryan Koopmans | 2020 Aerial Photography Awards
Image credits: All photos credited individually, used courtesy of the Aerial Photography Awards.
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