Take to the Skies with the Winners of the 2020 Aerial Photography Awards

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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