Drones are rarely out of the news these days, and unfortunately many of the headlines are not always positive. However, if you need a reminder just why drones are so important to the photography world, and how they can be used for something positive, look no further than the winners of the Dronestagram 2018 International Drone Photography Awards.
The contest is now fifth year and 2018’s awards attracted thousands of entries from amateur and pro photographers alike, with the winner being named as US photographer Martin Sanchez. Martin’s image, entitled Hungry Hippos, captured a mass of Hippopotamus converging in the water and the image was captured in Tanzania using a DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone.
Image by Martin Sanchez/2018 International Drone Photography Awards
Second place in the contest went to Trung Pham, who is based in Vietnam and captured this epic photo of a fisherman casting his net into the sea. Like many images in the contest, the aerial angle offers a completely different perspective of the scene.
Image by Trung Pham/2018 International Drone Photography Awards
Third place in the 2018 International Drone Photography Awards went to a Ukrainian photographer named Qliebin for an image entitled ‘2 People, 2 Dogs & 4 Shadows’. The photo was captured on a beach next to the Black Sea and the excellent use of light was made possible thanks to the use of a DJI Mavic drone.
Image by Quliebin/2018 International Drone Photography Awards
‘Climate Refugees’ was another popular image from the contest. Captured by Florian Ledoux, the photographer commented; ‘Polar Bears are facing a range of threats that are impacting their future population status. They are among the first refugees of climate change. Polar Bears do not only depend on the sea ice as a platform for hunting but also as a place where they can rest between the hunts and a place where they can reproduce. ’
Image by Florian Ledoux/2018 International Drone Photography Awards
Some drone images make viewers second guess what they are seeing and this was very much the case with MacBook Boy’s shot of a building directly from above. The pattern on the building’s roof gives off a camo-style feel, help viewers to focus on the shape of the structure.
Image by MacBook Boy/2018 International Drone Photography Awards
Maksim Tarasov’s image, entitled ‘Sunset’, showed excellent use of light as the photographer captured the last drop of golden light on an Icelandic mountain ridge.
Image by Maksim Tarasov/2018 International Drone Photography Awards
Luke Bell’s image of a newborn Southern Right Whale swimming with its mother near Cape Town, South Africa showed perfectly how drones can help photographers achieve wildlife images that were previously impossible without Hollywood-size budgets.
Image by Luke Bell/2018 International Drone Photography Awards
Another image from Vietnam photographer Trung Pham, this time showing a farm of lobster breeding cages in coastal province of Phu Yen.
Image by Trung Pham/2018 International Drone Photography Awards
One of the most high impact images of the contest was taken by Portugal-based photographer, Joao Galamba de Oliveira. Entitled ‘Where the muddy river meets the ocean’ the photo was captured off the Timor Leste coast and shows a great use of colours and tones.
Image by Joao Galamba de Oliveira/2018 International Drone Photography Awards
. digitalrev.com2019-1-29 03:00
