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Photography

From a Volcanic Fissure to a Waterlily Harvest, the 2022 Drone Photo Awards Captures Earth’s Stunning Sights from Above

The annual Drone Photo Awards announced its 2022 winners earlier this month, releasing a remarkable collection of images that frame the world’s most alluring landscapes from a rarely-seen view. This year’s contest garnered submissions from 2,624 participants hailing from 116 countries, and the aerial photos capture a vast array of life on Earth, including a caravan of camel shadows crossing the Arabian Desert, a waterlily harvest in West Bengal, and the veiny trails of lava emerging from a fissure near Iceland’s Fagradalsfjall volcano.

Hosted by the Siena Awards Festival, the competition showcases its winning images in a recurring exhibition called Above Us Only Sky, which will run from October 1 to November 20 in the Italian city. Until then, see some of our favorites below and explore the full collection on the awards’ site.

 

Photography

Majestic Topographic Photos Frame the Rugged Textures and Serene Colors of Earth’s Landscapes

From the misty waters of Benagil, Portugal, to Iceland’s cragged Múlagljúfur Canyon, the shots that comprise Vadim Sherbakov’s body of work capture the breadth and beauty of landscapes around the world. The photographer (previously) uses a combination of drones and cameras equipped with wide lenses to frame the natural colors and textures of Earth’s topographies: wind-battered snow ripples across the magical Baikal Lake, a hazy fog cloaks the rocky ravines of Sigölduglijufur, and stars speckle the sky above the quaint Val di Funes. Often taken in the early morning or evening hours, the images are exemplary of the serene, calming atmospheres of natural environments.

In addition to his photography practice, Sherbakov boasts an extensive archive of films highlighting both remote regions and cities around the world. You can find more of his work on his site and Behance. (via Plain Magazine)

 

Photography

Lush Aerial Photos by Pham Huy Trung Capture the Annual Harvests of Vietnam’s Countryside

From the foggy limestone mountains of Trang An to grass collection in Bao Loc, the scenic shots by Pham Huy Trung (previously) preserve Vietnam’s heritage. The photographer often works with drones, allowing him to capture aerial views of wooden boats wedged into a harbor and farmers grasping large baskets as they gather tea. Resplendent with vegetation, the images frequently center on industry and annual harvests to create a visual record of everyday activity.

Pham is currently planning a trip abroad—follow his travels on Instagram—and has select prints available on his site.

 

Photography

Ghostly Aerial Photos Frame Isolated and Abandoned Houses Scattered Across North America

In his ongoing series titled Thin Places, Portland-based photographer Brendon Burton documents battered houses that stand alone in barren fields, amidst an encroaching marsh, or at the edge of the mountain. The decrepit structures have been Burton’s preferred subject matter since 2011 when he began seeking abandoned buildings across the continent that exude a sense of impermanence and the uncanny. “This series is for the sake of satisfying my curiosity about the past and exploring isolated parts of North America. It mixes archeology with fantasy,” he says.

Derived from Celtic culture, Thin Places refers to locales “where heaven and earth grow thin,” Burton says. “Traditionally, the term was meant as a place one would feel closer to God, or something otherworldly. In a more modern sense, it’s a form of liminality, areas that feel transitory.” Each property is shot with a drone, offering a detached view of the once-occupied spaces and a brief encounter with their former use. “What makes people leave, and what keeps things standing? How much of a life gets left along with it?” he asks.

Burton plans to visit Appalachia next, and you can follow his travels on Behance and Instagram. (via This Isn’t Happiness)

 

Photography

Spectacular Winners of the 2021 Drone Photography Contest Capture a Bird’s-Eye View of the World

Following last year’s competition eclipsed by this serendipitous shot of a shark swimming in a heart-shaped school of fish, the 2021 Drone Photography Awards brings together a slew of aerial images framing the myriad patterns, textures, and colors found around the world. Norwegian photographer Terje Kolaas captured the winning composition, which joins a flock of thousands of pink-footed geese as they make their way to Svalbard. The shot is particularly interesting because the winged creatures are early on their journey to the snow-covered arctic region, a premature arrival that’s likely sparked by the changing climate.

Hosted by the Siena Awards Festival, the 2021 competition garnered hundreds of thousands of submissions from photographers working across 102 countries, an immense and diverse collection that was culled down to a few dozen winners. An exhibition titled Above Us Only Sky will showcase the finalists from October 23 to December 5 as part of the annual event.

 

Photography

A Mesmerizing Aerial Timelapse Captures the Undulating Patterns of Sheep Herding Near Haifa

Haifa-based photographer Lior Patel has spent the last seven months immersed in the daily rhythms of sheep. Hovering above the Peace Valley region of Yokneam, he’s documented a single flock’s grazing process in a captivating timelapse that shows the animals racing across the agricultural landscape and down roadways in robust, heaving masses. Shot with a drone, the accelerated footage attests to the drove’s shape-shifting instincts, which resembles other naturally occurring patterns like a flowing current or mesmerizing starling murmurations.

Vegetable farmer Michael Morgan, who’s referred to as the “king of cabbage,” and South Africa-born herder Keith Markov have managed the flock since 1985, and today it fluctuates between 1,000 and 1,750 individuals. Each year, the sheep migrate up to seven kilometers from the valley to the outskirts of Ramot Menashe with the help of shepherds Mustafa Tabash, Mahmoud Kaabiyah, Eyal Morgan, and Dan Goldfinger and a few border collies, which you can see circling the edges of the flock and rounding up stragglers.

To focus on the sheep’s natural movements, Patel tells Colossal that he captured most scenes from a fixed camera position. Each shot shows between 4-7 minutes of the shepherds corralling the animals en route to their next location. “The first challenge is to understand the elasticity of the herd during the movement, its dispersal during grazing, and how it converges into one tight pack towards exit/return from pasture and crossing roads and paths,” he says.

Patel frequently travels throughout Isreal documenting agricultural practices, barges, and the historic architecture of city centers with a drone, and you can find more of his aerial photos and footage on his site and Instagram.