Fans of drone photography will be aware of the SkyPixel awards, which is co-organised by DJI, who make amazing drones such as the Mavic Air 2 and the new FPV model, which allows everyday content creators capture FPV footage.
The awards contest is now in its sixth year, 2020’s Aerial Storytelling Contest attracted more than 26,000 entries from photographers and videographers from 136 different countries.
This year’s Grand Prize winner in the Photo Category was this epic capture by Karim Iliya, who employed his Mavic 2 Pro to frame up a young humpback whale using his powerful tail fin to launch himself out of the water near Tahiti. Karim commented on the image; “Humpback whales breach for a variety of reasons including communication, fighting, barnacle and parasite removal, waking up, playing and more. For humpback whale calves like this one, playing is an important way to build muscles and prepare for the long journey to Antarctica.”
The Video Category grand prize went to Ellis Van Jason who created a stunning video shot using high-speed FPV sequences, captured on the island of Madeira. Ellis commented; “A year ago, I asked myself what kind of pilot do I want to be. Race drone pilot or Freestyle Pilot? Neither of the two was an option, and it took me some time to find my place. I ended up in the cinematic mid-long-range area and I kind of like it out here.”
Other Winners included this epic capture from SkyPixel member ‘Superdog’, which shows exactly how an aerial view can completely change the look and form of a scene. Titled ‘Number 9’, the image was shot on location in Guangdong, China using a DJI Mavic Air.
Another image to collect a First Place award was this capture by Ilanna Emily, which was shot in Vancouver, Canada. Entitled; ‘Colour Series – Bulls Eye’, the image shows a skateboard among a colourful scene and was captured using a Mavic 2 Pro drone.
Some natural phenomenons look better from the air, as was this case with this amazing capture by Joao Galamba. Entitled; ‘Where the muddy river meets the ocean‘ and captured using a Mavic 2 Pro, Joao commented; ‘The first rains of the year make the rivers start flowing again, bringing to the ocean the mud and trash from the mountains. The water is then clear separated in two: the brownish muddy river water and the deep blue ocean water. The fishes are attracted and get closer to the shore. And where there is fish, there are fishermen.’
Claiming a Second Place award was this epic capture by Andrii Chuiashenko, who shot the scene with a Mavic 2 Pro. Andrii commented; ‘This photo was made in Kyiv, Ukraine. The bridge is the Trukhaniv footbridge across Dnipro.’
Animals featured in many of the winning and commended images, including this Second Place capture by Prithvi B, which showcases Sting Ray off the coast of Australia and was shot using a Mavic 2 Pro.
Amdad Hossain took a Second Place award for this thought-provoking frame , entitled ‘Live With The Environment’ that was captured in Chittagong, Bangladesh using DJI Mavic Mini.
Drones can make sports images come alive and this was certainly the case with Luca Cornago’s image, which was entitled ‘Freshhhhh!!!’. Captured using a Mavic 2 Pro in Sondrio, Italy the epic frame earned Luca a Third Place award.
