A view from above
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SkyPixel has announced the winners and finalists for its 8th annual drone photography and video competition. Every year, the online aerial photography community co-organizes efforts with drone manufacturer DJI to offer up a bevy of photography gear to winners and finalists.
Over 65,000 entries were submitted on the SkyPixel platform, a 120% increase over last year’s competition according to DJI. The panel that judged these entries included legendary aerial photographer George Steinmetz, Air Pixels founder Tobias Häag, and National Geographic’s Assistant Managing Editor of Photography, Anne Farrar.
This year’s competition theme was ‘The Story Behind.’ Bashir Abu Shakra claimed the title of Grand Prize winner in the video category for ‘I Travel the World Alone’ – a reel of his solo travels to remote landscapes in Brazil, Mongolia, and the Alps.
Kháhn Phan won in the photo category for her top-down image, ‘Floral Dress,’ depicting two Vietnamese women harvesting water lilies.
To view all winning images, including People’s Choice, check out SkyPixel’s official competition page. Note that SkyPixel did not require contestants to fill out all fields including the photo’s location and EXIF data.
Grand Prize Winner: ‘Floral Dress’ by Kháhn Phan
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Drone: DJI Mavic 3
Artist Statement: Women harvest water lilies and form a floral dress on the water. In the high water season in southern Vietnam, especially Kien Tuong, Moc Hoa, Long An province, and Chau Doc, An Giang Province, water lilies thrive. Waterlily is a flower growing in many rivers and lakes, both beautiful for this land, as well as a favorite food of indigenous people and tourists.
During the high water season, women use a small boat to collect water lilies, a job that has been practiced for a long time in Southern Vietnam. They were taught boating from a young age by their mother or grandmother. These girls are [beautifully attired] with Ba Ba shirts, a traditional dress in Southern Vietnam, and conical hats. They pick the flowers, wash them, take them to market or make family food. There are many tourists who come to Southern Vietnam to experience the feeling of boating along the rivers.
Nominated, Nature: ‘Sea Me’ by Joanna Steidle
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Drone: DJI Mavic 3
Artist Statement: Two sharks intimidating a school of menhaden fish just off the coast of Long Island, NY.
The artist, New York-based professional aerial photographer and cinematographer, Joanna Steidle, shared a bit more behind-the-scenes information on her nominated image ‘Sea Me’ with DPReview:
‘This was taken while flying over the Atlantic Ocean, just off Long Island, New York, last summer,’ she said. ‘Schools of menhaden fish line our shore in the summer months. Captured here are two sharks as they nonchalantly intimidate and corral a small section of the school of fish, separating them from the large mass. Some schools have tens of thousands of fish. You’ll be happy to know [the sharks] left the scene with full bellies.’
Top 10 Winner, Portrait: ‘Lonely Figure’
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Drone: DJI Mavic Air 2
Artist Statement: N/A
Top 10 Winner, Architecture: ‘Colored Shutters’
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Drone: DJI Mavic 2 Pro
Artist Statement: N/A
Top 10 Winner, Sport: ‘Light and Shadow Stadium’
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Drone: DJI Mini 2
Artist Statement: On the sports field splashed with sweat, struggle is everywhere; even the shadow, the place that light cannot reach, is also the shape of struggle.
Top 10 Winner, Portrait: ‘Friendship’
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Drone: DJI Mavic 3
Artist Statement: It doesn’t get much better than a road trip with good friends and with this group of friends, we will take a group shot to remember the occasion. Sometimes it is just a standard photo, but because we are all photographers, sometimes we do things a little different.
Top 10 Winner, Nature: ‘Flowers of the Earth’
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Drone: Mavic Air
Artist Statement: N/A
Top 10 Winner, Nature: ‘Lava Lizard’
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Drone: DJI Mavic 2 Pro
Artist Statement: The tongue of the lava oozing from the Fagradalsfjall volcano has turned almost perfectly into a lizard tearing through the black landscape. Witnessing a volcano while it erupts is a truly surreal experience.
Top 10 Winner, Nature: ‘Industrial Scars – Burning Earth’
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Drone: DJI Mavic 3
Artist Statement: The industrial waste slag discharged after the development of the mine has washed away industrial ‘scars.’ Looking down from the air, it looks like a burnt earth, devastated everywhere.
Top 10 Winner, Nature: ‘Migration’
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Drone: N/A
Artist Statement: N/A
Top 10 Winner, Portrait: ‘Harvesting Grass’
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Drone: Mavic 2 Pro
Artist Statement: N/A
Top 10 Winner, Architecture: ‘The Maze Runner’
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Drone: Mavic 2 Pro
Artist Statement: In my home country Belgium, you have this cool maze located just an hour’s drive from my home. A friend of mine stood in the middle with an umbrella to make the subject pop. A rainy day would make this even cooler.
People’s Choice: ‘Atrani’
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Drone: DJI Mavic 2 Pro
Artist Statement: N/A
Author:
This article comes from DP Review and can be read on the original site.
