Drone Awards 2021: striking images of world from above recognised in photography prize

The overall winner and the eight category winners of the aerial photography award will be showcased in the Above Us Only Sky exhibition

'Pink-Footed Geese Meeting the Winter', Levanger (Norway), by Terje Kolaas, winner of Drone Photo Awards 2021. Thousands of pink-footed geese roost in central Norway in spring, on their way to the breeding grounds on Svalbard in the Arctics.

'Metaphorical Statement About City and Winter', Dzerzhinsky, Moscow Region (Russia), by Sergei Poletaev, first place in the Urban category. A 500-year-old monastery in the Moscow region and a large power plant in the background. The steam from the cooling towers is particularly dense due to severe frost.

'Gold at the End of the Rainbow', Western Australia, by Phil De Glanville, first place in the Sports category. In the photo, surfer Ollie Henry is seen escaping a monster wave off the coast of south-west Western Australia.

'Extragalactic', Iceland, by Martin Sanchez, first place in the Nature category. The intense and glorious moments during an erupting volcano with an exclusive view from the inside are captured in Iceland.

'Back to Adventure', Oman, by Qasim Al Farsi, first place in the Wildlife category. A green turtle heads back to the water after laying eggs in her peaceful nest, on the Oman coastline between Ras Al Jinz and Rashad turtle reserve.

'Fishing in Mangrove Forest', Hue (Vietnam), by Trung Pham Huy, first place in the People category. A fisherman starts his day in the mangrove forest in the lagoon of Tam Giang in the Hue province.

'Poisoned River', Geamana, Transylvania, (Romania), by Gheorghe Popa, first place in the Abstract category. This is a detailed photograph of one of the small rivers filled with poison.

'Verso l'Infinito Insieme a Te', Marina di Pisa (Italy), by Matteo Originale, first place in the Wedding category. Di Pisa said about the photo: '[On] a late summer evening at sunset ... I spotted those clouds on the horizon and I decided to place the couple towards their infinity full of love.'

'City In the Sky', Dubai (UAE), by Hugo Healy. Commended in the Urban category. About the shot, Healy said: 'A foggy morning in Downtown Dubai. Very rare conditions, caused by the cold nights and warm mornings, creating the perfect scene for an aerial photo. The buildings of Dubai emerging out of the low clouds creating an impression that the city is floating in the sky.'

'Correlation', Hamedan (Iran), by Amirmahdi Najafloo Shahpar, highly commended in the People category. Muslim men and women in Hamedan, Iran pray for Eid Al Fitr.

'The Kingdom Centre', Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), by George Steinmetz, runner-up in the Urban category. Standing more than 300 metres high, the Kingdom Centre was the tallest skyscraper in Saudi Arabia when completed in 2002.

'Space Invaders', The Dead Sea (Israel), by Gilad Topaz, highly commended in the Urban category. The shot captures white parasols at a beach on the Dead Sea.

'Planet Marina', Dubai (UAE), by Aravind Appadurai Kannan, commended in the Urban category.

Stunning images of the world from above have been celebrated in the Drone Photo Awards 2021.

The prize celebrates the best of aerial photography, with Norwegian photographer Terje Kolaas's image Pink-Footed Geese Meeting the Winter named the overall winner. The image, shot in Norway, features geese flying towards Svalbard in the Arctic, with the landscape still covered with snow.

Photographers from 102 countries submitted tens of thousands of images to the awards. As well as Kolaas's top prize, shots have been placed into nine categories, with a winner in each. The eight photo categories include Urban, Wildlife, Sport, People, Nature, Abstract, Wedding photography and Storyboard, in addition to a video category.

Regionally, Omani photographer Qasim Al Farsi won the Wildlife category with Back to Adventure, which portrays a green turtle ready to return to the water after laying its eggs on the coast near Ras Al Jinz in eastern Oman.

'Back to Adventure' by Qasim Al Farsi, Oman, captures a green turtle from above

The Urban award was won by Russian photographer Sergei Poletaev for his image Metaphorical Statement About City and Winter, which juxtaposes an old monastery near Moscow with a large power plant in the background. Sport was won by Australian photographer Phil De Glanville for Gold at the End of the Rainbow, which captures a rainbow above surfer Ollie Henry.

Fishing in Mangrove Forest by Vietnamese photographer Trung Pham Huy won in the People category, Extragalactic by American photographer Martin Sanchez won the Nature category and Romanian photographer Gheorghe Popa's image Poisoned River came out on top in the Abstract category.

Romantic image Towards the Infinite Together with You by Italian photographer Matteo Original topped the Wedding category and Pakistani-American photographer Adrees Latif won the Storyboard category with Blanketed in Fire Retardant.

The video category was won by Greek photographer Nestoras Kechagias for Ice Ballet.

A number of regional images also feature and have been commended in their respective categories. They include Correlation by Iranian photographer Amirmahdi Najafloo Shahpar in the People category and City in the Sky, which depicts the Dubai skyline, by Hugo Healy in the Urban category.

The winners will be showcased in the Above Us Only Sky exhibition, scheduled to take place in Siena, Italy from Saturday, October 23 until Sunday, December 5, as part of the Siena International Photo Awards.