The winners of a global drone aerial storytelling competition have been announced by SkyPixel, an aerial photography community. The 2018 Aerial Storytelling Contest, co-organised with DJI, attracted over 30,000 submissions from professional photographers, videographers, aerial enthusiasts and content creators from 141 countries.
The grand prize winner in the photo category was Deryk Baumgartner for Mont Saint Michel. Image: Skypixel
Every year, SkyPixel organizes aerial photo and video contests to call on creators around the world to share their artwork and stories captured from above. This year, the judging panel included Toby Strong, a famous documentary photographer who has won many Emmy and BAFTA awards, and Ben Nott, one of Australia’s most prestigious directors of photography.
The first prizewinner in the “fun” category was Khanh Phan for Flowers on the Water. Image: SkyPixel
The grand prizewinner in the photo category, Deryk Baumgartner, captured Mont St-Michel in France on a foggy morning. “I was sitting on a rock fighting with stubborn wind and thick rain for the whole morning. The sun came up when I was just about to stand up and go home,” says Baumgartner. “This photo tells a simple story of you and me. Stick to it for a little longer in life when you are just about to fold, and the silver lining will often unveil itself.”
The first prizewinner in the “sport” category was Trung Pham for Running through the sand dunes. Image: Skypixel
The video category grand prizewinner, Ain Raadik, shared a collection of adventures from his travels across New Zealand, Japan and around his home in Australia. “For me, drones are an incredible film-making tool that help me to further share the ideologies behind my work through new and unique perspectives,” says Raadik. “Passions for film-making, testing physical limits and exploring new locations are all heavily influential factors behind my work. And I hope everyone would find their own passion in life and stick to it.”
In addition to the grand prizewinners, there were also first, second and third prizes in the travel, sports, urban life, nature and creativity categories. From a football match on Lofoten islands to morning prayer in Bagan to the dazzling traffic in Bangkok, the winning submissions captured amazing stories that took place in different parts of the world.
The first prizewinner in the “architecture” category was Not a small HK island by Panvelvet. Image: Skypixel
To view the complete list of winners, please visit here.
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