Aerial photographs of the world show satisfying symmetry and colour
Looking through this year's shortlisted entries for the Sony World Photography Awards, we noticed a recurring theme, in that there were quite a few aerial photographs. It's not surprising, really. You don't need a helicopter anymore to get that shot from above. The rise of affordable drones and camera equipment has made it possible for anyone to get those incredible images from the sky.
In China, new senior middle school students would have their military training at the beginning of the first year's school term. We all have memories during everybody's training time. I helped a school to shoot for the record of their training time in September 2017. Copyright: © Xiaoxiao Liu, China, Shortlist, Open, Culture (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards
We picked out some highlights from the Professional and Open categories that follow this aerial approach. From pictures of senior middle school students in China carrying out military training and swimmers about to embark on a triathlon to an aerial view of a glacial river in Iceland and camels walking in a line along a famous beach in Australia – each one is as stunning as the last.
Photographers from over 200 countries and territories with nearly 320,000 images entered this year's Sony World Photography Awards, apparently the highest number of entries to date. The judges were particularly impressed with the high quality of work, and the shortlist's ability to offer insight into the foremost trends and contemporary concerns of photographers today.
The winners of the Awards will be announced at a ceremony in London on 19 April 2018. An exhibition of all shortlisted and winning images will take place at Somerset House in London from 20 April until 6 May. Tickets are available via worldphoto.org.
Copyright: © Varun Thota, India, Shortlist, Professional, Landscape (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards
Enjoying the sunset from the famous Cable Beach and watching the camels walking by. Shot taken with DJI Mavic Pro. Copyright: © Jonas Börnicke, Germany, Shortlist, Open, Travel (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards
An aerial shot of a dock in Kos island of Greece. The unique shape of the dock from above make me put it, in 1/3 of an aerial frame. The blue sea and the light wood boards makes a very nice and minimal contrast. Copyright: © Emmanouil Smalios, Greece, Shortlist, Open, Architecture (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards
Aerial view of Glacial river in Iceland. While crossing the bridge, I noticed some pattern in the water and wondered how it would look from the sky. I stopped the car at a turnout after crossing the bridge and flew my drone to capture this image. I included the bridge and the car to give an idea of the scale. This river flows to the ocean and becomes part of the sea. Copyright: © Manish Mamtani, India, Shortlist, Open, Travel (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards
New flowers in the garden: On October 29, 2017, the local cultural group held a cheongsam show at the national park in Guigong City, Guangxi Province, China. From the perspective of an aerial photography it looks like a wonderful new kind of flowers. Copyright: © Shifang Lin, China, Shortlist, Open, Culture (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards
Copyright: © Varun Thota, India, Shortlist, Professional, Landscape (Professional competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards
"Scala dei Turchi" (The Turkish Steps) is a white cliff in Realmonte (Sicily) made of a soft limestone and a blinding white marl. Natural erosion has created steps on the cliff face, making it look soft and sinuous, like a Big Meringue covered with sprinkles (the people sitting and walking on it). Only after shooting this image, while watching it on a bigger screen, I noticed a newlywed couple in the frame kissing for their wedding photoshoot. Exactly at the edge of the cliff. Copyright: © Placido Faranda, Italy, Shortlist, Open, Landscape & Nature (2018 Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards
The picture was taken in summer 2017 from 35 individual images of swimmers at the triathlon in the Duesseldorf Media Harbor. I was able to take a picture of them from above, while the athletes crossed a pedestrian bridge capturing their very individual "breathing techniques“. I was inspired by the work of Andreas Gursky, therefore I took the individual images with the highest possible sharpness. That enables me to display or print the overall picture in large format. Copyright: © Klaus Lenzen, Germany, Shortlist, Open, Enhanced (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards
Copyright: © Omer Faidi, Turkey, Shortlist, Open, Street Photography (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards
Copyright: © Chaoyang Cai, China, Shortlist, Open, Architecture (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards
Copyright: © Fuliang Cai, China, Shortlist, Open, Motion (Open competition), 2018 Sony World Photography Awards
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