SkyPixel Contest 2018 Winners
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DJI’s SkyPixel, one of the world’s largest photography and videography communities, has announced the winners of its 2018 Aerial Storytelling Contest. Over 30,000 entries were submitted by professional videographers, photographers, and hobbyists from 141 countries.
The grand prize-winning entry in the photo category, pictured above, was taken in Northern France by Deryk Baumgartner. He used a Mavic Pro to capture the sunbathed Mont Saint Michel monastery, shrouded in a thin layer of fog, and framed with snaking ribbons of water.
“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,” Baumgartner said. “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, the silver lining would often unveil itself.”
In addition to the Grand Prize, First, Second, and Third prizes were awarded to images spanning four categories: Nature, Fun, Architecture, and Sport. A panel of six judges including Ben Nott, ACS, an award-winning cinematographer and Josh Raab, the Director of Instagram at National Geographic, selected the winners with the exception of People’s Choice Prize.
To view all the winners, nominees, and People’s Choice, for both photography and videography, visit the official SkyPixel Contest 2018 hub.
Hungry hippos
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‘First Prize’ category winner, Nature: Hungry Hippos by Martin Sanchez (@zekedrone)
About the photo: “There’s no party like a hippo party” said photographer Martin Sanchez about this top-down perspective, taken in Tanzania, of a group of hippos convening in a small body of water. Sanchez used a DJI Mavic 2 Pro.
Alien footprints
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‘Second Prize’ category winner, Nature: “????” by ? ??
About this photo: Snow in the Taklimakan desert, located between two mountain ranges in Northwest China, combined with ice formed a unique texture on the lake during the winter. The photographer captured this image at 400 meters AGL with a Mavic 2 Zoom and likened the patterns as “alien footprints.”
Nature Engraving
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‘Third Prize’ category winner, Nature: “Nature Engraving” by ???
About this photo: Using a Phantom 4 Pro in the Utah desert, the photographer used golden hour light, the texture of the badlands, and the icy hues resulting from shadows cast against patches of snow to his advantage.
Flowers on the water
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‘First Prize’ category winner, Fun: “Flowers on the Water” by Khánh Phan
About the photo: Using a Phantom 4 Pro V2.0, Phan created an aerial perspective of three women methodically cleaning gun flowers, arranged in a circle, for bundling to sell in the markets.
Salt harvest
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‘Second Prize’ category winner, Fun: “Burden Salt Harvest” by Tu?n Nguy?n
About the photo: Hon Khoi is the largest salt field in Vietnam. Using a Phantom 4 Pro, this nadir perspective fixates on the shadows of workers carrying buckets of salt on one of their daily shifts that range from 3:00 to 7:00 am.
Ducks in black and white
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‘Third Prize’ category winner, Fun: “???” by ? ??
About the photo: A Phantom 4 Pro was used to capture this black and white image containing dozens of white peking ducks clustering around piles of food.
Hong Kong small planet
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‘First Prize’ category winner, Architecture: “Not a Small HK Island” by Panvelvet
About the photo: Panvelvet used a Phantom 4 Pro to create 43 images of Hong Kong. They were stitched together into a tiny planet sphere, and inverted for a visual effect of a city circling toward a bright orb.
Myanmar temples
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‘Second Prize’ category winner, Architecture: “Bagan” by Witold Ziomek
About the photo: Bagan used a Mavic Pro to capture the sunrise reflecting off a temple in Bagan, Myanmar.
Golden hour in Macau
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‘Third Prize’ category winner, Architecture: “?????” by ??
About the photo: Golden hour light brightens up the Grand Lisboa hotel in Macau, China. The photographer used a Phantom 4 Pro.
Running through sand dunes
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‘First Prize’ category winner, Sport: “Running Through the Sand Dunes” by Trung Pham
About the photo: Pham used a Mavic 2 Pro to get an aerial perspective of children running through sand dunes in Phan Rang, Vietnam, early in the morning. The black and white image accentuates the vastness of the dunes in relation to the children.
Shadow skier
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‘Second Prize’ category winner, sport: “Shadow Skier #5” by Christoph Oberschneider
About the photo: A Mavic 2 Pro was used to capture a lone skier gliding down a slope in Austria.
Hammer throwing
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‘Third Prize’ category winner, Sport: “Throwing IT to the Moon” by Taavi Purtsak
About the photo: Purtsak used a Mavic Pro and set the shutter speed at 1/2500s to freeze the motion of Estonian hammer throw champion Kati Ojaloo mid rotation.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)