[Image: Cassio Vasconcellos / The Inaugural International Aerial Photographer of the Year]
Jaanna Steidle has officially soared to the top, and we mean that literally.
The American photographer just snagged the title of the very first International Aerial Photographer of the Year, beating out more than 1,500 sky-high entries from across the globe.
The competition flung its doors open to both pros and passionate amateurs, all vying for the crown in this debut showcase of aerial brilliance. To win, photographers had to submit a portfolio of at least four images. No pressure, right?
But Steidle didn’t just deliver, she dazzled. Her winning shots captured the jaw-dropping marine life off Long Island, New York: think humpback whales flexing, spinner sharks swirling, and cownose rays gliding like underwater ghosts.
Not bad for a bird’s-eye view.
Below is Jaanna’s first shot, a top-down aerial drone photo of a spinner shark creating a gateway into a school of menhaden fish in the Atlantic Ocean, Southampton, NY.
Then we have a fever of cownose rays approaching a school of menhaden bait fish, taken just a few hundred feet from the coast of Southampton, NY. USA.
Next, we have this scene of a polar bear on Svalbard, Norway, after eating on a walrus carcass. Thanks to the drone with a telephoto lens, this rare scene could be captured without any disturbance.
And the anti-crepuscular rays at Cono de Arita, La Puna, Argentina, which was the winner of the Inaugural International Aerial Photograph of the Year, awarded for a single image.
Then, a busy waterway is filled with boats and their passengers in the morning commute as they try to pass on a river in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
On the first day of meteorological spring, low mist hugged the frosty Oxfordshire landscape.
A cloud inversion is veiling a massive erupting volcanic crater during the 2021 Geldingadalir eruption in Iceland.
Above Lake Magadi, flamingos glide over the vibrant, abstract swirls formed by algae and salt in Kenya’s Rift Valley.
Workers create a picturesque display from above as they carry rice from a large drying field in Bangladesh.
Swimmers in the frozen Baltic Sea. After a short trip, the icebreaker stopped and passengers were given the opportunity to go into the freezing cold water.
Looking out for my hotel neighbor late at night in Bangkok, Thailand.
Iceland’s Fagradalsfjall volcano as it cooled. The cracking pattern of the lava formed a skull, creating an eerie natural illusion for a few moments.
Three bridges in Huzhou, China.
The Collective uses aerial images to create fictional yet plausible scenes of excess, reflecting on humanity’s impact and urging a shift toward sustainability and environmental awareness.
There’s an electronic flip book available on the website where you can find more information about the competition.
[Source: PetaPixel]
