Want to See Some of the Best Drone Photos and Videos in the World? Check Out These Winning Submissions from SkyPixel’s 8th Annual Contest
BY Zacc Dukowitz
7 March 2023SkyPixel’s Aerial Photo & Video Contest was launched back in 2016, the same year the FAA released the Part 107 rules, which formally codified commercial drone operations in the U.S.
SkyPixel is a community drone photo/video platform owned and run by DJI, and that first contest was held to celebrate DJI’s 10th anniversary and SkyPixel’s 2nd anniversary.
It’s now eight years later, and SkyPixel has held the contest every year since then. And every year the competition has gotten more and more fierce.
Last year the contest drew over 30,000 submissions—an impressive number. But this year saw more than double that amount, with over 65,000 submissions made.
And the prizes have grown, too.
This year, the Grand Prize winners in the video and photo categories each received a Hasselblad 907X Anniversary Edition Kit worth a total of $15,000, along with a trophy and award certificate authenticating their wins.
As for the other winners, SkyPixel did things a little differently this year.
Instead of choosing winners by category, 10 winners were selected for aerial photos and 10 for aerial videos. (The photos and videos are still identified by descriptive categories like Nature, Sport, City, and so on, but there wasn’t a set number of winners per category this year.)
For each of these winners, the prize was a DJI Mavic 3 Fly More Combo or the equivalent in DJI credit to spend as they chose (the amount is $2,049), as well as a trophy and award certificate.
Now, without further ado, let’s take a look at all the winning entries from the SkyPixel 8th Annual Photo & Video Contest.
Grand Prize
SkyPixel Video of the Year
“Why I Travel the World Alone” by SkyPixel contributor Bashir Abu Shakra.
4 years ago, I started my solo-journey to capture the most beautiful and remote landscapes on earth starting from the Alps then Brazil and Mongolia. The first time I heard the music used 2 years ago, I was instantly touched and inspired, but I realized how challenging it is to deliver the emotions it gives through my aerial footage of spectacular unseen landscapes and the human scale. It took me finally 4 years to feel satisfied and ready to use this music and share my personal story with it,
Watch the video on the SkyPixel website.
SkyPixel Photograph of the Year
“Floral Dress” by SkyPixel contributor Khánh Phan.
Women harvest water lilies and form a floral dress on the water. In the high water season in southern Vietnam, special Kien Tuong, Moc Hoa, Long An province, Chau Doc, An Giang Province Vietnam, water lilies thrive . . . During the high water season, women use a small boat to collect water lilies, a job that has been practiced for a long time in southern Vietnam.
Annual Top 10 Photo Prizes
“Cage”
Created by SkyPixel contributor It’s someone from Pear.
“Colored Shutters”
Created by SkyPixel contributor Jiang Xiaoyi.
“Light and Shadow Stadium”
Created by SkyPixel contributor Pan Pan.
“Friendship”
Created by SkyPixel contributor Mandi.
“Flower of the Earth”
Created by SkyPixel contributor Shenyang Yunhe.
“Lava Lizard”
Created by SkyPixel contributor Michal Sadowski.
“Industrial Scars: Burning Earth”
Created by SkyPixel contributor Han Kai.
“Migration”
Created by SkyPixel contributor HGY.
“Harvesting Grass”
Created by SkyPixel contributor huybank.
“The Maze Runner”
Created by SkyPixel contributor Mel Zagers.
Annual Top 10 Video Prizes
“See Dolomites through my goggles”
Created by SkyPixel contributor David Zalka.
Watch the video on the SkyPixel website.
“DIES NATALIS ROME 2775”
Created by SkyPixel contributor Mauro Sciambi.
Watch the video on the SkyPixel website.
“HOPE”
By SkyPixel contributor ViDeo Creator jP.
Watch the video on the SkyPixel website.
“ICELAND 2022”
Created by SkyPixel contributor Ash32 / FPV.
Watch the video on the SkyPixel website.
“City Magician—Shanghai Chapter”
Created by SkyPixel contributor winga.
Watch the video on the SkyPixel website.
“December 21”
Created by SkyPixel contributor Coco.
Watch the video on the SkyPixel website.
“The Nature Of China”
Created by SkyPixel contributor Maple.
Watch the video on the SkyPixel website.
“From Prague to Rome”
Created by SkyPixel contributor Chris Travel Maniac.
Watch the video on the SkyPixel website.
“South America—Live Instead of Exist”
Created by SkyPixel contributor Paul Tng Visual.
Watch the video on the SkyPixel website.
“Antarctica—The Frozen Continent”
Created by SkyPixel contributor Luke Bell.
Watch the video on the SkyPixel website.
It’s important to note that the photos and videos featured here are only the Grand Prize and Top 10 winners.
Make sure to check out the Nominated Prize Winners, People’s Choice Prize Winners, and the Participation Prize Winners on the SkyPixel 8th annual contest results page.
