Drones

Cities from the sky: The best urban drone photography of the year

Cities from the sky: The best urban drone photography of the year
The Tower
The Tower
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Marine City, Haeundae, Busan, South Korea
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Marine City, Haeundae, Busan, South Korea
Lost Planes of Michelangelo da Vinci
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Lost Planes of Michelangelo da Vinci
On the nickel
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On the nickel
The Library
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The Library
MacPixel
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MacPixel
Swedbank building in Vilnius
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Swedbank building in Vilnius
Roofs of Garages
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Roofs of Garages
Snake through the city
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Snake through the city
Busy Night Traffic on the flyover
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Busy Night Traffic on the flyover
Butterfly
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Butterfly
Traffic Circle
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Traffic Circle
Snowing
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Snowing
Brooklyn Bridge
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Brooklyn Bridge
High above Harlem
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High above Harlem
Roda gigante do ano novo
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Roda gigante do ano novo
Badshahi Mosque
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Badshahi Mosque
The Tower
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The Tower
Church in the concrete jungle
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Church in the concrete jungle
Festival of Lights
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Festival of Lights
Architecture from above (Credit: Alex Buschor CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
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Architecture from above (Credit: Alex Buschor CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Aerial Facades Vol. 3 (Credit: Camilo Monzon Navas CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
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Aerial Facades Vol. 3 (Credit: Camilo Monzon Navas CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Aerial Facades Vol. 3 (Credit: Camilo Monzon Navas CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
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Aerial Facades Vol. 3 (Credit: Camilo Monzon Navas CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Aerial Facades Vol. 3 (Credit: Camilo Monzon Navas CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
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Aerial Facades Vol. 3 (Credit: Camilo Monzon Navas CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Aerial Facades Vol. 3 (Credit: Camilo Monzon Navas CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
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Aerial Facades Vol. 3 (Credit: Camilo Monzon Navas CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Geometry in city (Credit: The Gate Vepryk CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
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Geometry in city (Credit: The Gate Vepryk CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Geometry in city (Credit: The Gate Vepryk CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
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Geometry in city (Credit: The Gate Vepryk CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Geometry in city (Credit: The Gate Vepryk CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
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Geometry in city (Credit: The Gate Vepryk CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Aerial Shenzhen (Credit: Zhilong Cheng CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
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Aerial Shenzhen (Credit: Zhilong Cheng CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Aerial Shenzhen (Credit: Zhilong Cheng CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
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Aerial Shenzhen (Credit: Zhilong Cheng CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
DRONE (Credit: Aditya Desai CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
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DRONE (Credit: Aditya Desai CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
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DRONE (Credit: Aditya Desai CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Aerial Shot by Tobias Hutzler (Credit: Severin Wendler CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
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Aerial Shot by Tobias Hutzler (Credit: Severin Wendler CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Aerial Facades Vol 2 (Credit: Camilo Monzon Navas CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
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Aerial Facades Vol 2 (Credit: Camilo Monzon Navas CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Aerial Facades Vol 2 (Credit: Camilo Monzon Navas CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
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Aerial Facades Vol 2 (Credit: Camilo Monzon Navas CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Aerial Facades Vol 2 (Credit: Camilo Monzon Navas CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
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Aerial Facades Vol 2 (Credit: Camilo Monzon Navas CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Central Park Snowfall
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Central Park Snowfall
Quintessentially Central
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Quintessentially Central
View gallery - 37 images

Drone photography is still an incredibly new and emerging art form. Just a few short years ago it would have been nigh on impossible to capture some of the images that we now see on a regular basis. It's easy to become jaded by the onslaught of drone photographs out there but a number of artists are still pushing the envelope, experimenting and finding spectacular ways to exploit this nascent medium.

Urban drone photography, in particular, has been a fertile creative zone. Photographers have used drones to explore the often extravagant geometric patterns built into many urban structures from new angles.

Many of these top-down God's-eye snaps reveal secret designs that architects have embedded into their work, and good drone photography can often feel like one is uncovering a secret code hidden to earthbound eyes.

Snake through the city
Snake through the city

Some fascinating urban drone photography of recent times has reveled in the abstractions of modern cityscapes, turning streets and structures into ambiguous flat geometric lines, while other work takes advantage of the ease with which the technology allows sublime snaps to be captured at perfectly opportune moments.

Aerial Shot by Tobias Hutzler (Credit: Severin Wendler CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Aerial Shot by Tobias Hutzler (Credit: Severin Wendler CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In particular, a series of shots of Central Park in New York from photographer Bryan Dumas illustrates the shift in seasons across this iconic location using the same angle and perspective from winter to summer. The stunning duo of photographs beautifully encapsulates how this oasis in the center of the city transforms from a lush vibrant green garden into a snowy white landscape over a short seasonal shift.

Quintessentially Central
Quintessentially Central
Central Park Snowfall
Central Park Snowfall

This collection of photographs highlights the best urban and city drone photography of 2018 so far. Take a look through our gallery for a glimpse at some of the most spectacular snaps of the year.

View gallery - 37 images
2 comments
2 comments
TomWatson
Would love to buy one of these things, but one cannot fly it anywhere!!! Dammit.
ljaques
The two pics of Central Park seem like present and zombie apocalypse future. // Like fitness equipment, drones should be rented, not bought. The novelty of the noisy bastids wears off quite quickly for most people.