Photography

Elevate yourself with Agora’s best aerial photography of 2020

Elevate yourself with Agora’s best aerial photography of 2020
'Exploration trip'. Al Ain City, United Arab Emirates
'Exploration trip'. Al Ain City, United Arab Emirates
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Winner. 'A Magic Morning in The Netherlands'. Zaanse Schans, Zaanstad, Netherlands
1/27
Winner. 'A Magic Morning in The Netherlands'. Zaanse Schans, Zaanstad, Netherlands
'Overcrowded'. Dameisha beach, China
2/27
'Overcrowded'. Dameisha beach, China
Agora's best aerial photography. 'Wind Farm'. Denmark
3/27
Agora's best aerial photography. 'Wind Farm'. Denmark
'The Eye of Sarumon'. IFC Building, Hong Kong
4/27
'The Eye of Sarumon'. IFC Building, Hong Kong
'Crazy Road'. Tianmen Mountain, China
5/27
'Crazy Road'. Tianmen Mountain, China
'Bangkok market from above'. Bangkok, Thailand
6/27
'Bangkok market from above'. Bangkok, Thailand
'The rock in the middle of nowhere'. New Mexico, USA
7/27
'The rock in the middle of nowhere'. New Mexico, USA
'Exploration trip'. Al Ain City, United Arab Emirates
8/27
'Exploration trip'. Al Ain City, United Arab Emirates
'Lost in the city'. Whampoa, Hong Kong
9/27
'Lost in the city'. Whampoa, Hong Kong
'Patterns of Death Valley'. Mojave Desert, Death Valley, USA
10/27
'Patterns of Death Valley'. Mojave Desert, Death Valley, USA
'Globos'. Cappadocia, Turkey
11/27
'Globos'. Cappadocia, Turkey
'Desert Sunset'. Tatacoa desert, Colombia
12/27
'Desert Sunset'. Tatacoa desert, Colombia
'Ski Jumper'. Zakopane, Poland
13/27
'Ski Jumper'. Zakopane, Poland
'Early morning trip'. The Dutch Pyramid of Austerlitz, Netherlands
14/27
'Early morning trip'. The Dutch Pyramid of Austerlitz, Netherlands
'Racing the tide to safety'. Sandy Cape Light, Australia
15/27
'Racing the tide to safety'. Sandy Cape Light, Australia
'Road in Winter'. Allgäu, Germany
16/27
'Road in Winter'. Allgäu, Germany
'Bridge topdown'. Vladivostok, Russia
17/27
'Bridge topdown'. Vladivostok, Russia
'The road back home'. Thessaloniki, Greece
18/27
'The road back home'. Thessaloniki, Greece
'Sunrise on Gunung Bromo'. Mount Bromo, Indonesia
19/27
'Sunrise on Gunung Bromo'. Mount Bromo, Indonesia
'Chasing Waves'. Perth, Australia
20/27
'Chasing Waves'. Perth, Australia
'Rice Paradise'. Bali, Indonesia
21/27
'Rice Paradise'. Bali, Indonesia
'Real lego'. Saint Petersburg, Russia
22/27
'Real lego'. Saint Petersburg, Russia
'The road north'. Iceland
23/27
'The road north'. Iceland
'Cold cars'. Blintendorf, Germany
24/27
'Cold cars'. Blintendorf, Germany
'Men's toys'. Nikola Lenivets Art Park, Russia
25/27
'Men's toys'. Nikola Lenivets Art Park, Russia
'Life on Mars'. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA
26/27
'Life on Mars'. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA
'Lego technic'. Granada, Spain
27/27
'Lego technic'. Granada, Spain
View gallery - 27 images

A gorgeous shot of an iconic Dutch village has won the popular vote in Agora’s latest photo contest celebrating the breathtaking perspectives of aerial photography. The winning photograph captures the historic windmills of Zaanse Schans, shrouded in lush morning fog.

In one of global photography social network Agora’s strongest contests to date, over 9,000 entries were whittled down to a top 50, from which a single winner was chosen by popular vote. Netherland-based photographer Ewold Kooistra’s perfectly timed, and composed, drone shot unsurprisingly took the US$1,000 top prize, however, an impressive array of different styles of aerial photography made up the strong top 50 finalist list.

Winner. 'A Magic Morning in The Netherlands'. Zaanse Schans, Zaanstad, Netherlands
Winner. 'A Magic Morning in The Netherlands'. Zaanse Schans, Zaanstad, Netherlands

The classic "God’s eye" drone shot is well featured in the top 50, but one of the most impressive photographs in this style is William Markezana’s incredibly detailed image of a bustling beach in China. Resembling a Where’s Waldo picture, the shot of Dameisha beach is jam-packed with intriguing details.

“The crowd density was so high, I had to gain quite a lot of altitude to make it fit in the frame,” says Markezana. “At that point, those indistinguishable people started to create a pattern that I found even more powerful and fascinating.”

'Overcrowded'. Dameisha beach, China
'Overcrowded'. Dameisha beach, China

Another impeccably composed shot is Blair Sugarman’s portrait of the IFC Building in Hong Kong. Titled "The Eye of Saruman," Sugarman catches a setting sun, perfectly in between the sharp talons at the tip of the skyscraper.

“Aligning the sun and the building gives a Lord of The Rings vibe,” says Sugarman. “This is one of the most iconic buildings in Hong Kong, and it looks spectacular at sunset. This is the building that Batman leaped off from in The Dark Knight, and has become a recognizable point of interest for this reason.”

'The Eye of Sarumon'. IFC Building, Hong Kong
'The Eye of Sarumon'. IFC Building, Hong Kong

Other highlights from the finalists include a wonderful shot of a coastal wind farm with a tiny sailboat in the foreground highlighting the impressive scale of the construction; a surreal desert in the United Arab Emirates, found using Google Maps; and a tricky overhead close-up of a lego Formula 1 car that almost looks like the real thing.

Take a look through our gallery for more highlights from this spectacular array of aerial photographs.

Source: Agora

View gallery - 27 images
1 comment
1 comment
guzmanchinky
Those are spectacular! What is the one of the yacht in the middle of a downtown area???