Nature, Second Place
25-year-old Szabolcs Ignacz says he has his drone with him 99 percent of the time -- and that's how he got the second place shot when he spotted a herd of sheep in the distance while driving through Romania. After picking up his first drone over two years ago, he's since become a professional drone photographer. He took the shot with a DJI Inspire 1 and a Zenmuse X3 camera.Szabolcs Ignacz
Nature, Third Place
A radiologic technician by day, Jonathan Payet's hobby as a drone pilot has paid off with a third place prize for his work shooting Piton De La Fournaise, an active volcano. Taking the shot from directly above wasn't easy with strong winds, hot air and sulfur coming up from the volcano. He took the photo shortly after sunrise with a DJI, with both a Phantom 3 Pro and Inspire 1 in his kit.Jonathan Payet
Sports and Adventure, First Place
Max Seigel was shooting with some friends in the desert when he spotted a big crack in the rock about 400 feet up from the ground -- and that eye earned him first place for the action category. Seigel says he's been flying for about two years, keeping a DJI Phantom 2, 3 and 4 in his kit. The red deserts of Utah are some of his favorite places to shoot.Max Seigal
Sports and Adventure, Second Place
Juan Pablo Bayona is both a wedding photographer and photojournalist -- and it's the latter that earned him the second place title in the sports category. While shooting a swimming competition, he wanted to shoot something different, so he dug out his drone and shot the pool overhead during warmups. The 32-year-old Cucta, Colombia resident has been shooting with a DJI Phantom 3 Advanced for about a year.Juan Pablo Bayona
Sports and Adventure, Third Place
When TJ Balon first started flying drones, he realized he could easily combine his passions for aerial photography and snowboarding into a career. The owner of High Angle Shot took this winning photo in Alaska's Chugach Mountains, after flying to the top himself via helicopter. He took the photo with a Phantom, favoring the portability, but also uses an Inspire Pro and S900.Tj Balon
Travel, First Place
Francesco Cattuto is a software engineer, and after being impressed with a friend's DJI Phantom Pro, picked up one of his own. On a walk the day after Christmas, the fog was too thick to see much, so he decided to see what he could shoot from above and took this shot of the Basilica of Saint Francis in Umbria, Italy. He didn't have much time to get the shots before the sun went down and the fog rose.Francisco Cattuto
Travel, Second Place
Todd Kennedy actually took this picture while on his honeymoon. During a sunset camel tour in Cable Beach, Australia, he used a DJI Phantom 3 Pro to capture the camel's unusual shadows splayed across the sand at sunset. His new wife actually bought him his first drone before he picked up one with a gimbal-mounted camera.Todd Kennedy
Travel, Third Place
Gran Canaria Island has some of the most amazing beaches -- which look even more spectacular from above. Karolis Janulis took this shot while on a road trip using a basic drone with a factory camera installed. He has been shooting aerial photography for several years, but just picked up a drone last year.Karolis Janulis
Imagine an Instagram that’s just for drone photos. Got it? Good, because that’s what Dronestagram is all about. Now, imagine that all the best photos from Dronestagram get put into one place, and you have the International Drone Photography contest.
Hosted by Dronestagram, the international contest welcomed entries in three categories, through the month of June: travel, adventure and sports, and nature and wildlife. The panel of judges, which happens to include National Geographic’s Patrick Witty and Emanuela Ascoli, just released the winners in each category, and they’re nothing short of spectacular.
The winners all had interesting stories in how they captured their shots. Michael Bernholdt, the first-place winner in the nature and wildlife category, spent hours on Google Maps before his first dedicated photography trip with his Phantom 3 Professional, looking for interesting shapes and planning out shots.
In the adventure and sports category, Max Seigel was shooting with some friends in the desert when he spotted a big crack in the rock about 400 feet up from the ground — and that eye earned him first place.
And, Francesco Cattuto, a software engineer, picked up his first drone after being impressed by a friend’s Phantom Pro. On a walk, the fog was too thick to see much, so he decided fly his drone above it and shoot from above, managing to capture his winning travel category shot of the Basilica of Saint Francis in Umbria, Italy.
The winning photos will all be published in National Geographic, with prizes ranging from a drone to a backpack.
Scroll through the winners gallery above to see the story behind each shot.
