These 20 Dronestagram Photos Take a Look At 2016

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dronestagram best of 2016 niagara falls by ryanjones — An aerial shot of Niagra falls by Dronestagram user ryanjones. Ryanjones / Dronsetagram

dronestagram best of 2016 bird attack in french polynesia by actua drone — This shot of a bird attack was taken over French Polynesia. Actua Drone / Dronestagram

dronestagram best of 2016 bogata forest romania by calin stan — This colorful overhead shot displays the road leading to Transylvania, the legendary birth place of Count Dracula. Deepluero / Dronestagram

dronestagram best of 2016 cable beach by todd kennedy — Shadows from a caravan of camels splay out on the sand of Cable Beach, Australia, in this shot. Todd Kennedy / Dronestagram

dronestagram best of 2016 valensole provence france by jcourtial — This colorful lavander harvest was shot in Provence, France. Jcourtial / Dronestagram

dronestagram best of 2016 copacabana rio de janeiro brazil by ulysees padihla — The aerial view showcases the patterns on the edge of Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ulysses Padhil / Dronestagram

dronestagram best of 2016 rock climbing moab by max seigal — This rock climbing shot also won first place in the action category for the National Geographic contest earlier this year. Max Seigal / Dronestagram

dronestagram best of 2016 basilica saint francis assisi umbria italy by fcatutto — This overhead shot of the Saint Francis of Assisi Basilica also won the first place prize in Dronestagram's contest with National Geographic for the travel category. Fcatutto / Dronestagram

dronestagram best of 2016 summer camp amadores gran canaria spain by karolis janulis — This colorful shot was taken over the Amadores Gran Canaria beach in Spain. Karolis Janulis / Dronestagram

dronestagram best of 2016 huanine by helene havard — Helene Havard captured this wedding photo of a French Polynesian bride and groom. Helene Havard

dronestagram best of 2016 vernazza cinque terre italy by jcourtial — This aerial landscape showcases Cinque Terre in Italy. jcourtial / Dronestagram

dronestagram best of 2016 miedzyzdroje pla a poland by drone expert — Late shadows give this beach photo from Poland a cool effect. Drone Expert / Dronestagram

dronestagram best of 2016 guntur andhrapradesh india by aurobird — The color of red chili fields in India helped this photo pop out to the judges. Aurobird / Dronestagram

dronestagram best of 2016 piton de la fournaise volcano by dronecopters — This dangerous shot over the Piton de la Fournaise volcano was made possible via unmanned drone. DroneCopters / Dronestagram

dronestagram best of 2016 ski race adzhigardak asha russia by maksim tarasov — Competing skiers pop against the snow in this aerial shot over Russia. Maxim Terasov / Dronestagram

dronestagram best of 2016 huia dam new zealand by brendon dixon — This geometric "dronie" was shot over the Huia Dam in New Zealand. Brendon Dixion / Dronestagram

dronestagram best of 2016 stirling alberta canada by aero retina optics — A drone gets up close and personal with a wind turbine worker in Alberta, Canada for this daring shot. Aero Retina Optics / Dronestagram

dronestagram best of 2016 swarm sheep by thedon — A herd of sheep dot the colorful landscape in Romania. Thedon / Dronestagram

dronestagram best of 2016 yasawa islands fiji by captain salty — A drone captured this snorkeler following a Manta Ray off the Yasawa Islands of Fiji. Captain Salty / Dronestagram

dronestagram best of 2016 big buddha ushiku daibutsuby cliechti — A drone makes this larger-than-life Buddha stature look even bigger in this shot from Japan. cliechti / Dronestagram

With less than two weeks remaining in the year, one social platform is taking a look at 2016 from the skies. On Monday, Dronestagram, a social network dedicated entirely to aerial photography and videography, released the best photographs published on the platform this year.

The collection of 20 images — some of which also won titles in the International Drone Photography Contest ran in conjunction with National Geographic — was curated throughout the year by an internal jury. The annual contest is designed to showcase the social platform’s best shots from several different categories, including agriculture, sports, tourism, adventure, wildlife, landscapes, cultural heritage, people and the “dronie” or aerial selfie.

Leading the collection is a bird’s-eye view directly overtop Niagara Falls by a new Dronstagram member with a number of different aerial landscapes in his profile. That is followed by a view of an actual bird over French Polynesia by user Actua Drone. Aerial landscapes continue to dominate the contest with a view above the road heading to Transylvania surrounding by a colorful Bogata forest in Romania, a caravan of camels on Cable Beach, an agricultural shot above a lavender harvest and the aerial pattern edging a beach in Rio de Janerio.

“A good drone photo is a picture that you immediately identify as a drone photo: it is taken at low altitude, near the target of the picture and you must see on the picture that it is impossible it has been taken with another device than a drone,” said Guillaume Jarret, Dronestagram’s managing director. “This year, again, we were all amazed by the great quality of the submitted pictures.”

The full gallery of 20 top aerial shots from 2016 spans several countries, including the U.S., Italy, Spain, Poland, India, Russia, New Zealand, Canada, Romania, Fiji, and Japan.

Dronestagram is platform inspired by Instagram and owned by the French company, Bloobox, dedicated solely to aerial shots taken with unmanned quadcopters. Along with sharing the top photos of the year, the platform also partners with National Geographic for an annual contest, along with smaller contests such as the Christmas photo contest accepting submissions through December 31.

Aerial awe: These 20 Dronestagram photos take a look at 2016 from the skies

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