Drone Awards 2021: striking images of world from above recognised in photography prize


Farah Andrews
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Stunning images of the world from above have been celebrated in the Drone Photo Awards 2021.

The prize celebrates the best of aerial photography, with Norwegian photographer Terje Kolaas's image Pink-Footed Geese Meeting the Winter named the overall winner. The image, shot in Norway, features geese flying towards Svalbard in the Arctic, with the landscape still covered with snow.

Photographers from 102 countries submitted tens of thousands of images to the awards. As well as Kolaas's top prize, shots have been placed into nine categories, with a winner in each. The eight photo categories include Urban, Wildlife, Sport, People, Nature, Abstract, Wedding photography and Storyboard, in addition to a video category.

Regionally, Omani photographer Qasim Al Farsi won the Wildlife category with Back to Adventure, which portrays a green turtle ready to return to the water after laying its eggs on the coast near Ras Al Jinz in eastern Oman.

'Back to Adventure' by Qasim Al Farsi, Oman, captures a green turtle from above
'Back to Adventure' by Qasim Al Farsi, Oman, captures a green turtle from above

The Urban award was won by Russian photographer Sergei Poletaev for his image Metaphorical Statement About City and Winter, which juxtaposes an old monastery near Moscow with a large power plant in the background. Sport was won by Australian photographer Phil De Glanville for Gold at the End of the Rainbow, which captures a rainbow above surfer Ollie Henry.

Fishing in Mangrove Forest by Vietnamese photographer Trung Pham Huy won in the People category, Extragalactic by American photographer Martin Sanchez won the Nature category and Romanian photographer Gheorghe Popa's image Poisoned River came out on top in the Abstract category.

Romantic image Towards the Infinite Together with You by Italian photographer Matteo Original topped the Wedding category and Pakistani-American photographer Adrees Latif won the Storyboard category with Blanketed in Fire Retardant.

The video category was won by Greek photographer Nestoras Kechagias for Ice Ballet.

A number of regional images also feature and have been commended in their respective categories. They include Correlation by Iranian photographer Amirmahdi Najafloo Shahpar in the People category and City in the Sky, which depicts the Dubai skyline, by Hugo Healy in the Urban category.

The winners will be showcased in the Above Us Only Sky exhibition, scheduled to take place in Siena, Italy from Saturday, October 23 until Sunday, December 5, as part of the Siena International Photo Awards.

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The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

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Updated: September 12, 2021, 9:41 AM`