121. Pavlopetri

Possible Drone Used: Autel Evo II PRO 6K
Where to Buy: Best Buy
Cost: $1,799*
Social media user @hyperfocal took this picture, titled “Pavlopetri.” The aerial photograph captured an island in Greece of the same name. Pavlopetri, in the photograph, is a tiny white sand island surrounded by beautiful, crystal-clear, blue-green waters. The story of the 5,000-year-old location is fascinating.

Pavlopetri @hyperfocal / SkyPixel.com
Pavlopetri is a sunken city, and it is one of the oldest submerged (AKA “lost”) cities of its time. It is the oldest lost city in the Mediterranean by far. It has an almost completely-intact town, including tombs, buildings, and streets. It was only discovered in 2011, but it has drawn flocks of tourists since then, all eager to get a glimpse of the miniature Atlantis.

122. Beautiful Boats

Possible Drone Used: DJI Spark
Where to Buy: Walmart
Cost: $595*
This lovely, sunny photograph was captured by Denis Belitsky for Shutterstock. Titled “Beautiful Boats,” it features several colorful boats docked in the Mediterranean Sea off the coat of Oludeniz, Turkey. The picture is a classic summer seascape, with azure water, ships, and a sandy beach in the sun.

Beautiful boats ©Denis Belitsky / Shutterstock
Belitsky might have used the DJI Spark to capture this photograph. DJI says that the Spark is one of its best drones for beginners, though even professionals are fond of this tiny powerhouse. You can pick it up for $595 at Walmart, though look around on second-hand sites to see if there are cheaper options.

123. Hon Khoi Salt Field

Possible Drone Used: SkyDio 2
Where to Buy: Skydio.com
Cost: $999*
Social media user @phtrung06 took this photo, which was titled, “Hon Kho Salt Field.” It featured salt miners hard at work. It was entered into the SkyPixel competition, where it was a fan favorite. The aerial photograph let viewers see the process of working in a salt field, something that uses far more traditional processes than you might have expected.

Hon Khoi Salt Field @phtrung0611 / SkyPixel.com
The Hon Kho Salt Fields are one of the biggest tourist attractions in Vietnam’s Nha Trang. The Salt Fields are one of the largest in the region, yielding 737,000 tons of salts per year. The mounds of natural salt are all harvested by hand from the shallow fields, as depicted in this photo.

124. Al Qudra Desert

Possible Drone Used: Freefly Alta 8
Where to Buy: Store.FreeflySystems.com
Cost: $17,495*
User @Whosane took this SkyPixel photo, titled “Al Qudra Desert.” The photo, which might have been taken using a drone like the Freefly Alta 8 or a similar, high-quality product, showed off the golden sands of the Al Qudra, which is a tourist attraction and desert in Dubai.

Al Qudra Desert @Whosane/SkyPixel.com
The Desert is far less barren than you might expect, and people travel there all the time for sightseeing. The Al Qudra has nature preserves and places to barbecue. You can even purchase food from local food trucks that serve tourists. Of all the deserts captured on this list, Al Qudra is perhaps the most people-friendly (though you wouldn’t want to live there with no shelter).

125. Cote Rocheuse by Dronecopters

Possible Drone Used: Freefly Alta 8
Where to Buy: Store.FreeflySystems.com
Cost: $17,495*
Posted by the social media user @Dronecopters, this photograph provides a beautiful contrast of sea and shore, traveling a range of the color spectrum. The aerial photograph is titled “Cote Rocheuse.” The algae covering the rocks at the shoreline adds a pop of bright color.
Cote Rocheuse By Dronecopters @Dronecopters / SkyPixel.com
This aerial photograph was possibly taken with a drone like the Freefly Alta 8, which is around $17,500. Another drone that could have been used for this is the SwellPro Splash Drone. The Swellpro is splash-resistant, meaning it can get up close to windy, water shorelines without becoming damaged. You can find the Swellpro at Wellbots for around $1,199.

126. A Collapsed Truck in Russia by Drone Nest

Possible Drone Used: DJI Inspire 2
Where to Buy: DJI Drones
Cost: $3,000*
Social media user @drone.nest posted this aerial photograph of a truck that had an unfortunate accident in Russia. As there is no fire or severe damage, it’s hopeful that no one was injured and the spill was just an inconvenience. Driving in Russia is always an adventure, to say the least, and most spills like this are caught on dash cam.

A Collapsed Truck In Russia By Drone Nest @drone.nest / SkyPixel.com
This one just happens to be aerial. The possible drone used to capture such a photograph is the DJI Inspire 2, a fan-favorite from DJI Drones. The Inspire 2 is a professional drone, costing around $3,000 on the company’s website.

127. Between Two Worlds

Possible Drone Used: DJI Phantom 4 RTK
Where to Buy: DJI Drones
Cost: $6,500*
This stunning photo looks so ethereal that it could be a fantasy painting. Photographer @thedon captured this scene, which he submitted to a SkyPixel contest a few years ago. He titled it, “Between Two Worlds,” no doubt referencing the heavenly skies touching down to earth in the hazy photograph.

Between Two Worlds @thedon / SkyPixel.com
@thedon (real name: Szabi Ignacz) didn’t specify where he took this photo, but it might have been taken in Romania, where he captures a lot of his nature photography. Romania is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and otherworldly sights such as this are commonplace for the small towns and villages there.

128. The Red Umbrella

Possible Drone Used: DJI Mavic 2 Pro
Where to Buy: DJI Drones
Cost: $1,599*
Photographer @Caesarpmr captured this SkyPixels photograph, which he titled, “The Red Umbrella.” The photograph features two very different parts of a field—one black and one green, split by a bright red umbrella. The contrast made it a fan favorite in the SkyPixels contest into which it was entered.

The Red Umbrella @Caesarpmr / SkyPixel.com
The possible drone used might have been the DJI Mavic 2 Pro, which is beloved among professional drone photographers. The DJI Mavic 2 Zoom is another option, as that comes with a 1/2.30inch 12 MP sensor. It has a twice-optical zoom. The Mavic 2 Pro, by contrast, comes with a Hasselblad with a one-inch sensor.

129. The Football Stadium

Possible Drone Used: DJI Matrice 600 Pro Hexacopter
Where to Buy: B&H Photo
Cost: $6,599*
While it might cost you a couple of pretty pennies to take such an impressive photograph, if you have the extra cash lying around it could be worth it to snatch up a professional drone like the DJI Matrice 600 Pro Hexacopter.

Shah Alam Stadium, Persian Sukan, Shah Alam, Malaysia @Fahrul Azmi / Unsplash.com
The drone is able to take incredibly high-quality images from high up in the air, allowing you to see things that perhaps no human has seen before, or to put familiar sights in a new perspective. In this case, an image of a football field taken from above looks eerily like a human eye.

130. Between Two Worlds

Possible Drone Used: DJI Phantom 4 RTK
Where to Buy: DJI Drones
Cost: $6,500*
This stunning photo looks so ethereal that it could be a fantasy painting. Photographer @thedon captured this scene, which he submitted to a SkyPixel contest a few years ago. He titled it, “Between Two Worlds,” no doubt referencing the heavenly skies touching down to earth in the hazy photograph.

Between Two Worlds @boredpanda/Pinterest
@thedon (real name: Szabi Ignacz) didn’t specify where he took this photo, but it might have been taken in Romania, where he captures a lot of his nature photography. Romania is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and otherworldly sights such as this are commonplace in the small towns and villages there.

131. Scream

Possible Drone Used: DJI Mavic Pro
Where to Buy: Amazon
Cost: $1,189*
Aerial photography allows people to capture some of the most beautiful sites on Earth, and Nikita Duhnik nabbed the first prize at the DJI Drone Photo Awards for “The Scream” an image that would have never been discovered, were it not for the power of drone photography.

Scream @dronedj.com /Pinterest
Taken in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, Duhnik’s photo perfectly captures a natural phenomenon that looks like the famous painting The Scream (or like the movie mask from the Scream franchise, whatever you’re into). To capture this work of art, Duhnik used a DJI Mavic Pro., a drone brand preferred by professional photographers who want to catch high-resolution imagery.

132. Melting Ice Cap

Possible Drone Used: PowerEgg X Waterproof Drone
Where to Buy: PowerVision.me
Cost: $899*
The Drone Photo Awards of 2021 featured a lot of extremely beautiful entries, but only a few were able to rise above the rest and be selected as prize-winners. Florian Ledoux captured “Melting Ice Cap” in the summer of 202, and his photograph was an eerie reminder of the changing climate and its consequences.

Melting Ice Cap ©realscreen/Pinterest
“Melting Ice Cap” featured the Svalbard archipelago, which shattered meteorological records in the summer of 2020 when the air temperature suddenly surged to 71.06 degrees Fahrenheit. The Austfonna Ice Cap’s melting intensified, causing fresh water to fall into the sea. Over the past fifty years, Svalbard’s temperature has been slowly rising.

133. Women collect water from a dry riverbed

Possible Drone Used: DJI Inspire 1 Pro
Where to Buy: Amazon
Cost: $2,199*
Sujon Adhikary took this photo using a drone in Khulna, Bangladesh. This photo won an award of “Highly Commended” at the 2021 Drone Contest. The photo features women collecting water from an otherwise dry riverbed. The colors of the women’s outfits and the blue of the water stand out starkly against the arid, dry riverbed.

Women collect water from a dry riverbed ©npr.org /Pinterest
Khulna is famous for being a hard-working city. Much of the Sundarbans, one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites, are located there. Khulna is known for its Jute mills, match factories, shipyards, and other companies. All in all, the city boasts a population of nearly three million people

134. Perfect Chaos

Possible Drone Used: DJI Mavic 2 Pro
Where to Buy: DJI.com
Cost: $4,000* (Fly More Kit)
Another prize-winner in the DJI Drone Award photography contest was this image, titled “Perfect Chaos.” Taken by Sara Zanini on a DJI Mavic 2 Pro, this photo shows an Italian city. On the ground, it likely looks like a street-laden, crowded, beloved locale.

Perfect Chaos @dronedj.com /Pinterest
From the sky, Zanini’s photo reveals that though this city might seem chaotic, it is perfectly organized, in its own way. Zanini is a landscape photographer, according to PicFair, and you can buy a copy of “Perfect Chaos” for $91. The DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone, on the other hand, is a tad more expensive, costing around $4,000 for a Fly More Kit.

135. Jin Ruyi lying on the East Lake by Goericgo (Hubei, China)

Possible Drone Used: DJI Mavic Air 2
Where to Buy: DJI.com
Cost: $799*
Photographer Jin Ruyi took this natural photograph on the East Lake in Hubei, China. Shot on a DJI Mavic Air 2, this photo is a study in simple colors and perfect symmetry. While other pictures on this list are more complicated and dizzying to look at, Ruyi’s picture is simple and pleasing to the eye.

Jin Ruyi lying on the East Lake by Goericgo (Hubei, China) ©Hao/stock.adobe.com
It is no surprise that it was an award winner at the DJI Drone Photo Awards. Hubei, China’s East Lake is a giant, freshwater lake that is the second-biggest urban lake in the country. The East Lake Tourist Zone of China admits more than a million people a year to view this natural site’s beauty.