16. Fish-Shaped Island

Possible Drone Used: Parrot ANAFI
Where to Buy: Amazon
Cost: $700*
The Parrot ANAFI might not be as widely used by photographers as DJI models, but it can still take quality pictures. This small drone is tiny but mighty. Throw it up into the air and you just might get a wonderful aerial shot like this.

Fish-Shaped Island @water.shapes.earth / Instagram.com
The photo is of a fish-shaped island in the Adriatic Sea, Croatia. The island’s name is Gaz. Gaz is a tiny island, and it is one of very few islands in the world with this shape. Gaz is part of Brijuni, a national park just off the West Istrian Coast. It makes up one of twelve tiny inlets (and two large islands) in the park.
It’s amusing and great to look at for a number of reasons. We’re used to seeing fish swimming in the ocean, but not fish-shaped islands. It offers up a perspective that we just aren’t used to seeing.

17. Abandoned Water Park, Dubai

Possible Drone Used: Autel Robotics EVO
Where to Buy: Autel Drones
Cost: $$1,049*
Autel has produced some great drones, including it’s slightly older EVO version. With four to five star reviews across the board, it’s not hard to see why customers keep going back for it time and time again. Who knows, this picture of an abandoned water park could be the work of an Autel.

Abandoned Water Park, Dubai @dxbdrone / Instagram.com
Abandoned structures have been sources of interest for many for years as they provide a snapshot to a different time. For urban explorers, getting some drone shots allows them to take things to the next level, without posing much of a risk.
However, if you’re an Urbex adventurer, you might want to steer clear of this waterpark, as it will be getting a revival soon. The waterpark will be revived for $490 million, getting apartments, shops, a cultural center, restaurants, and more. Soon, the waterpark’s drone photos will be full of life and people.

18. Parking Lot

Possible Drone Used: DJI Phantom 3 Standard
Where to Buy: DJI Drones
Cost: $700*
The DJI Phantom 3 is great to look at. It may be a little on the older side, but back when it was first released it had everything drone lovers were looking for, from stability to great shots. This shot captures another side to a car park that we never get to see.

@abstractaerialart/Instagram
With smooth lines – and some arguably horrendous parking – it just goes to show how tiny and insignificant us humans look from the sky. When we’re trying to park finding a space can be a nightmare, but do we ever realize just how many cars surround us? We might now!
DJI says that its Phantom 3 is a “drone for beginners.” It is easy to fly, and it is a significant upgrade over its predecessor. The Phantom 3 has a fully-integrated remote, live HD view, increased flight range, and is compatible with the DJI GO App. On Google, the 3 has a 4.5/5-star review.

19. Rural Ice Hockey

Possible Drone Used: DJI Mavic 2
Where to Buy: DJI Drones
Cost: $1,599*
What’s Russia without ice hockey? Photographer Maksim Tarasov captured this photo of a rural ice hockey rink in Russia, made by the players themselves. Though there’s no word on what drone was used to capture this photo, the DJI Mavic 2 would be perfect for such a long-distance photo.

Rural Ice Hockey @t_a.r_o / Instagram.com
The Mavic 2 is portable, and it has a nearly five-mile range. The drone isn’t for people on a budget, though the Hubsan H501S and Phantom 3 4K are two choices for people trying to save a little cash. If you’re looking to travel to these icy regions of Russia, dress warm as temperatures can easily sink to -40 degrees Fahrenheit.

20. Weather Snake

Possible Drone Used: DJI Mavic Air 2
Where to Buy: DJI Drones
Cost: $799*
Drone photographer Ovi D Pop won the “Abstract” Category of the Drone Awards with “Weather Snake,” a photo so neatly divided that it almost looks like an optical illusion. Ovi D Pop took an aerial photo of a road in the middle of a Romanian forest near Derna in Bihor County. The dichotomy in the photo was stunning.

Weather Snake @WIRED / Twitter.com
The commune of Derna is so close to the northeastern Romanian border that it is called Felsoderna in Hungarian. It borders Chislaz, Bursturi, Spinus, and Popesti. Romania itself can have some wild weather, with temperatures sinking to -37.3 degrees Fahrenheit one year. Less than a decade later, temperatures hit 112 degrees Fahrenheit.
The drone used is unclear, but the aerial shot might have been accomplished with a drone such as the DJI Mavic Air 2, which lets you “Master the Skies,” according to the maker. It has a 5/5-star rating on Google. Though not cheap, the artistry it lets photographers accomplish makes it worth it.

21. Hippos in Tanzania

Possible Drone Used: Yuneec Typhoon H Plus Hexacopter
Where to Buy: Drones Direct
Cost: $1,862*
Getting close enough to photograph wildlife is hard for even the most experienced photographer, so when drones finally hit the market it opened up a ton of new doors. Suddenly, we could get views of incredible animals that we never had before.

Hippos in Tanzania ©zekegraphics/stock.adobe.com
This jaw dropping snap of hippos bathing in Tanzania shows us so much about the animal kingdom. On top of that, the green, grey, and orange makes for a stunning visual that just can’t be matched. A drone similar to a Yuneec Typhoon H Plus Hexacopter is perfect for animal photography.
The drone is for sophisticated photographers, and it comes with its own travel bag. With its one-inch 4K camera, it can capture photographs like the Tanzanian hippos. The Typhoon H Plus has triple-axis sensor-driven image stabilization, so, even when it’s flying in the bright sunlight and scorching heat of climates like Tanzania, it can still take the shot.

22. Dutch Tulip Field

Possible Drone Used: DJI Mavic Pro 2
Where to Buy: Amazon
Cost: $1,468*
The Dutch tulip fields get hordes and hordes of visitors every year. Some people just want to show up and snap a photo or two on their phones, while other photographers take the trip a little more seriously. With a DJI Mavic Pro 2, you could be taking inspiring snaps just like this one.

Dutch Tulip Fields ©/
Go high enough and the tulips can look like blurred lines. That’s more than what any Apple iPhone can do. This just goes to show there’s a million ways that drones can turn already beautiful scenes into completely different works of art.
There are few better drones to capture the beauty of the tulip fields in Holland, which is one of the region’s most-beloved tourist attractions. Most of the farms in Holland can be found in the Noordoostpolder in Flevoland. Tulip-growing started out as the preferred hobby of the wealthy, but the middle class took it up as a symbol of prosperity.

23. Lofoten, Norway

Possible Drone Used: DJI Phantom Pro V2.0
Where to Buy: Amazon
Cost: $2,500*
It may seem easy to throw a drone up in the air, press a few buttons and hope that what comes out is something worthwhile, but over the years these machines have become important pieces of tech. Serious photographers may turn to the DJI Phantom Pro V2.0 to take stunning aerial shots like this.

@Taneli Lahtinen/Unsplash
This drone costs a pretty penny and is at the higher end of the market, but the quality of photos can be vastly superior to other cheaper models. This snap was taken in Lofoten, in Norway. The island’s outline is clear while the soccer pitch at its center stands out like an emerald heart. You won’t find a piece of tech like this at Costco.
The V2.0 is an improvement on the prior Phantom 4 Pro. It has an OcuSync transmission system, lower-noise propellers, and improved ESCs. The V2.0 was relaunched in the beginning of 2020, and, though it uses the same cameras as its predecessor, it has many improvements over the Phantom 4. DigitalTrends rated it a 10/10.

24. Fall Leaves

Possible Drone Used: DJI Inspire 2
Where to Buy: Wex Photo Video
Cost: $4,000*
Fall leaves have always been an inspiration for artists across the globe, regardless of their medium. The stunning visuals that changing colors provide aren’t to be missed. Nature in all its glory nearly always has the best views – this picture is no different.

Fall Leaves @dronestagram / Instagram.com
If detailed optics like this are your thing, then look no further than the DJI Inspire 2. With high ratings it’s understandable that it has a high price to match, but when you consider the ability of the flying fantastic, it’s worth every dime. Just make sure you purchase the real thing and not an eBay knock off.
And trust us, drone knockoffs are surprisingly common on eBay. For example, an unbranded/generic DJI Mavic Pro Camera drone costs just $49.99. Though that price might seem appealing, you pay for what you get. Many YouTube reviews have looked into comparisons of the generic and real drones and found the latter to be far better.

25. Love Heart of Nature

Possible Drone Used: Parrot HydroFoil MiniDrone
Where to Buy: Amazon
Cost: $88*
This stunning image won the Drone Awards “Photo of the Year.” Photographed by Jim Picot, this intriguing, heart-shaped photo features a shark swimming inside a school of salmon. As the shark is chasing the baitfish, the shape turns into an uncanny heart shape.

Love Heart of Nature ©Jim Picôt / droneawards.photo
The exact drone used for this image is unclear, but the Parrot Hydrofoil MiniDrone is always a solid option when you’re taking photographs near water. The MIniDrone can glide through water at speeds of up to 6.2 miles per hour. The drone has a 3.8/5-star rating on Amazon. The Parrot Hydrofoil MiniDrone is good for “air and sea adventures,” according to the manufacturer.

26. Alien Structure on Earth

Possible Drone Used: DJI Inspire 2
Where to Buy: DJI Drones
Cost: $3,000*
The people walking through Kuala Lumpur every day probably don’t realize that the Petronas Twin Towers, when seen from the angle of a drone like the DJI Inspire 2 (which is a good drone for taking pictures at this height), look almost like an alien structure come to earth.

Alien Structure on Earth ©Tomasz Kowalski / droneawards.photo
The lighting on the Towers gives off Independence Day vibes. The Petronas Twin Towers are 1,230 feet tall, and they are alight at night, lighting up the vibrant Malaysian city. From 1998 to 2004, the Petronas Twin Towers were actually the tallest buildings in the world (until the Taipei 101 surpassed them).

27. Docked Boats

Possible Drone Used: DJI Phantom 4 Pro
Where to Buy: DJI.com
Cost: $2,029*
Stunning art can take years to create, but drones can make everlasting masterpieces out of just one photograph. This incredible image of a dock surrounded by colorful well-placed boats was taken by Instagram user Abstract Aerial Art.

Docked Boats @ abstractaerialart / Instagram.com
They used a DJI Phantom 4 Pro to take this eye catching photo that makes the dock look remarkably flower-like. The lake around the boats looks completely black, making the boats stand out even more against the dark background. This drone certainly isn’t cheap so you can’t pick it up on sites like AliExpress.
This drone has a one-inch sensor, and it shoots 20MP stills and 4K 60fps video. Its maximum flight time is thirty minutes. It differs from its predecessor because it is 60% quieter, meaning that the DJI Phantom 4 Pro that took this photo wasn’t disturbing any lake-goers when it took its photo.

28. Cross The Field

Possible Drone Used: DJI Inspire 2
Where to Buy: DJI Drones
Cost: $3,000*
In the People Category of the Drone Awards, this photo, called “Cross the Field,” won the “Highly Commended” award. It featured a mother, her daughter, and the pair’s herd of cows walking across a pasture after a hard day of work. The grass is so wavy and green that it almost looks like a sea itself.

Cross The Field ©nubbsgalore / tumblr.com
The drone used is unclear, but one of the best wind-resistant drones out there (a necessity, judging from the wind blowing the grass in this photo) is the DJI Inspire 2. The Inspire 2 has an impressive camera, good flight time, and offers “the best” wind resistance, according to a FunOffline.com review.

29. Lobster Village

Possible Drone Used: SwellPro Spry
Where to Buy: Swellpro.com
Cost: $899*
The 2018 Drone Awards saw some of the world’s most beautiful aerial photos that year, all courtesy of dedicated photographers. One such 2018 award-winner was a photo of a lobster village, taken by Trung Phan Huy. The abstract was commended. The lobster farm was located in the Hon Yen coastal area, in the Phu Yen Province.

Lobster Village ©Trung Pham / imgur.com
Trung’s drone of choice was not listed, but a waterproof drone that could still be able to capture the artist, almost graphical nature of this village is the SwellPro Spry. The Spry has a 4.5/5-star rating on Google, and it connects to an app on your phone for full functionality.

30. Fishing Village

Possible Drone Used: Ruko B7 4K
Where to Buy: Amazon
Cost: $150*
Stuart Chape took this aerial photograph of a fishing village. It is yet another look inside the world of fishermen and women, a bird’s-eye view that we likely wouldn’t have gotten without the help of a drone. Chape’s photograph was a 2018 award-winner. His drone snapped the shot in the Solomon Islands.

Fishing Village ©Wikipedia.org
The Solomon Islands are a group of hundreds of South Pacific Islands. The snapshot of the coast is just one of millions of villages like it, and yet the snapshot is uniquely beautiful. A drone that could withstand wind and salty air, like you’d find off the Solomon Islands’ cost, is the Ruko B7 4K, a tough drone that is still suitable for beginners.