A New Aerial Photography Contest Takes a Bird’s-Eye View of Life Around the World

From the fiery explosion of Iceland’s Litli-Hrútur volcano to a football field nested on a small Arctic island, the winning images of the International Aerial Photographer of the Year contest transport viewers across the globe, offering perspectives typically reserved for air travelers and birds.

This year marks the inaugural competition, which garnered 1,549 entries. Many shots capture fleeting moments, such as a highway piercing through coastal fog or a fever of cownose rays greeting an undulating school of menhaden bait fish. The contest selected 101 winning photos overall, which you can peruse on its website.

an aerial image of an erupting volcano with lava — Mike Mezeul II, “New Earth”

a football field in the arctic under northern lights — Jie Xu, “Most Beautiful Football Pitch”

Anti crepuscular rays in a desert — Ignacio Palacios, “Cono de Arita”

purple and ripples on a landscape — Xiaoying Shi, “Ground Vein”

As the sun sets over the hills, soft waves of coastal fog drift like silk across the ridgeline, wrapping homes and trees in light. A glowing highway carves through the landscape like a lifeline. — Ray Cao, “Veins of Light and Rivers of Fog”

stingrays in water — Joanna Steidle, “Another World”

an areial image of an autumn forest surrounding a lake — Rakesh Baro, “Nature’s Palette”

an aerial view of a junkyard — Cassio Vasconcellos, “Over”

a hazy, yellow image of three bridges in a city — Vitaly Golovatyuk, “Hanging on the Bridge”

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