The Land of The Midnight Sun never disappoints. How can it with a moniker like that? Whether you’re chasing the Northern Lights or exploring fjords, Norway is a drone photographer’s paradise. This image captures the country’s stunning Lofoten Islands in winter. Snow-capped mountains, ice, and the sky form a picturesque backdrop.
You might not see it at first but in the distance lies the quaint fishing village of Reine, known to most people on this side of the hemisphere as “the most beautiful place in the world.” What makes this image stunning is how it captures the hush of winter. Life brims beneath the surface still, even though there’s nothing visibly going on.
Love And Light on an Island
If languid and serene were a picture, this would be it. This drone image makes me want to move to a sleepy seaside town immediately and the town here seems perfect. Alter do Chão in Brazil is a quiet town popular with visitors during weekends and holidays.
One can see why! Its star attraction is “Ilha do Amor” or the Island of Love – an island with stunning white sand located right in front of the town. The lighting in this drone image is almost ethereal, illuminating the white sand and everything on it. Even the ocean surrounding the island fades into the background.
Ships Coming Home
When you think of stunning sunset pictures, oil tankers landing in port are probably not the subject you have in mind. But that’s the thing about drone photography. Take an aerial view and the perspective dramatically shifts. They don’t call it a bird’s eye view for nothing.
Oil tankers – otherwise big, clunky, and ugly in our eyes - float serenely and beautifully in the waters. You can somehow tell they’ve had a busy day. It’s time to rest. As the sun casts its last light and disappears into the horizon, it seems to be calling the tankers home – much like birds flying to their nests at dusk.
Maternal Giants of the Deep
Sighting a humpback whale is probably on most people’s bucket list. Spotting one with a young calf swimming on its back? That would make anyone’s life feel redeemed – as if one could die tomorrow peacefully with no regrets. If a photograph can evoke such emotion, imagine witnessing this in real life.
The bond between mother whales and their calves is legendary, and humpback whales especially so! Calves swim closely alongside their mothers, especially in the early stages of their life. It’s a way to feed on delicious, nutritious fat from mom while staying safe from predators such as killer whales. Mother and calf stay together for about a year until the calf is weaned.
Smoke and Mirrors
Is this a drone shot of glaciers or an abstract painting? We're stumped, and in the best way. The way the photo is composed makes it seem like glaciers dance in veils of vapor and smoke. As if they’re taking a deep breath, exhaling centuries of memory into the open sky.
Stunning and also a bit heartbreaking given how fragile our glaciers are. These magnificent icy sentinels are disappearing rapidly each year, and with it, a vital part of the earth’s story. Pretty soon, all we might be left with are memories, wispy and fleeting the way this glacier already appears in this image.