The SkyPixel 7th Anniversary Aerial Photo & Video Contest Winners Announced

SkyPixel, one of the world’s most popular aerial photography communities, today announced the winners of the SkyPixel 7th Anniversary Aerial Photo & Video Contest. Co-organized with DJI, this year’s contest attracted nearly 30,000 submissions from professional photographers, videographers, aerial enthusiasts and content creators from 124 countries and regions.

The Video Category Grand Prize winner Wenrui Ye presents to the audience a visual exploration of urban villages from the perspective of a dancer. “Urban villages show a unique way of urban inclusion,” said Wenrui. “I revisited Guangzhou, a city where I have lived for nearly thirty years, and explored it with my interpretations, memories, and a brand-new perspective. The dramatic contrast between the city and the villages looked almost surreal, and I can’t help thinking about the countless possibilities of Guangzhou in the future.” Yann Arthus-Bertrand, member of the Judging Panel of this year’s contest, commented the video as a “short movie nicely done, with a real story and a great image technique and usage of light”.

This year’s Grand Prize winner in the Photo Category was this epic capture by Zhu Jianxin, who framed up an otherworldly sight of a frozen lake after a heavy snow fell in the Taklamakan Desert. With a simple change in perspective, several cracks on a frozen lake magically come together into a portrait of an elegant orchid. Jianxin said: “Photography as an art form always comes from life. It is born from nature. I am amazed by how a drone changes my perspective and helps me capture the beauty of our world.” Stephen Foster commented on the work: “The real art in photography is to capture a photograph people have to analyze longer than a few seconds to see what the picture really shows.”

Besides the Grand Prizes, DJI and SkyPixel announced winners of the Mavic 3 Limited Award, along with the first, second, and third places in all 10 photo and video categories. To view all submissions, please visit https://www.skypixel.com/contests/2021.

All submissions have been assessed by the Judging Panel of incredible professionals in the industry, including Yann Arthus-Bertrand, Alex Mellis, Pieter de Vries, Stefan Foster, Karim Iliya, and Yunshan Yu. DJI and SkyPixel would like to thank all participants for sharing your amazing work with the world, and we hope you all have enjoyed the contest.

For more information, please contact skypixel.campaign@dji.com.

*Permits were obtained, where applicable, in all locations depicted in awarded videos and photos.

About SkyPixel

Since 2014, the SkyPixel online community (www.skypixel.com) has attracted over 37 million aerial photographers, videographers, and content creators from more than 140 countries.

Now in its seventh year, SkyPixel never stops evolving and connecting photographic communities across the world. From aerial photography to everyday vlogs, SkyPixel now holds a vast collection of extraordinary footage spanning the themes of nature, culture, architecture, and other aerial masterpieces.