While most drones are simple toys, others come with high-resolution cameras and take breathtaking photographs of the world around them. These are the ones you hope to own one day!
We’ve compiled a list of the best photos captured by drones to give you an aerial view. You’re sure to be impressed by what you see, and there might even be a few surprises that take your breath away!
Aircraft Graveyard
Called The Boneyard, the US military turned its out-of-service aircraft into a graveyard. There are over 4,000 airplanes, and they are kept for scrap metal. It’s found in Tuscan, Arizona, and was created after WW2. Since the military reuses metal, it saves about $500 million!
Aircraft Graveyard
Underwater Fun
Hurricane Katrina had wind speeds of more than 170 MPH and claimed the homes of thousands while taking the lives of 1,200 people in August 2005. The picture shows Six Flags park, which was taken two weeks afterward, but that’s only a small part of the destruction.
Underwater Fun
Utopian Skylines
There’s something satisfying and unique about close-fitting skyscrapers, but it’s also somewhat chilling. You see the colors mixed with white, which provides asymmetrical beauty. It almost seems like a fishbowl full of underwater decor and is quite a sight to behold.
Utopian Skylines
The Stone Man
This drone captured the talents of a convicted murderer, and the spot used to be a children’s playground. It was founded in 1976 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Jimmy Boyle was a convicted gangster and created a statue called Gulliver the Gentle Giant. However, it was removed in 2011.
The Stone Man
Best of Both Worlds
With the Mont Saint-Michel, you get the perfect balance of sea and land. It’s a phantasmagorical landscape that was captured during the Dronestagram competition. This site is found in Normandy and attracts about three million visitors each year!
Best of Both Worlds
A City in the Clouds
This is the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, which is found in Umbria, Italy. The building appears to be taken from fantasy, but you get a bird’s eye view from this drone. In fact, the building holds St. Francis’s remains. There were also 29 beads, rings, and coins inside the tomb!
A City in the Clouds
Overstuffed Bunny
Though most people know the Easter Bunny isn’t real, this 20-foot-high and 200-foot-long rabbit might double as its corpse. This giant bunny was found in Northern Italy in 2005 by a drone, and it’s wonderful in its own right. It’s called Hare or Hase and was knitted with pink wool.
Overstuffed Bunny
Watch out Below
You see the chasm the drone caught, which was found in Guatemala City. It swallowed up a three-story factory building and appeared because of Agatha, a tropical storm that hit in 2010. The chasm was 300 feet deep and 65 feet wide and was due to the lack of regulations in place.
Watch out Below
Plane Wreck
A drone flew over Chelsea, Quebec, to capture this amazing photo of Morrison’s Quarry. The beach is excellent for Scuba diving trainees and provides more jewels and treasures than just sunken planes. In fact, one of the vehicles was a prop from a movie!
Plane Wreck
A Thousand Birds
In the image, you can see a farmer feeding ducks in Tuy Hoa, Vietnam. He was standing in the Ba River, surrounded by countless ducks. This is a perfect representation of how important duck farming is to the country. It’s lucrative; farmers can get $30 million per year!
A Thousand Birds
The Spiraled Tundra
The Mir Mine (Mirny Mine) is found in Siberia and is an open-pit diamond mine in the Sakha Republic of Eastern Russia. Some geologists in the area excavated diamonds there in 1955. This mine used to produce about 10 billion carats each year and helped build the economy after the war!
The Spiraled Tundra
Staring into Your Soul
The photo was taken in Huntsville, Arizona, and it appears to be a staring clown with dead eyes. It’s clearly in a cornfield, which adds to the creepiness overall. In fact, most people thought it was part of a horror movie scene that never got cleaned up!
Staring into Your Soul
Boat Corpses
In the 1930s, Staten Island in New York had a boat cemetery. Just as with the graveyard for planes, they are often sold for parts to save money and avoid profit losses when building new ships. There are about 100 ships right now, and it creates a feeling of unease for those who see it.
Boat Corpses
Stuck in Traffic
No one enjoys being stuck in traffic. Even five minutes can make people impatient. However, those in China on that 50-lane highway wouldn’t have minded such a short time. Beijing-Hong-Kong-Macau Highway was jammed for 12 days in 2010. What a nightmare!
Stuck in Traffic
Sunny Side Up
Most people joke about cooking eggs on sidewalks when it gets hot. However, what if you cooked them by East Lake in China? These sculptures sit in Wuhan, China; some appear to be kissing, but you can only see that from a drone. We’re not sure if they’re still there.
Sunny Side Up
The Desolate Wonder
The deserted building is found in the Republic of Abkhazia, and its history is all about tragedy and torment. In the 1990s, the building was part of the Georgian Genocide and saw the massacre of 250,000+ Georgian citizens.
The Desolate Wonder
Waiting to Blossom
Baha’i’ is a religious temple found in Delhi, India, and was finished in 1986. In fact, it’s won awards for its architecture, and CNN rated it as the most viewed location in the world in 2001. Because of the lotus shape, it’s a popular tourist attraction.
Waiting to Blossom
An Annular Inception
This Hong Kong scene is actually a collection of 43 photographs combined to create an illusory panoramic design. The photographer used Phantom 4 Pro to record at 60fps and UHD 4K, which offers a dream-like state to this physical world. We think it’s amazing!
An Annular Inception
A Collection of Stars
Fort Bourtange is a building completed in 1593 with a design resembling the stars in the night sky. The building used to defend and control the road between Groningen and Germany, and it stopped being used in 1851. Now, it’s a historical museum and is an amazing spot to visit!
A Collection of Stars
A Truck Falls Over
Ilya Martyanov took off for his destination without realizing he would be part of an unfortunate but hilarious drone photo. The truck derailed from the road and spilled its contents onto the grass. The contrast of black and white vehicles and red is an amazing sight to see!
A Truck Falls Over
Of Moose and Birds
Birds can create art from their surrounding elements. This is actually the most famous bird’s nest ever and is found in the Kalahari Desert. The area is quite large and should last about 100 years because the birds continue to add things to it.
Of Moose and Birds
Red and Blue
The image comes from Yellowstone National Park, which is in three states: Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. In fact, it was the first to become a national park in 1872! You see the snow-covered areas contrasting with the sulfuric hot water, mixing natural occurrences with ease.
Red and Blue
Bear on Ice
Global Warming is often experienced by the creatures in the South and North poles. This photo won an award, and Floridan Ledoux captured it. He used the Phantom 4 Pro to show a polar bear trying to cross ice without getting wet.
Bear on Ice
The Waste of America
Most people associate the colors with happiness and patriotism, but the original meaning might make you question how you live. This is a collection of photographs that show how much waste humans put into the world. It’s definitely a wake-up call indicating that we’re destroying our planet!
The Waste of America
Ominous Shadows
A quick glance indicates that this is a horror scene in a movie. However, Tomas Van Houtryve took the photo by drone and enhanced the shadow sizes to add life and personality that you can’t find on the ground. Though ominous, it’s still interesting.
Ominous Shadows
A Different Perspective
Nigel Kwan used the Mavic Pro to capture a cyclist riding on the side of a unique building. However, it’s a trick of the mind and offers you a different view than you’re used to. We’re not sure what the cyclist rode on or if he was even on a bicycle, but it’s highly captivating!
A Different Perspective
Lobster Party
The lobster farm is located in the Phu Yen province of Vietnam. It appears that many colorful boxes are floating on top of a blue lake. Trung Pham took the picture, and it’s amazing to see. However, the lobsters probably weren’t as thrilled since they will end up as food!
Lobster Party
Water Reflections
It takes a moment to see the reflection of the stars and clouds in the blue water, and the trees create tranquility and wonder. Then, there’s the boat, which adds some reality to this scenery. Most people imagine that the person in the vessel is going to another world!
Water Reflections
Sweeping Rivers
This is about 1,500 feet above Iceland, and you can see the icy rivers swirling in haphazard patterns. In fact, it seems like an abstract painting instead of reality. The ice appears to float over the land, and the clouds create fog waves that stretch across the country.
Sweeping Rivers
Blue and White
A DJI Phantom 4 captured the image of the Yantian district in China. Many enthusiasts prefer this drone. Here, you can see the blue hues and white that mix tranquility and chaos. The men appear to be cleaning the docks, though it’s still beautiful.
Blue and White
Waterlilies
The combination of pink and green works with the contrast of the brown water. It was taken in Vietnam and shows a worker mostly submerged in the water. Both the lilies and boat add color and life to the green hue, but the blue oar adds color and vibrancy.
Waterlilies
Geometric Madness
This image was taken on a New Jersey tennis court before sunset and plays with our perceptions. Martin Sanchez is responsible for the photo and laid on an empty tennis court multiple times to get the shot. Actually, people showed up for a game and were initially confused!
Geometric Madness
The Golden Fisherman
The sun paints this fisherman in a golden hue, so it appears he and the net are glowing. Then, the dark contrast of where the sun does hit creates a battle of dark and light that pleases the senses. Overall, it’s a sight to behold!
The Golden Fisherman
Serpents Road
Calin Stan took this image for the Transylvania Roads Project. It captures the Cheia DN1A road, which goes into Romania. A popular legend actually surrounds the road, saying that it’s what Dracula saw during nighttime flights. This serpent-like road is magnificent!
Serpents Road
Green Amidst White
During winter, the amount of snow can go as high as several feet. However, it doesn’t appear to touch the forest nearby. It’s as if those trees refuse to lose their vibrant colors and indicate warmer months are soon to come back. Regardless, it’s breathtaking!
Green Amidst White
Balloons in Paradise
This photo was taken by Witold Ziomeck from a Mavic Pro drone and shows the Bagan, Myanmar sunrise. The buildings appear to come from an Indiana Jones movie, and the architecture is similar to Mayan ruins, which is an amazing sight to see!
Balloons in Paradise
The Red Train
The image appears to be part of a drama or thriller movie scene. The red color from the train adds liveliness to the mountains beside it and showcases Switzerland. In fact, the frozen state of everything around the train makes it appear to be another world!
The Red Train
Colosseum at Night
The Roman Colosseum started construction under Vespasian in 70 AD and was finished in 80 AD. It held most of the gladiator shows and executions, but it’s now a tourist attraction. Mauri Pagliai took the image at night to see the lights shining on the outer walls!
Colosseum at Night
Rocks on the Beach
You can find countless beaches around the world, but this one is in Kwinana, West Australia. The image is one of many in a collection by Amphotoco. They regularly post for Dronestagram. It’s breathtakingly beautiful and makes you want to go to the country yourself!
Rocks on the Beach
Cracks in the Ice
This photograph shows a minimalistic and simplistic vibe. The gray, white, and black add to the feeling this image portrays. You see large cracks stretching over the snow, which provide a sense of danger. Will they get wider? How far can you travel?!
Cracks in the Ice