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Stunning aerial photographs from the 2026 Siena Drone Photo Awards showcase breathtaking landscapes, livelihoods, and human stories from the Global South. The annual contest highlights unique bird’s-eye views that reveal perspectives often invisible from ground level.
Shipbreaking in Bangladesh Wins Top Prize
Photographer George Steinmetz won the overall contest prize for his image titled “Shipbreaking on the mudflats, Bay of Bengal.” The winning photograph captures a massive liquid natural gas tanker stranded on mudflats north of Chattogram, surrounded by workers dwarfed by the vessel’s enormous scale. Steinmetz spent days documenting the 13-mile coastal strip where crews use blow torches and winches to dismantle ships for scrap metal. He explained to NPR that he viewed the massive industrial effort as an extraordinary example of large-scale recycling.
Carpet Fields and Volcanic Wonders
In southern Türkiye, documentary photographer Dilek Yurdakul won first place in the People section by capturing fields of handwoven carpets laid out under the sun to dry. Yurdakul explained that the aerial view highlights the invisibility of labor and the artistic richness of Anatolian craftsmanship. Meanwhile, in the Nature category, Colas Decloitre captured an active volcano erupting behind the Tumpak Sewu waterfall in East Java, Indonesia, while Isabella Tabacchi documented a glowing volcanic cone in the Argentine Puna and unique geological formations in Kazakhstan.
Wildlife, Refuges, and Festive Waterways
Holly Kirkland captured lesser flamingos flying over the caustic, high-alkaline waters of Lake Natron on the Tanzania-Kenya border using a helicopter with an open door. In the Urban category, student Shahedul Islam Sadik documented the congested Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, highlighting the lack of personal space and freedom. Steinmetz also secured a commended entry in the Urban category for photographing thousands of passengers crowding colorful ferry boats at Dhaka’s Sadarghat Launch Terminal ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
Steinmetz captured the Dhaka ferry terminal scene using a rooftop-launched drone just before rain cut short his photography session.
