11 striking drone photographs from around the world

Breathtaking visuals from one of world's largest aerial photography competitions

Although drones have been at the forefront of ethical and security debates, the unmanned flying machines, in the hands of a photographer can capture spectacular, unique images which we would otherwise go unseen.

SkyPixel, an aerial photography platform, received 27,000 entries from 131 countries for its competition. Open to both professional and amateur photographers, the competition was split into three categories: Beauty, 360, and Drones in Use.

Here we look at some of the winning shots including some of our personal favourites.

Grand Prize Winner: Fishermen close the net, Fujian province, China.  PHOTO: GE ZHENG/SKYPIXEL

First place, Professional beauty: A line in the sand. PHOTO: HANBING WANG/SKYPIXEL

Second place, Professional beauty: Huia Dam in Auckland, New Zealand. PHOTO: BRENDON DIXON/SKYPIXEL

First place, Amateur Beauty: Road bridge, US. PHOTO: SKYPIXEL

Second place, Amateur Beauty. Green waves, Italy. PHOTO: MAURO PAGLIAI/SKYPIXEL

Third place, Amateur Beauty. Ice art, US. PHOTO: SKYPIXEL

Rainbow lines, Netherlands. PHOTO: SKYPIXEL

And they were all yellow. PHOTO: SKYPIXEL

City cool, people play amid the fountains. PHOTO: SKYPIXEL

Where did you park the car. PHOTO: SKYPIXEL

Rice terrace in China. PHOTO: SKYPIXEL

View other winning entries here