Top snaps from the Aerial Photographer of the Year Awards

By FRANCINE WOLFISZ, NEWS REPORTER Published: 01:57, 8 July 2026 | Updated: 02:05, 8 July 2026 From mountain tops, rainforests and glaciers to swollen rivers, shrinking lakes and running wild horses, talented photographers have captured nature through a series of stunning aerial shots.  The winners of The International Aerial Photographer of the Year have been revealed after judges sifted through 1,587 entries from all corners of the globe. Azim Khan Ronnie took home the coveted title with a photograph showing thousands of migratory Siberian seagulls feeding in Yamuna Ghat, India.  Meanwhile Dawn Net by Chin Leong Teo captures a fisherman’s yellow net as it blooms across the water. Equally dramatic is Kah-Wai Lin's third-place photograph of Yilki horses as they surge across the dusty plateau at sunset in Cappadocia, Turkey. The photograph of the year was handed to Vitaly Golovatyuk's capture of a bird sitting on the water of a clear lake reflecting the sky, surrounded by red grass, in Dongtai, China.   Amateurs and professionals were invited to enter the competition - with the use of AI strictly forbidden.  Winners will have their aerial photographs published alongside the top 101 entries in an annual awards book, with the overall winner taking home $5,000 and a trophy. Watch the birdie: Azim Khan Ronnie took home the coveted title with a photograph showing thousands of migratory Siberian seagulls feeding in Yamuna Ghat, India  Horse power: Kah-Wai Lin's third-place photograph of Yilki horses as they surge across the dusty plateau at sunset in Cappadocia, Turkey The photograph of the year was handed to Vitaly Golovatyuk's capture of a bird sitting on the water of a clear lake reflecting the sky, surrounded by red grass, in Dongtai, China  Chin Leong Teo captured a fisherman’s yellow net as it blooms across the water, wrapping his small boat  Ice see you: Taken by Rhiannon Lawler, a polar bear balances on the edge of an iceberg in East Greenland, using the height to scan the sea ice and test the wind California's Diablo Range at its greenest after winter rains, highlighting smooth contours and flowing patterns, was taken by Chengming Liu Barbara Brown's aerial shot of Salt Works in Walvis Bay, Namibia Sanghamitra Sarkar's photo shows a gathering of Hindu pilgrims sitting in a circular pattern around a central litter carrying sacred footwear The sharp, steep, and layered hills in the Badlands of Utah by A J Rich Bali's rice terraces cascade down the hillsides in vivid green steps, shaped by centuries of careful irrigation by Chin Leong Teo Hindu devotees gathered in Dhaka, fasting and praying with incense and oil lamps by Azim Khan Ronnie Thousands of bright red chilli peppers are harvested in the hot sun before being sorted ready to be delivered to spice companies in the Sariakandi, Bogura, Bangladesh, also by Azim Khan Ronnie A lone person crossing a traffic junction in central Tokyo by Chin Leong Teo An aerial shot of The Park Royal Hotel in Singapore by Chin Leong Teo