Look: Winners of the 2022 Drone Photo Awards

Drone Awards is the most important worldwide competition about aerial photography and video. It’s a project of Siena Awards, dedicated to a different photographic genre deliberately separated from being compared to traditional photography. Above, big bang by Armand Sarlangue: A secondary fissure happens a few hundred meters from the main crater of Fagradalsfjall volcano during the last eruptive phase. The storm was hitting west Iceland with rain and strong winds. Due to the difficult conditions, a drone capture like this is unique.

I think it's around here by Fabián Ortiz: The post-wedding photo taken at La Geria, a place of volcanic and hostile lands on the island of Lanzarote.

Salt farm workers harvesting by Saurabh Sirohiya: Some labourers work in a salt pan where they move the salt to form circular lines, allowing slow evaporation in the sun.

After Sand Storm by Yura Borschev: In the picture, a basketball court after a sand storm in UAE. The sand partially covers the field, letting the viewer see its original shapes and colours. It is one of the most significant finds in the author's sports courts collection shot in 2021.

Sleeping on a boat by Anindita Roy: Sadarghat river port of Dhaka is the busiest port in Bangladesh, with services to most of the districts in the country. People from both sides of the Buriganga river cross it using small boats.

Shadows of the Desert by Bastian Brüsecke: The photographer took this picture on a several weeks-long desert expedition in the Omani part of the Empty Quarter.

Finned nets by Tuan Nguyen Tan: Fishermen in central Vietnam often use nets to catch squid near the shore. They will drop nets circling the squid, then pull the drawstring to tighten the bottom preventing the ink from escaping.

The Backbone of the Sahara by Justin Jin: The world's longest train, with 3 kilometres of railroads, trundles through the Sahara desert bringing iron from an oasis to the coast. "The Backbone of the Sahara" is also the world's heaviest train load and provides the only free-of-charge long-distance mean of transport in one of the world's poorest regions.

A Love Tale in the Mist - The Taj Mahal by Michele Falzone: This is the mausoleum of the Taj Mahal over an incredible sea of clouds formations on river Yamuna. The eternal monument to love was built in 1632 to homage Mumtaz Mahal, the wife of Shāh Jahān, who died while giving birth to their 14th child.

Learning Life by Florian Ledoux: A young polar bear, a yearling, is playing in the water testing the fresh ice and jumping back and forth in the water with his sibling, while their mother is resting nearby. This image is the result of 5 months in the field, living with and near the bears in a remote camp on the east coast of Svalbard.

Perfect Chaos by Sara Zanini: Aerial view of Gangi, a village immersed in the Sicilian countryside in the province of Palermo. The image was shot on an early summer morning. The orange houses' rooftops give movement to the image, while the mountain peaks rise in the background.

Volcano in the Clouds by Luis Manuel Vilariño Lopez: Thousands of earthquakes shook the Reykjanes peninsula in an orchestrated prelude to an eruption; on 19 March 2021, the floor of the Geldigadalir valley gave way to the uncontainable magmatic pressure and split open, letting molten rock gush forth in an awe-inspiring spectacle.

Solidarity by Mehdi Mohebipour: Flamingos sleep together at night for greater security and stay close together during the day, thus protecting each other. In this crowd of bodies, the colourful nuances of the plumage and the reflections of the light stand out.

Falling Skiers by Daniel Koszela: The photo taken in March 2022 shows the competitors of the annual ski event: Bieg Piastów, held in Szklarska Poręba, at its 46th edition. Skiers whiz in their colourful clothing along the track surrounded by snow-covered trees.

Women picking red chilies by Azim Khan Ronnie: Countless chilli peppers surround labourers in the Bogura district in the north of Bangladesh. Chilli peppers are a significant part of Bengali cuisine popular in Bangladesh and are used as part of a combination of spices for various meat dishes, including chicken and beef.

Meeting by David Rouge: The meeting of the desert and the ocean. As the drone climbed higher, the photographer noticed a particular atmosphere, where the light highlighted the delicious shapes of these dunes flowing into the South Atlantic Ocean.

Rooftops of Kartoffelraekkerne Neighbourhood by Serhiy Vovk: Rooftops of Kartoffelraekkerne neighbourhood, in Oesterbro. The neighbourhood was built in the late 1800s for working-class families. Today, it is one of the most sought in Copenhagen.