Photograph: Md Tanveer Hassan Rohan / Drone Photo Awards 2021

From bathing hippos to dramatic cityscapes, these are some of the best drone photographs of the year

Ever wanted to fly among thousands of pink-footed geese? Technology hasn’t taken us (quite) there yet, but these photos are the next best thing. The winners of the Drone Photo Awards 2021 have been announced, with Terje Kolaas’s shot of the birds above snow-covered ground taking the top prize.

The aerial photographs don’t just take in natural wonders, though. Md Tanveer Hassan Rohan’s image shows a colourful harbour in Bangladesh from above. During the pandemic, people used the boats to travel on the River Buriganga – creating a mismatched pattern of water and transport. It’s lovely stuff. Here are some of our other favourites:

Like this cloud of geese.

Photograph: Terje Kolaas / Drone Photo Awards 2021

This turtle heading back to the sea.

Photograph: Qasim Al Farsi / Drone Photo Awards 2021

This atmospheric ocean scene.

Photograph: Reza Bagheri / Drone Photo Awards 2021

This dramatic Moscow cityscape.

Photograph: Sergei Poletaev / Drone Photo Awards 2021

These bathing hippos.

Photograph: Talib Almarri / Drone Photo Awards 2021

This magma flowing from an Icelandic volcano.

Photograph: Oleg Rest / Drone Photo Awards 2021

This rugged Utah canyon.

Photograph: Laura Bennett / Drone Photo Awards 2021

Check out some more of our fave photos of 2021 at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards.