Marvelous Magic

I have worked on this article for weeks, I hope you enjoy viewing it as much as I have enjoyed putting it together. - Rebecca Ivey

High on top of a mountain, a drone catches these two kitties snuggling happily in a wild pear tree. How on Earth did these two feline lovers end up in such a predicament? We may never know how they ended up there but thanks to drone technology we can pleasantly wonder.

"I like to look at this image as the plot to an unwritten romance story."

Photography is a wonderful art form that speaks to many of us, but when consumer drones hit the market they opened up a whole new world. Suddenly, we were able to see things from an entirely new angle thanks to these flying pieces of gadgetry.

While drones have been around for quite some time (the first basic model was created back in 1882) technology has advanced over the past few years. Now, even amateur photographers can purchase one from Amazon and take it to the skies to capture jaw-dropping images.

From sprawling landscapes to incredible wildlife photos that you wouldn’t believe, drones allow us to see inspiring views that would otherwise be invisible to us. With more and more drones hitting the market, the potential is just increasing. I have searched the internet far and wide to see just how much beauty is in the world, hidden just out of sight.

Photographs of the “Rainbow Mountains” in China swept social media in 2016, and people were in awe at the beautiful, otherworldly colors that rippled through Zhangye. M. Scheja took this aerial photo of part of the mountain range.

So, what makes these mountains so colorful? The Rainbow Mountains colors are all-natural. The mountains themselves are made of cretaceous siltstones and sandstones. The iron and trace mineral deposits in the stones, deposited before the Mountains even formed, cause the brilliant colors seen in this drone photo.

The Dutch tulip fields get hordes and hordes of visitors every year. Some people just want to show up and snap a photo or two on their phones, while other photographers take the trip a little more seriously. With a drone, you could be taking inspiring snaps just like this one.

Go high enough and the tulips can look like blurred lines. That’s more than what any Apple iPhone can do. This just goes to show there’s a million ways that drones can turn already beautiful scenes into completely different works of art.

Not all incredible drone photos have to be taken from mile-high spots. Some of them can get just high enough to offer up an entirely new perspective from above.

At first glance, this picture looks like a mix of black and orange paint with flecks of gold, but in reality, it’s dozens and dozens of Koi fish swimming together at a farm in Oxfordshire, England. It’s not something you would ever see on a walk or even while watching Netflix as the angle is just so unique.

Fall leaves have always been an inspiration for artists across the globe, regardless of their medium. The stunning visuals that changing colors provide aren’t to be missed. Nature in all its glory nearly always has the best views – this picture is no different.

Contrasting colors make for the best photos, especially when it’s an unplanned scene. This red train snaking its way through pure white snow-topped trees couldn’t be anymore visually satisfying. To get a shot like this, you’d likely need one of the higher-quality drones on the market.

Flying a drone in awful weather can be a complete disaster. After all, these are expensive pieces of technology that shouldn’t be messed with. You can’t put a price on incredibly timed shots like this. The lightning striking the city is both stunning and eerie to look at. It was a case of right place, right time – right drone.

This shot of a grain field makes it look like there’s a face in it, looking up and smiling like a gentle bearded old man. However, while the photo is undeniably wonderful to look at, it wouldn’t have been possible for us to see without the magic of drones.

Is it a giant animal head caught in a fence? Nope, it’s a gargantuan bird’s nest nestled in electric wire. This photo is so mind-bending that it’s strange to look at, but apparently, bird’s nests that large really do exist. While some see them from below, drones allow us to see them from a whole new level.

Another reason drones are great for photography is that they can help us reach heights we could never achieve without airplanes or helicopters, but are much more fuel-efficient and affordable. This image of a giant hole left from a diamond mine is the perfect example of a picture that no average human could conceive of taking without drone photography.

This haunting photograph wouldn’t have happened without a drone. Here we can see lava from the active Kilauea Volcano flowing into the Pacific, creating the smoky dichotomy between the sea and the lava.

Let’s face it, this isn’t going to be winning any prizes for best picture quality, but that doesn’t make the image any less impactful. The giant pink bunny sprawled out over a field may be the work of computer trickery, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t start out as a drone snap.

Little did that man know when he was taking a casual swim that he was within just a few feet of a huge shark. It’s worrying to know that drones see much more than we can see, even though they’re much further away than we are. Just one wrong move and that swimmer could’ve been shark bait. Luckily (at least we hope) the man escaped unharmed.

If the shadow wasn’t there, you probably wouldn’t even realize there was a camel there in the first place. It’s a simple scene that works incredibly well. You can almost feel the heat radiating out from the photo – and that’s no small feat.

This stunning image won the Drone Awards “Photo of the Year.” Photographed by Jim Picot, this intriguing, heart-shaped photo features a shark swimming inside a school of salmon. As the shark is chasing the baitfish, the shape turns into an uncanny heart shape.

The people walking through Kuala Lumpur every day probably don’t realize that the Petronas Twin Towers, when seen from the angle of a drone looks almost like an alien structure come to earth.

The lighting on the Towers gives off Independence Day vibes. The Petronas Twin Towers are 1,230 feet tall, and they are alight at night, lighting up the vibrant Malaysian city.

A mother, her daughter, and the pair’s herd of cows walking across a pasture after a hard day of work. The grass is so wavy and green that it almost looks like a sea itself. Another mesmerizing, perfectly timed drone image.

Another photo that nature photographers will love is this one of the Flamingos at Lake Logipi. For those of us used to seeing flamingos in smaller quantities at zoos or nature preserves, this veritable pink army of them is both shocking and delightful. Lake Logipi is an alkaline, saline lake at the northern end of Kenya’s Suguta Valley.

Photographer Robert Corinaldesi took this Drone Awards winner, which showed an aerial view of swimmers. Corinaldesi stated that the sea was the swimmers’ “refuge,” creating a “blue carpet” between the “white foam” of the sea’s waves. “On the Sea” is not for the faint of heart, if you’re someone afraid of the water.

Unlike geese, herons are a bird that pretty much everyone likes. People often think that herons only reside in reeds or swampland (as that’s the most likely place you see them). However, that perception is inaccurate, as herons build their nests at the tops of giant trees.

This drone image allows us to see where herons call home. This ethereal, almost painting-like photo won the Wildlife Category at the Drone Awards. Drone's have the altitude capabilities to get to a height near the herons nest, but it is small enough not to spook them.

This photograph captured by a drone is so bright and beautiful, it looks like a painting. The water lily season of the Mekong Delta lasts for just a few months in the fall. The lilies not only captivate tourists but also are picked and harvested by locals to make additional income.

Shot on a high-definition embedded drone by researchers in Uganda, this impressive shot documents the rare instance of a local lion finding rest (or possibly protection) high up in a tree. It took photographer Alexander Braczkowski months to get the lions used to the drones before they would reveal their true natural states to the lens.

This odd behavior – indicative so far only to these African lions – suggests to researchers that these legendary felines have been forced to forage further and further from their normal hunting methods in search of food. Still, this shot is impressive as it reveals the beautiful big cat in all its glory.

If you look closely, you’ll see that there are, indeed, millions of people in this high-flying aerial photograph, which depicted the Hajj of 2018.

The Hajj is an annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, which is the holiest city for followers of Islam. According to Islam, Muslims have to carry out a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime. Each year, the Hajj draws at two million pilgrims.

There is no denying that this is one of the most beautiful photos on my list. It captures the Katshki Pillar, located in Imerti in Western Georgia. The pillar has recently been restored, thanks to the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation.

The Katshki Pillar is made of limestone, and it has been around for thousands of years. In pre-Christianity times, it was dedicated to the fertility god.

I could add at least 100 more outstanding drone photographs that have captured my imagination however by now I am sure that you're ready to move on to your next amazing read. Before we end this, can we just take one more look at those adorable kitties snuggling in the pear tree? I hope that this lovesome, precious photograph puts as much tepidity inside of your heart as it put inside of mine.

"Love and happiness can happen anywhere as long as your heart is there!"