Some of the most beautiful drone photos of all time

If you’ve ever climbed a mountain or even just a tree, you know perspective can change the way many things look. We’ve found some of the most stunning drone photos on the internet that capture everyday life from a unique perspective, marvels from a viewpoint you can’t see on a tour and extraordinary (and sometimes dangerous) natural phenomena and other spectacular sites.

Keep scrolling to take in some truly out-of-this-world drone photography.

This photo was taken over a beach on the Mediterranean Sea in Sardinia, Italy, in 2017. Beach-goers soak up some sun as the shadow of an airplane passes overhead, casting a once-in-a-lifetime shot of the shadow perfectly over the water.

The Great Wall of China looks even greater here. Shot in Beijing, the wall separates a frosty landscape from a side that hasn’t been touched by the snow, creating a Yin-Yang-like design.

This shot looks like the opening of an epic period piece. The sun peeks out from the corner over a shot of the Temple of Poseidon in Attica, Greece, with rolling mountains in the background as boats float by.

You may be able to visit Wat Tang Sai Temple in Thailand in person, but you won’t see it from this angle. Shot by drone over a pagoda, this photo shows off the luxurious red and gold rooftop and the perfect symmetry of the building.

Sports fans will love this shot of Indonesia’s Senayan Stadium at nighttime. The photo perfectly catches the glow of the stadium, the full moon and the cityscape in the background.

Who knew a roundabout could be so beautiful? This shot shows off a spiral landscape with intrinsic designs in the middle of a roundabout in Madrid.

You may have to look closely to decipher this everyday beauty. It’s a zig-zag patterned spillway in Ohio’s Indian Lake. The perfect lighting in this one makes the spillway look like a beautiful abstract design.

The photographer here notes that they took this photo shortly after Hurricane Irma hit Key West’s Wisteria Island. Four sailboats sit abandoned on the shoreline shortly after the devastating hurricane.

This series of demolished Indian homes is both devastating and mysterious. The photographer notes that they came across it while traveling, and the cause of the destruction is unknown.

Shot in the Baltic Sea near Helsinki, Finland, this drone shot shows off the beauty and intrigue of frozen isea in winter. Sea water freezes at around 28.4 degrees Fahrenheit, and the National Ocean Service estimates that at least 15% of the world’s ocean is covered by this salty sea ice for at least part of the year.

These dune fields can be found near the Dead Vlei and Namib Naukluft National Park in Namibia. The aerial enhances the vastness of these epic and one-of-a-kind sandscapes.

This array of colorful umbrellas was shot in Hong Kong in 2019. In a COVID-19 world, it’s hard to remember traveling, let alone being so close to so many strangers.

Far from the crowded streets of Hong Kong, a sole swimmer on a pink innertube swims alone near Oludeniz on the Dead Sea.

Providing even more contrast to the swimmer, this photo features picnic-goers in Ankara, Turkey. The drone perfectly captures a summery day in a local park.

In Russia’s Altai Mountains sits this geyser lake. You can see blue clay and silt surrounding the thermal springs in this otherworldly shot.

This view of an Icelandic volcano could easily be mistaken for an extraterrestrial shot. The drone captures the heat of the volcano contrasted with the much cooler valleys surrounding it.

Pictured is a drone shot of a cornfield fire in Denmark from the summer of 2018. The photo captures a firetruck, situated  at the edge of the burnt farmland and  the rest of the field.

This may look like abstract art, but it’s actually the shoreline of Koh Samui Island in Thailand. You can see the red sand, foamy white waves and the ombre of turquoise color from the water.

Shot in Khwai, Botswana, this shot offers an epic view of an everyday wonder. A herd of elephants wander through the dry plains in search of a nearby river.

For those who live on South Island, New Zealand, herding sheep is often a part of everyday life.

In Krimulda, Latvia, a single tree stands tall as its shadow extends down below it. In the background, you can see trails, the only sign of life besides the tree itself in this otherwise still and barren landscape.

This aerial view of camping grounds on Doi Mon Cham Mountain in Thailand is truly outstanding. You can see the elevated mountains contrasting with the shadowy valleys and waterways surrounding them.

This shot shows off the haunting beauty of The Hill of Slane Castle ruins and the remains of a nearby castle. Their shadows stretch across a field of green as neighboring villages dot the background of the shot.

This shot of a city in transition from night to day is from Cappadocia, Turkey. Even more amazingly, it shows off natural rock shaped almost like a castle standing watch over the city.

Deep in the Swiss Mountains on a snowy day, this drone shot shows a nearly empty road in one of the mountain’s many winding passageways. The contrasting black asphalt and white snow makes for a spectacular shot.

The Zhangye National Geopark in Gangsu, China, is home to many rainbow mountains, including the one pictured here. This unique blend of minerals in these sandstone hills and mountains is certainly a marvelous sight.

The Skogafoss Waterfall in Iceland is a popular tourist attraction. However, here, the drone captures a view of the falls sans human, letting its deep green pastures and foamy white waters be the true start of the shot.

These may look like pyramids, but they’re actually stone formations in Switzerland with a scenic route cutting through them. Fog overlays the fall scene, making for an interesting and glorious shot of the stone pyramids.

Here, we have actual pyramids shot from above. This aerial features The Pyramid of King Khafre in Giza. You can see the layers of the pyramid from a unique perspective with this top-down view.

Nazca Desert, Peru, is home to many geoglyphs and spirals, including the one here. These are

Nazca lines drawing geoglyphs of the spiral, Nazca desert, Peru. The lines were made over 2,000 years ago, although not much is known about them.

This street mural was created by area artists during the June 2020 Capitol Hill Organized Protest in Seattle. The colorful letters on Pine Street in the Capitol Hill neighborhood were made a permanent installation by the city later that year.

Deep in Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the world’s driest deserts, a pair of campers settle in for the night. You can see the sand illuminated by the light of the fire.

This shot of Dubai shows a man walking on a desert road toward the city. The combination of fog and swirling sand make it a truly one-of-a-kind shot.

We’re traveling back to the Atacama Desert for this shot of solar panels. The sun gleams over the panels as it snuggles in for the night behind mountains of sand.

The Holy Heart Land, or Thung Thalay Luang in Sukhothai, Thailand, is so named because it’s shaped like a heart. This shot shows off the small island and the vast Yom River surrounding it.

This storm surge barrier in the Netherlands vents water to stop flooding after heavy rains and high tides. The shot perfectly captures the moment the surge kicks in and starts pumping water away from the nearby road.

This overhead shot of a public city park in Moscow shows the intrinsic designs of the green landscape contrasted with the neighboring city. If you look closely, you can see a colorfully designed section of the park with a rainbow and clouds near the bottom right corner.

The cherry blossoms on the University of Washington campus are especially beautiful in this sunset photo with Mount Rainier in the background.

This drone shot shows off a lone car braving this desolate bridge over a waterway in Finland. You can see the light hit the ripples of the dark water as the car travels by.

This overhead view of downtown Dubai shows off the foggy skyline on a winter day. Peeking underneath the skyscrapers are city streets, barely visible over all the fog.

This top-down view shows off the financial district of downtown Singapore. In the center is the Fountain of Wealth, a famous attraction for tourists and locals alike.

This abandoned train trestle near Olympia, Washington, is also known as Rainbow Railroad because it was painted in rainbow colors. There’s not a lot of information out there about who did it or why, but plenty of curiosity seekers make the hike to see the bridge.

The Hong Kong financial district looks like a processor for a computer when shot from overhead. Neat blocks of buildings are outlined by busy city streets and cars traveling in the downtown district.

You’ve seen photos of the Eiffel Tower, but what about the line to get into it? A swirl of people wait their turn to see the famous structure, snaking through the street because of how long it is.

This shot shows off yet another Icelandic volcano, this time in the country’s Highlands region. You can see the volcanic crater surrounded by waves of purple-maroon sand, green pastures and waterways.

This birdseye view of Portugal’s Islet of Vila Franca do Campo shows off an underwater volcano, centered in the heart of San Miguel Island. A boat cruises at the edge of thef frame in the right corner.

In Ayia Napa, Cyprus, a maze in a local botanical garden is shot from above. Sunny shadows peek through the natural design, which features a sole tall tree in the middle of it.

This drone photographer caught a lone seal swimming in the crystal clear waters near Tacoma, Washington. Makes you want to jump right in with him!