More drone photo disappointment

We’ve been here before (harvesting water lilies again, nogal), but…

Spoiler: they’re really not.

Now, I’m not saying that I could have necessarily produced anything better (although my waves breaking on rocks beats their waves breaking on rocks IMHO, so actually maybe I am).

but honestly, if these are the “50 best drone pictures of last year”, then… ugh.

The quality is disappointing, the variation in subject matter is really poor (any chance of another boat harvesting some plants or doing some fishing, please?) and the winner (reproduced here only so you don’t have to click through and be continually disappointed):

clearly breaks one of the many unwritten rules of flying a drone: don’t harass wildlife. Add to that several over roads and a few above crowds: it’s not exactly showcasing the best of drone etiquette.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some lovely photos in there, and I still firmly believe that taking photos from a drone opens up a whole new world of perception of common or everyday objects or scenes.

But “best 50 drone pictures of last year”? Sorry. No.
At least half of these are really rather ordinary.

Missed out

Much fanfare around the revealing of the  Dronestagram Top 20 Drone Photos Of 2017:

It has become a must-attend event for this period of the year. The Dronestagram drone imaging platform unveils today its top 20 of the most beautiful and amazing, even stunning drons [sic] photos published on the site during 2017.

Admission: I’d not even heard of Dronestagram before this. Sorry.

I’ve checked and it appears that I have missed out once again on being given any sort of award here. Which, given that I only heard of their existence last night, is hardly surprising really.

What follows is going to sound a bit like sour grapes, but it’s really not. It’s just that… I’m not very impressed with the Top 20. I’m not saying that I could do any better. I’m just saying that as a Top 20 (or Top 22 if you follow the link through), they’re actually a bit disappointing. Is this really the crème de la crème of the drone photography world?

There’s nothing specifically wrong with them. They’re all very nice. But as an example of the best you can do with a drone? Meh. There seems to be a lack of inventiveness; a lot of point and shoot. This one, for example:

just shows that merely having an interesting subject (which this undoubtedly is) isn’t enough to make a great photograph.

And I don’t think I’m being too harsh when I say that this image, of a woman harvesting water lilies in a pond in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam is the only one that shows any real creativity for me:

Drones give the opportunity for people to get a completely different perspective on an otherwise ordinary scene. But this opportunity won’t last forever. Familiarity breeds contempt. With more and more (and more) drones around, there is a need to do something more to make your drone photography special. These sort of allegedly prestigious awards should be leading this kind of thinking, but I’m sorry to say that I don’t see any evidence of that happening here.

OK, the polar bear one is pretty good too.

I have high hopes of my mediocre efforts being recognised in next year’s awards. I guess I’ll have to sort out a Dronestagram account to get them to notice me. Don’t watch this space.