Stunning images from the 2025 International Aerial Photographer of the Year contest

Joanna Steidle’s portfolio, which included this image of a spinner shark hunting a school of menhaden fish in the ocean off Southampton, New York, won the competition’s top prize. (Joanna Steidle/The Inaugural International Aerial Photographer of the Year via CNN Newsource)

A humpback whale diving under the ocean’s surface, cownose rays approaching menhaden bait fish, and a spinner shark on the hunt are all images taken by the inaugural winner of the International Aerial Photographer of the Year competition.

Joanna Steidle, a professional drone pilot from New York, captured the stunning photos, taking home the top prize for her portfolio.

The competition is a new global award celebrating the most striking photography captured from above.

“Aerial photography offers so many possibilities not yet explored,” Steidle, who is based in the Hamptons on Long Island, said in a press statement from the competition organizers. “Every day is exciting.”

Drawn to the “unique subjects and moments” revealed by a bird’s eye view, Steidle added that she tries “to stay away from the ordinary.”

“I live in a very flat landscape,” she said. “So top-down imagery has become quite a theme in my photos which happens to work well with my love for marine life.”

The competition received more than 1,500 entries from around the world, organizers said. The only requirement was that all photos must be captured by a human, with no AI-generated content permitted.

Spain’s Daniel Viñé Garcia was awarded second place while third went to David Swindler from the U.S.

Several other photographers were recognized with special prizes, with categories including best black and white photo, best drone photo, best abstract photo and the Chairman’s Choice award.

The awards were founded by Peter Eastway and David Evans — the duo behind the International Landscape Photographer of the Year contest.

According to the organizers, the new competition was created in response to a growing number of aerial submissions and a desire to highlight the unique power of this perspective.

“Photographers today are capturing some simply breathtaking views from above,” Eastway, the chairman of judges, said in the statement. “Many are using modern drones equipped with high-resolution sensors, others are using more traditional (and more expensive) modes of transport, flying high above in planes, helicopters and even balloons.”

A selection of the competition’s winning and highly commended images can be seen in the gallery above.