The 2026 Siena Drone Photo Awards have announced their winners, showcasing unique perspectives on our planet. The overall winner, George Steinmetz, captured a striking aerial view of a tanker being dismantled on the mudflats off the coast of Bangladesh. The photograph, titled "Shipbreaking on the mudflats, Bay of Bengal," offers a glimpse into the shipbreaking industry, which has faced criticism for its environmental and labor practices. Steinmetz's photograph reveals the massive scale of the vessel and the tiny figures of workers.
Steinmetz's fascination with Bangladesh's shipbreaking industry led him to explore the relationship between human populations and the environment. He spent several days photographing the vessel, returning as the tides shifted and the workers continued to take the ship apart for scrap metal. The drone allowed Steinmetz to capture the vessel at low tide, when the surrounding mudflats were exposed and workers could be seen moving around its enormous hull. This perspective provides a unique understanding of the industry's operations.
Another winner, Dilek Yurdakul, captured a stunning aerial view of carpet fields in southern Turkey. The photograph, which won first place in the People section, showcases hundreds of beautiful carpets spread across open fields, exposed to the Mediterranean sun. Yurdakul's drone allowed her to bring together several layers of the story in a single frame, including the artistic richness of Anatolian craftsmanship, the scale of the landscape, and the human labor that connects them.
Yurdakul traveled six hours from Ankara to the Döşemealtı district of Antalya to capture this spectacle. She was drawn to the story of the carpets, which are part of a traditional process that gives handmade rugs their softly faded colors. The aerial perspective allowed her to highlight the invisibility of labor, which is often overlooked in societies. Yurdakul's photograph invites viewers to look deeper and discover the people, traditions, and cultural memory behind the image.
Colas Decloitzre, a Boston-based drone photographer, captured a highly commended image of Tumpak Sewu's majestic waterfall in East Java, Indonesia. The photograph, taken at sunrise, showcases the imposing horseshoe-shaped waterfall and Mount Semeru rising behind it. Decloitzre's drone allowed him to position the waterfall against the volcano, revealing an intriguing landscape that could only be viewed from the air.
Isabella Tabacchi's photograph, "The Last Ember," was also highly commended in the Nature category. The image, taken in the Argentine Puna, showcases a volcanic cone, which appears as the glowing eye of a fiery monster. Tabacchi's drone photo transformed the landscape into a dream-like quality, highlighting the unique perspective offered by aerial photography.
The 2026 Siena Drone Photo Awards demonstrate the power of drone photography to reveal new perspectives on our planet. The winners' images showcase unique landscapes, livelihoods, and human stories often invisible from the ground. By using drones, photographers can capture images that were once difficult, expensive, or impossible to achieve, providing a fresh understanding of our world.
Key points
- The 2026 Siena Drone Photo Awards highlight the work of photographers who use drones to capture unique perspectives on our planet.
- The awards showcase a range of images, from landscapes and industry to human stories and cultural traditions.
- The use of drones has transformed aerial photography, allowing photographers to capture images that were once difficult or impossible to achieve.
