SkyPixel 2025 winners push the boundaries of mobile drone imaging and cinema
For its 10th anniversary, Skypixel – the community platform created in partnership with DJI, dedicated to aerial photography and video – reveals the winners of its 10th annual competition.
And spoiler alert: the winning productions are absolutely mind-blowing. With nearly 140 entries this year, 000 marks a turning point, somewhere between a tribute to the past and a leap forward into the future of aerial and on-the-fly photography.
Videos that look like Hollywood short films, photos that blur the lines between nature and surrealism... and always this quest for visual narration, pure, technical, emotional and immersive perception.
DJI, emperor of the heavens since 2006
The high-tech company DJI, the world's leading civilian drone brand since 2006, has enabled millions of geeks, videographers, and audiovisual professionals to enjoy a unique aerial perspective.
For agriculture, public safety, cinema, maps, industrial inspection… DJI represents more than a drone manufacturer: it is a propellant of imagination.
10 years of immersive visual and narrative exploration.
This anniversary competition is more than just a list of winners: it's a 360° scan of global creativity. SkyPixel, initially a niche network, has become a must-have platform for drone enthusiasts, travel videographers, and high-flying photographers.
“This competition highlights not only the talent of our community, but also the transformative power of aerial photography.”
— Christina Zhang, Chief Strategy Officer at DJI
An exceptional jury: when Hollywood meets National Geographic
SkyPixel didn't do things by halves for this 10th round. The jury? A dream team of Oscar-winning filmmakers, award-winning photographers, and visual storytelling experts. No less.
Video Category:
- Claudio Miranda (Life of Pi, Top Gun: Maverick)
- Chenyu Jin (Blossoms Shanghai)
- Tianhong Pan, creator of MediaStorm
- Sam Newton, world leader in travel filmmaking
Photo Category:
- Anne Farrar, National Geographic Magazine
- Luke Stackpoole, adventure image pro
- Weimin Chu, NG Travel 2019 winner
- Daniel Kordan, master of landscape photography
The 2025 winners: visual masterpieces and guaranteed thrills
Best Aerial Video
The War – My Transformation Journey — Bashir Abu Shakra
A punch in the eye. A video diary shot above an empty world. Amid immense landscapes, are we to understand: immense solitude has become poetry? Steady camera, graceful aerial movements, daylight… each shot is a pictorial and Lutheran tour de force. It's so well composed! It's slow, it's gentle, it's hypnotic. It's one of my favorites! » — Claudio Miranda
A stylized immersion in Japan, visualized like a cinematic work. Yue uses fluid movements, pixel-by-pixel stabilization, and systemic sound design, taking us on a journey to the heart of a country between Zen temples and illuminated alleys. The precision of the movements and the tones used are of great refinement. A fundamentally homogeneous journey. » — Chenyu Jin
Best Photo Mysterious Realm — Gangerqia
Who looks at nature through the eyes of the gaze, or rather through the shape of the eye? The tautology, beyond the ideas of unnaturalness, flirting with the fantastic. The petrified pond of the eye, surrounded by the dotted line of birds... Everything here truly has something proper to a dream that is at once fantastic, minimalist and mysterious. It looks like a digital drawing, and yet, without cheating, 100% natural. Calm, mysterious, fascinating » — Luke Stackpoole
And the other nuggets?
Among the 10 most memorable videos of the year:
🛩️ We Were Meant to Fly: a poetic ode to the aerial dream
❄️ Journey to the Pole: extreme journey – glacial –
🏝️ DREAMS OF THE PHILIPPINES: sublime island landscapes
🛰️ FLIGHT MODE: steep climb with precise piloting,
🎬 We All Start Somewhere: a tribute to all the new creators
🏁 My FPV Showreel 2024: adrenaline-fueled flight
🏔️ The Dolomites: the cinematic dolce vita
💌 Dear Friend: emotion on film
📅 MY YEAR 2024: Visual list of a year of adventures
🗻 Mysterious Altay: Immersion in a hidden world – for the curious
⚠️ The selected works are presented to the public for voting and comments, until April 7, 2025. Notice to critics: lovers of images, or just dreamers.
SkyPixel will celebrate its 10th anniversary as it should: with audacity, a keen sense of technique, and a range of rather exciting visual emotions. Thought drones were just geek gadgets? Think again. This is aerial art. And the coming decade promises to be even more dizzying.
Patrick Koune
