TIME Drones

The Best Drone Photographs of 2016

TIME selects the best images shot from the skies

Photography aims to show what has not been seen. Drone photography achieves that, providing a new perspective on the world from points we cannot easily reach.

This year, thousands of images were submitted to the Dronestagram and Skypixel competitions, including the photograph of a gold trout circle underwater that would have been difficult to see from the ground. Another organized the chaos of a pool packed with young swimmers preparing for competitions in Colombia. And yet another outlined the process of haystack production in Romania.

In 2016, drones also became more affordable and easier to use. Every time a drone lifts off, it raises the bar.

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There’s no doubt that in 2017 we can expect to be continually surprised by drones’ ability to show us what we thought we knew and bring us to places we are yet to go.

Josh Raab is an Associate Photo Editor at TIME. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter.

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Saturnia hot springs. Central Tuscany. Over the streets of Hong Kong Rock climbing in Moab, Utah, United States. Dead trees between sky and earth A beach in Rotterdam, Holland. Surf session on the beach of Leblon in Rio de Janeiro. Camillus Splash Pad A car drives through a field in Kusa, Chelyabinskaya oblast, Russia. A Dogsledder and dogs in Satka, Chelyabinskaya oblast, Russia. A caravan of Camels walks along Cable beach at sunset in Broome, Australia. A section of Corabastos, the main market in Bogota, Colombia. Al Quadra lakes in Dubai. Aerial drone view of a curved winding road through the forest hi Winter trees in Sfanta Ana, Romania. Salto de Poveda in Alto Tajo National Park in Guadalajara, Spain

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