These are the award-winning pictures which capture life on Earth from the vantage point of a drone, showing cityscapes, baby announcements, lavender harvests and something very clever with a tennis court.

They have scooped the top prizes in four categories in the International Drone Photography Contest hosted by Dronestagram and organised in partnership with National Geographic.

More than 8,000 images were submitted from around the world and whittled down to these worthy winners by judges.

Nature

Provence summer trim by Jerome Courtial (Jerome Courtial @jcourtial/Dronestagram)(JCourtial/Dronestagram)

Jerome Courtial scooped first place with this image Provence, Summer Trim taken in Valensole.

He said: “I thought I would have had a nice picture in the day, but I had no idea this one in particular would be so well received. It has now become my favourite picture ever taken.

“I still feel like I’m experiencing the world in a completely new dimension. It still feels like a magic feeling seeing the world through the drone’s point of view.”

2nd place – Infinite Road To Transylvania, Romania by Calin Stan

Infinite Road To Transylvania, Romania (Calin Stan/Dronestagram)(Calin Stan/Dronestagram)

3rd place – Ice Formation Greenland by Florian

Ice Formation in Greenland by Florian (Florian/Dronestagram)(Florian/Dronestagram)

Urban

FIrst place in the Urban category was won by Bachir Moukarzel with this shot of Dubai (Bachir Moukarzel @Bachirm on Dronestagram)(Bachir Moukarzel /Dronestagram)

Financial controller Bachir Moukarzel won first place in the Urban category with his image Concrete Jungle.

The 33-year-old from Lebanon took the image in his adopted home city of Dubai where he has been living for 15 years.

He said: “This picture was shot at sunset time in Dubai at 6pm trying to capture an area which was literally a desert 10 years back and (is) now a concrete jungle with the highest buildings in Dubai.”

2nd place – Dawn On Mercury Tower, Russia, by Alexeygo

Dawn On Mercury Tower, Russia by Alexeygo (Alexeygo/Dronestagram)(Alexeygo/Dronestagram)

3rd place – Urban, Peace, Spain by LuckyDron

Urban, Peace, Spain by LuckyDron (LuckyDron/Dronestagram)(LuckyDron/Dronestagram)

People

1st prize winner is the category people: (Martin Sanchez/Dronestagram)

Martin Sanchez took his image End Of The Line USA, at a tennis court after hours spent photographing the New Jersey coast. He had packed up for the day when he spotted the empty court.

“(It) just stood out like a treasured story in a book of empty words. After a few takes things got a little weird. Two people came by to play some tennis on the other court. As they got closer they had no idea what was happening on my end. They didn’t know whether to play or call for help!”

2nd place – Waterlily, Vietnam by Helios1412

Waterlily, Vietnam by Helios1412/Dronestagram)(Helios1412/Dronestagram)

3rd place – La Vijanera, Spain by Feelingmovie

3rd prize in people category La Vijanera, Spain by Feelingmovie (FeelingMovie/Dronestagram)(FeelingMovie/Dronestagram)

Creativity

1st place in the creativity category Next Level by macareuxprod (Macareuxprod/Dronestagram)(Macareuxprod/Dronestagram)

Thibault Beguet, from Rennes, Brittany, came up with his picture to announce the pregnancy of his girlfriend Manon.

The 34-year-old works with drones as part of his job and was eager to use the technology in his announcement.

He said: “I’m very proud about winning this contest, all the more in the special category creativity created for the occasion. It’s a beautiful recognition of my work and I hope that this picture will give some ideas to drone photographers.”

2nd place – Too Moo by Luke Bell

2nd place in the Creativity category Two Moo by Luke Bell (Luke Bell/Dronestagram)(Luke Bell/Dronestagram)

3rd place – Ugo Le Marin by RGA

Ugo le marin by RGA (RGA/Dronestagram)(RGA/Dronestagram)