Staff
Drone photography isn’t all nice beaches and roads to paradise. If you happen to live in parts of the world where Old Man Winter rears his ugly head, you know that when the cold weather hits, you’d better be prepared. But ugly may be going a bit too far. Yes, it may be freakishly cold, but winter brings with it some of the most beautiful images nature has to offer.
If you ever have looked at a snowflake up close, you know how intricate it can be. With the same kind of unbelievable creations, winter brings snow, ice, fog, sleet, wind and other elements that make for some pretty remarkable photographs.
Yes, it can be a challenge for any device to function correctly when temperatures start to dip. If you’re in a region where the temps dip below zero, you know you are going to have a hard time keeping batteries functioning and your drones flying. But pilots succeed time and time again, and what they capture is truly breathtaking. So enjoy these 9 best winter drone shots. We’d love to see what you’ve captured. Send your winter shots to us or #FullDrone or @FullDrone on social media and we’ll find you!
1. Wax the skis, morning will be here soon
Our first shot of winter takes us to Utah and Alta’s Devil’s Castle at dusk. This outstanding photo was snapped by @coptershotz in the Albion Basin as he most likely prepped for the next day of beautiful skiing on the slopes at the resort. We’ve been to Alta and it is nothing short of stunning. If you love to ski, you’ll love Alta. And you’ll get views like this to sear into your memory for the rest of your years.
2. Grab a shovel and dig out the beast
Wow. Check out this amazing capture of ‘Sleeping Air Force’ by @myflybro. Here is what the pilot from Belarus had to say about capturing this epic shot: “This shot I made on DJI P3P (Phantom 3 Professional). It was -20 degrees celsius. before the flight better seal with tape the vents, which would battery did not lose power during acceleration. My friend did not do that and still have not found his drone!” The pilot says this is Soviet military plane Li-2 that was built in 1942. The sample was taken for an American aircraft Douglas DC-3. Great shot in the dead of winter.
3. Where cars go to die
Think about your first car. Where is it?! I had a 1978 Buick Skylark. No idea where that beast is these days. But if you live in Lithuania, chances are your sweet ride could be amongst the deep-freeze dead in this car cemetery. This creative shot was captured by @irmantasgelunas and captures some great patterns thanks to some really cold cars. A terrific shot that captures the snow and cold in awesome form.
4. The playground is packed (with snow)
It’s always a bummer when winter moves in and takes away the warm, outdoor activities you enjoyed. But that didn’t stop @karolis.jay from hitting the playground and catching this cool shot from above of a slide no one is willing to test out. This image is especially cool because of the shape of the slide and to cool color tones of the yellow slide against the white snow. Normally the only yellow you see in snow is, well, we won’t go there. Great shot of showing some life in the dead of winter!
5. Splitting nature’s goal posts
Little did @michaelmatti realize he was catching more than just an amazing shot of the forest on this cold winter day. Take a closer look. He sums up the experience on his Instagram page by saying: “Above the clouds at Rattlesnake Ledge in Washington. Here is another from yesterday’s adventure in the snow and fog at Rattlesnake Ledge. I don’t know who the person in this photo is, but whoever you are, thanks for standing perfectly in the gap in the trees.” That’s right, this image was not staged – the person standing in the tress happened to be there at the exact moment he took the picture. Great shot, nice execution and a little bit of luck!
6. Little ol’ me
Jessica Carpenter may be a pharmacist by trade, but this girl loves the winter outdoors. Check out her Instagram profile @jessicacarp and you’ll see just how much she loves frolicking in the snow. This cool shot is very simple. Straight up, she’s the speck in the middle. That’s it. We think it’s fantastic because of it’s simplicity. They always say “X marks the spot.”
7. Big house on the shoreline
Arkin Sengonul really captured a stunner with this image of a house on the shoreline in Golcuk, Turkey. He captured this with a DJI Phantom 3 and it couldn’t be any better. His gallery on Instagram @arkns is popular and it’s easy to see why with his amazing photography and captures like this one. The contrast of the cold, icy, dark water against the fluffy white snow with a beautiful home is tough to beat! He simply says, “Good night, friends” in describing this shot. This is one of the best drone winter shots out there in our opinion!
8. Taking the Christmas Tree search to new heights
If you’re Eric Ringer (@eric.t.ringer), you don’t just stop on down to the local hardware store parking lot to peruse the latest batch of Christmas trees for sale. No, you go deep in to the forest to FIND YOUR OWN. And while there, you put your drone up to capture the experience! Here is a great aerial shot of the search for his tree. Some cool frozen swirls of a nearby lake up against the towering, snow-covered pine trees really makes this a winner of a shot.
9. The bird is clear for takeoff
Sometimes you have to step back and capture a shot of the machine that’s making you and your images look great. That’s exactly what is going on in this shot. This custom drone even has it’s very own helipad! The sun coming through the trees on what seems to be a chilly day really captures the moment as this bird is about to take flight and capture some amazing shots for the day…before the batteries die, that is. Great shot by @flyingstuff.
Have an amazing winter drone shot?
We’d love to see it and promote it on this website! Just start posting your images on social media with the hashtag #FullDrone or the mention @FullDrone and we’ll check it out. We’re looking for super creative, crisp and COLD images of winter that can’t be beaten! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.