UAV sales have reached new highs in recent years. Just a few years ago, the prospect would have seemed unlikely for the average civilian, at a time when these unmanned aerial vehicles were only being discussed for military purposes. But nowadays, drones are increasingly used for recreational purposes and most of them are now equipped with high-quality cameras, making it even easier for those who have difficulty accessing images from captivating and impossible angles. UAVs are now also used by retailers, hospitals, law enforcement and even sporting events to capture angles that are difficult to access from the ground. But sometimes, drones capture the strangest and most unexpected scenes of our daily lives that a normal camera simply cannot capture. Here are some examples of captivating drone images showing unexpected and bizarre scenes.
1. A great white shark
This image was taken off the coast of southern California as part of a documentary film by Mark Romanov and Forrest Galante on the relationship between humans and sharks. The two women, Jessica and Kelly, can be seen paddling while the dark silhouette of a large white shark can be seen swimming below the surface.
2. Gulliver the Giant Gentle
This somewhat disturbing image was taken by a drone over a field in Edinburgh, Scotland. The statue, called Gulliver the Giant Gentleman, was created by Jimmy Boyle, a former gangster and convicted murderer, while serving a sentence at Barlinnie Prison in Glasgow.
3. Have a great Golden Week!
With more than 1.4 billion inhabitants, China is the most populous country in the world. As might be expected with such status, China is also home to some of the worst traffic jams in the world ever recorded. This image of a drone was taken near the border near Hong Kong on the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau highway, which spans a massive 50 lane highway.
This traffic jam took place after China’s national holiday week called “Golden Week”. Year after year, more and more motorists take the road to go with their families during the holidays. The worst traffic jam ever seen in the country was recorded in 2010 and lasted 12 days, with some motorists only able to travel less than one mile per day.
4. The day’s catch
This image of well-timed drones was taken over Panama City Beach, Florida, when a fisherman accidentally caught a hammerhead shark on his line. The aerial images show the fisherman struggling to bring the shark up. The fisherman finally won the fight and the shark was released unharmed.
5. The Silverdome
This haunted stadium, known as Silverdome, once housed the Detroit Lions football team before moving into the brand new Ford Stadium in 2002. The Silverdome has already hosted the Super Bowl, a pope, the NBA final, an Elvis concert and dozens of other world-class shows during its heyday.
6. Six Flags Amusement Park of New Orleans
Located in New Orleans East, there is currently an abandoned Six Flags theme park. The park has been closed since Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005. This photo was taken by a flying drone only two weeks after the storm while it was still flooded.
7. Mont Saint-Michel
Seen in this mystifying photo taken as part of the “Dronestagramme” travel photography competition, Mont Saint-Michel is one of the most recognizable sites in France and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in Normandy, this emblematic town attracts more than three million visitors per year. The island has had strategic fortifications since antiquity and has been the seat of the monastery since the 8th century AD.
8. The Boneyard
Have you ever wondered where old American fighters will die? They’re going to a place called “The Boneyard” in Tucson, Arizona. The storage and disposal centre was established after the Second World War and handles approximately 4,000 aircraft, making it the largest of its kind in the world.
9. A nightmare in the sky
This impressive view shows an aerial photo taken by a drone overlooking the city of Hong Kong. Hong Kong has the largest number of skyscrapers in the world and, although they are beautiful to look at, they also represent a larger underlying problem in the city’s real estate market.
10. Basilica of St. Francis
In what appears to be a castle straight out of the hit Game of Thrones series, this view can be seen in person in Umbria, Italy – but only by drone. And it is not really a castle, but a church known as the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. The construction of the imposing basilica began in 1228.
11. A big bird’s nest
No, it is not a giant sculpture of a moose head, but rather the most famous bird’s nest in the world. This photo of a drone was taken by a South African photographer in the Kalahari Desert, which covers an area of about 350,000 square miles across much of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.
12. Hase, the giant pink rabbit
There’s nothing like a giant pink plush rabbit on the side of a hill to tell the beauty of northern Italy, is there? Maybe the Energizer rabbit ran out of batteries and went there for an indefinite rest. This aerial capture of drones shows a giant rabbit installation in the Piedmont region of northern Italy in 2005.
13. Snapshot of a clown
Remember the great fear of the clown in 2016? Yes… how could any of us forget. Hundreds of creepy clown sightings have been reported in the United States and Canada. This strange photo of a drone taken over a field in Huntsville, Alabama, undoubtedly evokes the worrying trend that has eventually spread to all countries around the world. While many have considered this photo to be a staging, it still leaves us suspicious of clowns – and cornfields for that matter.
14. Christ the Redeemer
This rarely seen perspective captured by a drone offers an aerial view of the statue of Christ the Redeemer of Rio de Janeiro, located atop Mount Corcovado, 2,329 feet high, in the sprawling city of Brazil. The statue is 124.7 feet high and took nine years to build.
15. The Guatemalan abyss
This aerial photo taken with a drone shows a chasm that opened in Guatemala City after tropical storm Agatha hit the region in 2010, swallowing a three-story factory. The experts agreed that a combination of factors contributed to the formation of subsidence, not all of which were natural. The cocktail of catalysts from the huge chasm included tropical storm Agatha, the eruption of the Pacaya volcano and leaking sewer pipes.
16. A silent killer
This three-metre-long crocodile was spotted by a drone on the coast of a seaside resort on the island of Phuket, Thailand. Crocodiles can be very dangerous to humans because of their ability to strike before a person can react. Since salt water crocodiles and Nile crocodiles are the most dangerous, they are responsible for hundreds of deaths in parts of Southeast Asia and Africa.
17. Morrison’s Quarry
This beautiful image of a sunk aircraft was taken by a drone flying over Morrison’s Quarry in Chelsea, Quebec. The quarry is only a 25-minute drive from Ottawa and you will feel like you have completely left the country to land at a tropical station.
18. Feeding the ducks
This beautiful image of a drone was taken over the Ba River, just downstream of the city of Tuy Hoa, Vietnam. A farmer can be seen feeding the hundreds of beautiful white ducks that surround him. There is a long tradition of duck farming in Vietnam.
19. Staten Island Boat Cemetery
Did you know that in the middle of one of the world’s largest cities, New York, there is a boat cemetery that hides in plain sight? The place is locally known as Staten Island Boat Cemetery, located just off the north shore of the borough. Scrap metal was founded in the 1930s.
20. Mir Mine, Siberia
This aerial image of a drone comes from the frozen tundra of Siberia. In the image, we see the Mir mine, the first developed diamond mine and the largest in the former Soviet Union. To date, the mine remains one of the largest excavated holes in the world.
Source: icepop
