See the winners of the first edition of the Drone Awards

The winners for the first edition of the Drone Awards have been announced and the images show the power and potential that aerial photography has for capturing incredible and unique perspectives.

A panel of five internationally recognised jurors analysed the 4400 submissions coming from 11 countries to select the Photographer of the Year. The title went to Frenchman Florian Ledoux for his 'Above the Polar Bear,' a picture of a polar bear jumping from once ice cap to the other in Nunavut, a northern territory of Canada.

Romanian Ovi D. Pop won first prize in the Abstract category with a shot titled 'Weather Snake,' while Gabriel Scanu from Austria conquered the Nature category with his 'Mada’in Saleh' photo. The first prize of the People category went to Chinese Qinghua Shui for a picture titled 'Pilgrimage of Millions of People,' and Dutchman Vincent Riemersma won the Sport category with his 'Skating Shadows'. Finally, American Adam Berker won the Wildlife category with his entry 'Blacktip Shark,' while Italian Francesco Cattuto won the Urban category with a photograph called 'Assisi Over the Clouds'.

The award ceremony will be held in Siena, Italy, this October, but in the meantime, you can see the winning photos and some of the runner-ups down below.