Drone Talent Award Winner 2022
Exceptional drone shot
I have always wanted to go high when taking photographs. Even in my early years as a photojournalist, I wasn't held back by the street. I looked for a way onto every high-rise in my hometown of Leipzig to find new perspectives on my home. Back in 2012, this was the only way to photograph a city overview without renting a helicopter. At that time, I dreamed of how great it would be to place the camera freely in the room to take photos with the perfect composition. Only 10 years later, this dream has become my reality.
With a special perspective on the column garden of the Sächsische Aufbaubank, I have now even won the Drone Talent Award in the Architecture category. The competition from 2,500 drone pilots was fierce, and the top spots were hard-fought. That makes me all the more pleased that my picture was able to prevail against such good competitors.
The central image of my triptych "Pillar Garden" won. I wanted to play with the shadows that the early morning sun creates in the pillar garden. It took half a year for the sun to rise in the right place and the weather to be perfect for the shot. About 30 minutes after sunrise, the propellers of my DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone whirred. When the SAB's receptionist, himself an enthusiastic hobby drone pilot, saw me, he ran out of the bank. This great picture was taken while we enjoyed the first rays of sunshine and a conversation about drone flying.
The ensemble of the Sächsische Aufbaubank in Leipzig, officially opened in September 2021, was designed by the London architectural office ACME. It is particularly striking for its pillar garden, a publicly accessible space with 159 pillars. There are another 92 pillars on the building itself, 68 of which are free-standing and 24 of which penetrate the building. They are used as sun protection, partly for smoke extraction from the underground car park and as a design element. Source: www.sab.sachsen.de
