The world’s most popular aerial photography community run in association with DJI, SkyPixel, has announced the winners of their 2017 Photo Story Contest

The competition, which ran between October and December 2017, accepted more than 44,000 submissions from participants in 141 countries, across the categories of Landscape, Portrait and Story.

The Grand Prize was awarded to Florian Ledoux, a photographer from France, who used his Phantom 4 Pro to capture a remarkable moment of a polar bear jumping across ice floes in Nunavut, Canada, in his entry, ‘Above The Polar Bear’.

I have witnessed incredible moments and scenes of the wild but I can guarantee you that this, by far, is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I hope that future generations will still be able to witness the beauty and grandeur of the Arctic wildlife the same way we do today.

Jarrad Seng, SkyPixel judge, photographer, filmmaker and creative director based in Australia, said: “There are images that might impress you with their technical mastery, and then there are images that make you feel something. This photograph floored me. It’s especially poignant given the climate crisis our world is facing right now.”

As the Grand Prize winner, Ledoux has won prizes amounting to $15,095, which include a DJI Inspire 2 in addition to other products from SkyPixel sponsors.

In addition to the Grand Prize, each main category also consists of a First, Second and Third Prize from both the professional and enthusiast groups. The winning entries captured a diverse range of perspectives, from profiling a girl dancing in a 190-year old building in Shanghai to the capture a striking image depicting environmental impact in the world today.

The SkyPixel Photo Contest of 2017 is now the world’s largest aerial photography contest, breaking the record it created in 2016. SkyPixel was initially established to provide a platform for aerial photographers to share their creativity and unique perspectives of the world. Today, it has evolved to a global platform where we are able to document remarkable moments from once inaccessible areas of the world for future generations to witness and appreciate.

The 2017 Photo Contest awarded nine additional entries as ‘Nominated Entries’ as well as highlighted the top ten most liked photos as recipients of the ‘Popular Prize’.

All winning entries were selected by an esteemed panel of judges consisting of professional photographers, filmmakers and creative directors, including Josh Raab, Multimedia Editor at TIME and professor at the International Center of Photography, Pat Kay, award-winning photographer and content creator, and Chris McLennan, international landscape and wildlife photographer.