DJI has partnered with Tourism Australia to launch ‘Australia From Above’, the drone company’s first national aerial photography contest, which aims to ‘showcase the natural beauty from above’…

ADDITION: …And provide Tourism Australia and DJI’s Skypixel website with some great aerial footage free of charge. 

The winner will receive a DJI Inspire 2 Premium Combo drone package, a three-day journey to Lord Howe Island for two, and a three-day journey to Kangaroo Island for two. Second and third place both receive a package of goodies from DJI.

ADDITION: Following reader comments below, we checked out the T&Cs for this competition. (See below.) Not only does an entrant give up all rights to any content entered in the competition (and also makes their work available for free to visitors to the Skypixel website!) but the winners are required to hand over footage they take while on their prize trips to Lord Howe and Kangaroo Islands! 

The contest, Australia From Above, is open to all photographers that have taken aerial photos of Australia, and it’s not a requirement that submissions were taken by drones. (Meaning images taken from helicopters and light aircraft can be entered).

‘Drone photography is gaining huge popularity in Australia, with the country home to a rising number of very talented aerial photographers,’ said Lisa Ronson, chief marketing officer at Tourism Australia. ‘Advances in technology are enabling us to tell Australia’s story in ways previously not possible, and the levels of engagement we get when we share some of these amazing drone clips on our social channels is just extraordinary.

‘It’s really exciting to be part of a competition which provides such a great platform for this new generation of content creators to capture the rich colours, patterns and textures of Australia’s diverse landscape and share this with the rest of the world.’
The contest is being run through DJI’s aerial photography community group, SkyPixel.

It will be judged by Ronson, Australian photographer Kirk Hille, and professional travel photographer Tom Rex Jessett.

‘Australia is a stunning, diverse country, from the inspiring expanse of its pristine white beaches to the raw power of its rich, red outback,’ said Danny Zheng, DJI marketing vice president. ‘Capturing these landscapes from above empowers photographers to see Australia’s extraordinary beauty in an entirely new way, and we can’t wait to see the amazing images from inspired aerial creators.’

Entries are open until May 2 through SkyPixel.

NOTE: Anyone considering entering this competition does so on this basis, according to the Terms & Conditions:

D. Intellectual Property
By entering into the Contest and submitting an Entry, each Entrant hereby grants to the Organizer and its affiliates, and the Organizer and the affiliates hereby accepts, a non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual, sub-licensable and transferable license to use and exploit the Intellectual Property Rights subsisting in his/her respective Entry(ies). The foregoing license shall provide the Organizer, its affiliates, and its transferees and sublicensees, to the extent transferred and sublicensed by the Organizer, the right to edit, publish, print, use, adapt, translate, exploit, modify, include in a compilation, copy, disseminate, dispose, load onto its server, broadcast and/or transmit each Entrant’s Entry (including photos, videos, etc.) for advertising, promotional, display and/or publicity purposes, and to use the Entries for any and all purposes connected with the Contest and the Campaign Website without any compensation for, further permission by, or notification to the Entrant. Each Entrant also hereby grants each visitor to the Campaign Website a non-exclusive license to access an Entrant’s Entry and to view, use, reproduce and/or distribute such Entry.

Not only that, but the first prize holiday trips to Lord Howe Island and Kangaroo Island turn out to be FOC assignments for Tourism Australia:

The Grand Prize Winner further agrees to grant, and hereby grants, to Tourism Australia and tourism operators designated by the Organizer a non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual license to use and exploit the Intellectual Property Rights subsisting in all of the contents captured by him/her on Kangaroo Island and Lord Howe Island. 

– Is this the most ambitious rights grab ever conceived under the guise of a photo competition?