A poisoned river (yea; we did a double take too, and went back to read it again: the river is in Romania), a turtle trudging back to water and a newly wed couple were among the winners of this year’s Sienna Awards’ Drone Photo Awards, which were announced last week.

This year’s overall winner was a beautiful photo of thousands of pink-footed geese whose flight was beautifully frozen in time in central Norway in spring by Russian photographer Terje Kolaas. The geese were on their way to the breeding grounds on Svalbard in the Arctics.

“Probably because of climate change, they arrive earlier every year and often the ground and the fields where they feed are covered by snow when they arrive. The geese tend to use the same paths, so when waiting for them in the air with a drone, photos like this one are possible,” Kolaas said.

For his trouble, Kolaas walked away with €500 worth of photography equipment, a “Pangea Prize” crystal statuette, will have his work on display at the “Above Us Only Sky” Exhibition; get publicity on international press and on main online media, as well as publication in the award organisers’ online gallery.

The winners in the nine other categories – Abstract, Nature, People, Series, Sport, Urban, Wedding, Wildlife and Video – also won the same prizes, minus the photography rig.

You can check for yourself the category winners above; and if you wish to see more pictures of the runners up and other recommended captures, you can head over here.