In photography, as in life, sometimes a new perspective makes all the difference, and can make the mundane seem more special. Since photography was first introduced in the 19th century (the earliest surviving photograph was taken with a camera obscura in 1827 by Nicéphore Niépce in France), there have been daring and adventurous photographers who took this idea to heart and took to the air for a new point of view. The first successful aerial photograph (which is now lost) is credited to French photographer Gaspar Felix Tournachon, also known as “Nadar,” who used a tethered hot air balloon in 1858 to capture views of a French village outside of Paris. In the early 1900s, other photographers experimented with strapping cameras to kites, parachutes, and even pigeons. Technology has now given us drones, which make these on-high vantage points ever easier to attain.

The year 2020 has been a time like no other—moments of pain and confusion, but also beauty and grace, from Black Lives Matters murals to the replenishing floodwaters of the Okavango Delta in Botswana after a year of drought to an ambitious land art project to symbolically create the biggest human chain in the world. Atlas Obscura invites you to view the past year from great heights with our selection of our favorite aerial photos.

A herd of milu deer on a wetland near Dafeng Milu National Nature Reserve in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, China. The deer are a conservation success story, with the population increasing from 77 in 1980s to more than 8,000 (August 2020).
A herd of milu deer on a wetland near Dafeng Milu National Nature Reserve in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, China. The deer are a conservation success story, with the population increasing from 77 in 1980s to more than 8,000 (August 2020). He Jinghua/VCG via Getty Images
In March 2020, Finnish freediver Kristian Maki-Jussila set an unofficial world record by swimming 331 feet underneath a frozen lake, wearing just a pair of trunks and some goggles.
In March 2020, Finnish freediver Kristian Maki-Jussila set an unofficial world record by swimming 331 feet underneath a frozen lake, wearing just a pair of trunks and some goggles. OLIVIER MORIN/AFP via Getty Images
Water carves a winding channel down the surface of the melting Longyearbreen Glacier on Norway's Svalbard archipelago during a summer heat wave (July 2020).
Water carves a winding channel down the surface of the melting Longyearbreen Glacier on Norway’s Svalbard archipelago during a summer heat wave (July 2020). Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Life-giving floodwaters return to the vast inland Okavango Delta in Botswana after one of the driest seasons in years (May 2020).
Life-giving floodwaters return to the vast inland Okavango Delta in Botswana after one of the driest seasons in years (May 2020). Alberto Carrera/Alamy
Students practice tai chi in a playground of a school in Jiaozuo City in central China's Henan Province (December 2020).
Students practice tai chi in a playground of a school in Jiaozuo City in central China’s Henan Province (December 2020). Li An/Xinhua via Getty Images
A Black Lives Matter mural on East Pine Street near Cal Anderson Park in Seattle (June 2020).
A Black Lives Matter mural on East Pine Street near Cal Anderson Park in Seattle (June 2020). David Ryder/Getty Images
A girl observes a partial solar eclipse on the Mahanakhon Skywalk Glass Tray in Bangkok, Thailand (June 2020).
A girl observes a partial solar eclipse on the Mahanakhon Skywalk Glass Tray in Bangkok, Thailand (June 2020). Athit Perawongmetha/REUTERS
A woman walks through a grass mural by French land artist Guillaume Legros, known as Saype, at Bosporus University in Istanbul, Turkey. The artist's gigantic grass artworks have been completed in many locations around the world, and this series is focused on a symbolic human chain (October 2020).
A woman walks through a grass mural by French land artist Guillaume Legros, known as Saype, at Bosporus University in Istanbul, Turkey. The artist’s gigantic grass artworks have been completed in many locations around the world, and this series is focused on a symbolic human chain (October 2020). Chris McGrath/Getty Images
The Harbin Ice and Snow World show in Heilongjiang Province, China, is an annual spectacle (December 2020).
The Harbin Ice and Snow World show in Heilongjiang Province, China, is an annual spectacle (December 2020). Costfoto/Barcroft Media via Getty Images