Hong Kong has inspired so many iconic images of urban density shot from the ground or horizontally across buildings, but seeing it from above via drone footage gives the city an entirely fresh dimension.

In this series of vertigo-inducing snapshots, photographer and unmanned aerial vehicle pilot Andy Yeung captures both the chaos and order, colorfulness and monotony, of one of the world’s most stunning urban centers.

Shot from hundreds of feet in the sky, the resulting views exceed even the relatively awesome ones attainable by tripping up to the top of the adjacent hillsides. An onlooker starts to get a sense of the combination of  rigorous order and organic evolution of the city.

Some of the most fascinating parts of certain deserted buildings in Philadelphia cannot even be seen from below, making this drone footage shot by Matt Satell of Philly by Air all the more revealing.

Take the Spring Garden Public School, for instance, the roof of which is enclosed in a an arched grid of fencing that wraps an outdoor gym and recreation area for students. “This abandoned public school was built in 1931 and designed by the Philadelphia School District” explains drone pilot and urban photographer Matt Satell. “There have been proposals discussed to convert the structure into a residential building, but nothing has been finalized yet.”

The PECO Delaware Station is situated adjacent to the Penn Treaty Park in Fishtown, its outcroppings of both natural overgrowth and artificial stacks far more visible by air. “This coal-fired power plant first opened its doors in 1920. It was originally designed by John T. Windram, who also designed the Franklin Institute. The plant was owned by Exelon Generation until 2015 when it was sold to Bart Blatstein and Joseph Volpe who have plans to build boutique hotels.”

Other buildings featured are on historical registers, or the subject of redevelopment plans or (as in the case of the Richmond Power Station) are already famous for being featured in films such as 12 Monkeys, Transformers 2 and The Last Airbender. The Quaker Storage Building, Dreuding Brothers Building and Willow Steam Plant (each shown in the embedded video above) all have elements best captured – and are perhaps only truly comprehensible as a whole – when viewed from above as well as below.

Meanwhile, if you enjoyed your brief tour of Philadelphia’s most prominent abandonments, you can take a further aerial flight around the city with the video above, likewise documented via Philly by Air.

Satellite images and pictures from the ground tell a limited story of one of the world’s most dangerous abandoned places – this flyover footage fills in the gaps, covering the 20-mile nuclear wasteland with uncannily captivating footage.

Postcards from Pripyat was filmed by Danny Cooke on a trip to Ukraine as part of a 60 Minutes story aired on CBS about the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear incident and ongoing efforts to cap the remains of the reactor. Of his adventure, he recounts: “During my stay, I met so many amazing people, one of whom was my guide Yevgen, also known as a ‘Stalker’. We spent the week together exploring Chernobyl and the nearby abandoned city of Pripyat. There was something serene, yet highly disturbing about this place. Time has stood still and there are memories of past happenings floating around us.”

Meanwhile, The Fallout (embedded above) also shows stunning scenes from the same nuclear wasteland as part of a demo shoot for AeroCine shot early last year.

The incident turned Pripyat from a city of 50,000 into a ghost town overnight, and that was just the beginning – fallout spread to neighboring countries and continues to leak out locally. Residents were told to evacuate but that they could return within a few days – a promise that could not be kept. Mice in the area have been recorded as having 10,000 times more radioactivity than normal rodents.

Today, the focus is on containing the problem. “With funds from over 40 different countries, 1,400 workers are building a giant arch to cover the damaged reactor. It will be taller than the Statue of Liberty and wider than Yankee Stadium — the largest movable structure on Earth. Until the arch finally seals up that stricken reactor, and no one knows when that might be, something like that could happen again. Unlike other historic relics, Chernobyl does not belong to the past; its power will never die. Chernobyl is forever.”

Created by an architect and landscape enthusiast, this limited edition series of custom textiles derives its geometries and colors from aerial views shot around the world.

Florian Pucher, an Austrian designer now based in Beijing, has long traveled by day to take in as many sights from the sky as possible. Since 2007 he has collaborated with graphic designer Sophia Liu Bo to redraw and abstract images shot from above, turning them into unusual rugs using high-quality New Zealand wool.

Each LANDCARPET creation is 1 of 88, signed and numbered in the spirit of traditional artistic prints.

The subjects cover the globe, from Europe and the USA to Africa and Asia, urban settings to rural sites.

There is a rich variety from one to the next, showcasing an array of lines, curves, organic land forms, urban topographies, and other natural and man-made patterns and features.

Each edition takes approximately five weeks to produce, combining real depth and hand-tufted textures.

The source images range from aerial photographs and satellite images to maps and other views from above. His work as an architect exposes Pucher to all kinds of site maps, master plans and other inspirational materials.

Towers convey power, and height is both literally and metaphorically connected to broader and better views – but here come kites to undermine that top-down view.

Kite photography is empowering and democratizing – increasingly inexpensive unmanned aircraft can be attached to likewise ever-cheaper, high-quality photographic devices. Kite Aerial Photography (KAP) enthusiasts like Pierre Lesage, a sampling of whose work appears here, are rapidly taking to these newer and better technologies.

Sending your camera into the sky is one thing – keeping it balanced so it takes a clean and crisp shot is quite another. Many of the latest advances thus appropriately address the issue of stability. Hence, stabilization rigs that help keep balance even with an ever-moving kite and ground controller.

The controller, in turn, has to determine how the photos-taking will unfold, via preset intervals, perhaps, or using infrared or radio controls. Of his setup, the photographer writes: “Originally this rig was made for a Canon Ixus 600, was then adapted with a video return and later adapted to welcome A Leica Dlux3.”

Until recently, taking photos from the sky meant owning (or at least renting) an airborne vehicle to carry you and your equipment aloft, then struggling through windows or other opening to take the best shot. Now, the game has changed, and almost anyone can get in on the action. Now the only thing that may get in your way is the thin kite string everything else hinges on.