Another way in which drones can defamiliarise the familiar is through taking advantage of tricks of light and shadow play. Changes in tone and perspective can transform viewers’ emotions as they engage with the image, revealing textures of the landscape and subtle details of its geography that are not possible to gauge from ground level.

Through the vertical angle and the position of the sun, the two inanimate dinosaur statues that stand in the middle of Borrego Palm Canyon (USA) are brought to life in enlarged shadow forms, becoming the focal point of the image. The figures stand across from one another, arms raised and mouths open, as if facing off in a fight. With their tonal contrast amongst the desert landscape, the figures seem out of place, strange intruders on this otherwise peaceful scene.