Recently, Rob Bovarnick, founder of Rob-Harris Productions, was awarded third place in the Travel/Landscape category in the American Photographic Artists 2025 photography competition. Specializing in drone photography, Rob captured the award-winning shot, “Absence,” during a unique travel moment. Below is his firsthand account of what led to the image.
When I’m driving back home alone from out-of-town commercial photoshoots, I’ll often hit the backroads in pursuit of alluring imagery just for myself. I’m drawn toward seeing the underbelly of life, unusual landscapes, quirky stuff. With my high-end drone and camera gear on board, I’m ready at a moment’s notice to pull over, grab the drone or camera, and try to get the “shot”.
My image “Absence” was found this way in the crazy backwoods of Florida.
I drove past a dilapidated house. Behind it was a neglected retention pond with an old, blue, abandoned slide appearing to float on the water. I drove past a mile or so, wondering whether or not I should go back and put the drone up in the air.
It seemed precarious, but I turned around to make the attempt.
Jumped out of the car, adrenaline pumping, got the drone up quickly as to not draw attention. It’s nerve-racking enough flying a drone over water, never mind the possibility of it getting spotted and shot down.
I hovered the drone around for a few minutes, capturing different angles of the slide that helped convey the vast emptiness of the scene. Quickly flew the drone back to the car, landed it, and high-tailed out of there.
Sometimes the best images aren’t the ones you plan for, they’re the ones you almost drive past.
“Absence” is my reminder to slow down, look twice, and take the risk to capture what I might not get a chance at again. I’m grateful the APA jurors saw in it what I felt in that moment: stillness, emptiness, and an eerie kind of beauty.
