Beautiful Earth: Our Top Images of the Year

A look back at the imagery that made people stop, stare, and hit “like” on our LinkedIn channel.

A stunning field full of ripened tulips in Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands

We have a traditional post we love to share every Friday on LinkedIn. It’s just a small glimpse of the world from above, our Beautiful Earth series, highlighting a sliver of the imagery we post in a week (which is close to 1.1 million images). And since we collect imagery in 45+ countries, the scenic views can vary greatly. But they always astound, impress, and capture our attention in such a way we feel compelled to share it.

Sometimes it’s a dramatic shot, sometimes it’s more serene in nature, or sometimes it’s just a landscape that has more questions than answers.

This year, we decided to take a look back and see which image groups caught your eye. What was it that impressed you, maybe sparked conversation, racked up engagement, and just reminded us why people love seeing the planet from a new perspective. Enjoy below highlights from our Top 10 Most Engaged Posts on LinkedIn with our own take on why they appeared to snag more attention than others.

Seasons Don’t Matter, Colors Do

Different dates. Different places. But clear patterns slowly started emerging as we looked at our top 10 posts for the year. Our highest engagement came when weather tended to be colder outside (December, January, February); perhaps an indication we all need something bright and beautiful to catch our eye when things are cold and gray? We also had high engagement as Spring started and Fall began to creep in, another possibility for people wanting to see change.

What we do know is that all of these images brought out imagery where saturation, contrast, and color variation catch the eye faster than more subtle scenes. Which images are you drawn to?

Patterns Evoke Emotion, Prompting a Response

Many of our highest-engaged posts feature:

  • Repeating agricultural geometry, a landscape that draws you in
  • Coastlines carving into border cities or coastal towns
  • Urban grids that appear to build and stack

From above, the world can seem more abstract and our eyes can focus more keenly on shapes. And that abstraction can make people stop scrolling and pause a moment longer. It seems that when the Earth looks more like art than a map, engagement can really climb.

Letting the Earth Do the Talking

What we really hope for in sharing these weekly gatherings of just seven stunning images is that they don’t need a lot of context for why we picked them. Beautiful Earth isn’t just about geography; it’s about perspective and reminding ourselves that the planet is endlessly varied. Maybe places you might be familiar with take on an entirely new feel from above.

It’s also a chance for us to show our scale, the amazing places we get to fly over and collect and deliver to customers around the world. And maybe some of these images helped people stop and ask, “Wow…is that real?”

Follow us on LinkedIn to see these weekly collections and discover what might make you stop mid-scroll and pause just to view the unbelievable beauty of this planet.