“Dragon Eye” by Manish Mamtani (USA). Location: Iceland. Highest Scoring Aerial Image, EPSON Digital Art Prize, Second Place, Open Competition, Nature and Landscapes
Arecord number of photos were submitted to the 2020 EPSON International Pano Awards. Nearly 6,000 photographs from 1,452 professional and amateur photographers in 96 countries entered the 11th edition of the contest. As the world’s largest panoramic photo competition, the contest attracts incredibly talented photographers who can’t wait to show their unique perspective of the world.
The contest is divided between the Open Competition, reserved for professionals, and the Amateur Competition. This year, Canadian photographer Matt Jackisch was the overall winner of the Open Competition for his haunting photo titled Spring Hibernation. Taken in British Columbia, the panorama shows a lone tree sticking up from the wintry landscape.
“I spent a blissful day snowshoeing in the BC Coastal Mountains in March,” Jackisch recalls. “With such a deep snowpack, it was still very wintry up high. I find the more time I spend alone in nature, the quieter my mind gets. The quieter my mind gets, the more subtleties I notice in my surroundings. I only saw this tree because of that state of being. This image was a product of solitude and mindfulness.”
In the Amateur Competition, Juan López Ruiz was named the overall winner. The Spanish photographer had a strong showing in both the Built Environment and Nature and Landscapes categories, proving his versatility. His black and white image of the Cuatro Torres financial district in Madrid shows his mastery of composition and contrast. While his panorama of lavender fields in the midst of a lightning storm proves his skill in documenting complex landscapes.
Several photographers were also given special awards for the best smartphone panorama, best vertical panorama, and best gigapixel image, among others. In the end, the 2020 EPSON International Pano Awards handed out cash and other prizes valued at $40,000. The winners will also take part in a special exhibition in November thanks to EPSON Australia. If you are thinking of entering next year’s contest, get shooting—entries open in April 2021.
See how the winners of the 2020 EPSON International Pano Awards use panoramic photos to capture their surroundings.
“Spring Hibernation” by Matt Jackisch (Canada). Location: Squamish, BC, Canada. Overall Winner, Open Competition. First Place, Open Competition, Nature and Landscapes.
“Light and dark on the towers” by Juan Lopez Ruiz (Spain). Location: Cuatro Torres financial complex in Madrid, Spain. First Place, Amateur Competition, Built Environment.
“Patagonia Peaks” by William Lekki (USA). Location: El Chalten, Patagonia, Argentina. One of a Kind Award, Sixth Place, Amateur Competition, Nature and Landscapes.
“Under the north star” by Vitaliy Novikov (Russia). Location: Russia, Murmansk region, Teriberka. Second Place, Amateur Competition, Nature and Landscapes.
“Colors of Inle Fabrics” by Zay Yar Lin (Myanmar). Location: Inle Lake, Myanmar. Fourth Place, Open Competition, Built Environment
“The HDB” by Jason Denning (United Kingdom). Location: Singapore. Highest Scoring GigaPixel Image.
“Quite In The Riverbank” by Mohammad Rahman (Australia). Location: Bangladesh. Highest Scoring Vertical Image, Seventh Place, Open Competition, Nature and Landscapes.
“Camp Just for the Sunrise” by Tyler Lekki (USA). Location: El Chalten, Patagonia, Argentina. Highest Scoring Smartphone Pano.
“Sainte Chapelle” by Pietro Madaschi (Italy). Location: Paris, France. Highest Scoring IVRPA Member, Ninth Place, Amateur Competition, Built Environment.
“Slovenia Sunrise” by Alan Mathieson (Australia). Location: Slovenia. Nikon Australia Award, Fourth Place, Amateur Competition, Nature and Landscapes.
“Electric storm on lavender” by Juan Lopez Ruiz (Spain). Location: Brihuega lavender fields in the province of Guadalajara, Spain. Eighth Place, Amateur Competition, Nature and Landscapes.
“Convergence in the Dark” by Armand Sarlangue (France). Location: Central Utah Badlands. Curator’s Award, Fifth Place, Open Competition, Nature and Landscapes.
“Untitled” by Steve Scalone (Australia). Location: Paris, France. Second Place, Open Competition, Built Environment.
“Quivertree Forest Under The Stars” by Laurent Lacroix (France). Location: Namibia. Third Place, Open Competition, Nature and Landscapes.
“Flamingo Flock” by Thomas Vijayan (United Arab Emirates). Location: Lake Turkana, Kenya. Sixth Place, Open Competition, Nature and Landscapes.
“Cascade Crown” by Blake Randall (Canada). Location: Bella Coola, BC, Canada. Highest Scoring IAPP Member
“Timeless Bridge” by Federico Rekowski (Australia)