Last Updated on 11/26/2019 by Mark Beckenbach
This year’s EPSON International Pano Awards celebrates a decade of recognizing the excellence of panoramic photographers worldwide, and the competition’s first female Photographer of the Year.
The EPSON International Pano Awards, the world’s biggest competition for panoramic photography, celebrates two important milestones this year: its 10th year of putting the spotlight on outstanding panoramic photographers around the world, and the first female photographer to bag the top spot in the competition. If you’d like to get into panoramic photography and be inspired by impressive work, the winning snaps are worth a look.
Professional and amateur photographers across the globe were invited to enter their best work and compete for over $50,000 in cash and prizes. This year’s run garnered 4,913 entries from 1,258 photographers in 72 countries. Claiming the top spot as the overall winner of the 2019 Open competition is Mieke Boynton from Australia, who is also the first female to bag the title of Photographer of the Year in the competition. Her winning photo is an otherworldly abstract snap of the spectacular “braided rivers” of Iceland taken during her trip last year.
On her winning shot, Boynton shares:
‘I travelled to Iceland last year and chartered a Cessna 207 to photograph the spectacular “braided rivers”. As the mighty glaciers travel down the mountains, they grind up the rock underneath, and as the melted water fans out across the river deltas, these suspended rock particles cause a slight milkiness to the water. The colours alter according to the presence of different elements and minerals such as sulphur and iron, and the endless variations are absolutely breathtaking. It wasn’t until later that I saw the fire-breathing dragon in the photo, but now that I’ve seen it, I can’t see anything else! Nature is truly an artist.’
‘I absolutely love the raw thrill of flying, and to see the delicate intricacy of Nature’s Art from 1000-2000 feet above fills me with joy and delight. I travel to remote and inaccessible areas – many of which can’t be photographed by drone – and many of these places resemble giant abstract paintings. I am mesmerised and fascinated by Nature’s Abstract Art. I am inspired by the photography of Andre Ermolaev and the artistic styles of MC Escher, Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian and the Papunya Tula artists.’
Claiming the spot of the overall winner of the 2019 Amateur competition is Carlos F. Turienzo from Spain, chosen for his dreamy stitched image of a waterfall set against the pastel sunset in Lofoten, Norway.
Chosen as runners-up are Abdulla Al-Mushaifri from Qatar for the 2019 Open competition, and Daniel Trippolt from Austria for the 2019 Amateur competition. Additionally, Lukasz Czech from Poland won this year’s VR/360 competition. The interactive version of his winning entry featuring the 11th-century Tyniec Monastery in Poland can be viewed on the competition website.
Apart from the $12,000 cash prize, other prizes include an Epson SureColor P-7070 printer, an Epson SureColor P-5070 printer, an Epson EB-1781W Ultra-Slim Projector, a Nikon D850 camera, and a Himalayan Photography Adventure.
Visit the EPSON International Pano Awards website to find out more about the competition and see all the winning and top image galleries.