Epson announces winners of the 2024 International Pano Awards

Power of Nature by Kelvin Yuen

The 2024 Epson International Pano Awards winners have been announced. Kelvin Yuen from Hong Kong, who entered Power of Nature, Wilderness, and Mountain of Divinity, was the overall winner of the 2024 Open Photographer of the Year and the Nature/Landscape category.

The executive team at Epson Australia decides the Epson Digital Art Prize from the top 50 entries in the Open competition. The entries must show excellence in digital post-processing and exceptional photographic technique.

Epson Australia MD Craig Heckenberg said, “Once again, the Pano Awards entries have been nothing short of exceptional. The 2024 entries have pushed the boundaries of quality and creativity and are truly an inspiration for all photographers. Innovation and creativity are at the heart of our company and as such, that is why Epson proudly continues to support and sponsor these awards as they connect photographers from around the world through their passion.”

Describing Power of Nature, Yuen said, “The primary goal of this trip was to capture the iconic mountains of Guilin, renowned for its karst formations. On the day I took this photo, I woke up at 3 am and was supposed to hike up for the sunrise. However, a heavy thunderstorm struck out of nowhere, so I decided to shoot the thunderstorm. I flew my drone to wait for the lightning due to safety concerns. The drone surprised me by being functional after 30 minutes of downpour. I took 700 photos with the same compositions, of which more than 40 were lightning shots.

This photo is my favourite as the lightning flashing in the middle illuminates the layers of the mountains.”

Kelvin Yuen is an international landscape photographer based in Hong Kong. He began his journey at 18 after an impromptu mountain hike near his home. Aiming to capture surreal landscapes on our planet for a decade, his photography spans most of Hong Kong’s beauty to the world’s wilds.

Wilderness by Kelvin Luen

About Wilderness, Yuen says, “Last winter, while most hikers were leaving and the mountain area was almost empty, I spent a month living in Patagonia to wait for a snowy mountain view.

A snowstorm arrived. It swept through the mountains and rocks with heavy snow, and the temperature dropped to below -20°C. It was my ideal shooting condition, but the hillside was covered with snow and became hardly visible and dangerous. While finding my way to the spot, I fell into the gaps several times. I eventually spent 10 hours to reach the spot and two nights on the cliff edge for the Milky Way shot. This panorama was created by stitching 44 shots together (4 rows with 11 shots in each row).”

Mountain of Divinity by Kelvin Yeun

Yuen says, “6000 metres above sea level in Tibet, Mountain of Divinity is a photograph of one of the most stunning peaks I have ever seen. Without any official paths, I spent one day trekking to the spot, and I was amazed by the magnificent peak that came into sight.”

The Epson International Pano Awards showcases the work of panoramic photographers worldwide and continues to be the largest global competition for panoramic photography.

Entrants competed for thousands of dollars in cash and prizes, with main sponsors Epson Australia and Epson Southeast Asia alone providing prizes that included Epson SureColor P5360 and P5300 printers, an Epson SureColor P906 printer, and an Epson EB-1795F ultra-slim projector.

This year, the competition received 4,529 entries from 1,105 professional and amateur photographers in 95 countries. Most notable was a 70% increase in entries from Southeast Asia, comprising Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.

To coincide with trending interest from this region, The Pano Awards this year welcomed the addition of Epson Southeast Asia as a joint major sponsor alongside long-term supporter Epson Australia, and a new award was announced—The Pano Awards Southeast Asia Open Photographer of the Year.

The inaugural winner of this new award is Fikri Muharom of Surabaya, East Java in Indonesia.

The Volcano Theatre by Fikri Muharom

Fikri says, “Bromo National Park has one of beautiful sunrises and is also the most popular tourist attraction in Indonesia - all photographers who come to Indonesia must visit it. At that time in June, it rained in Surabaya at night, and usually, if it rains in the middle of the night and stops before dawn, Bromo will be in the best condition because a sea of low clouds will appear in the caldera. I immediately took my car and rushed to Bromo which was only two hours drive away and sure enough that morning Bromo showed its extraordinary beauty. I positioned myself and launched the drone on Pananjakan Hill, the highest point of the viewpoint, and took some photos from left to right with a 180-degree angle to create the best panorama in Bromo.”

Nguyễn Tấn Tuấn, the overall runner-up in the Open competition, winner of the Open Built Environment category, and winner of the Epson Digital Art Prize with Chrysanthemum Season, is also from Southeast Asia, hailing from Central Vietnam.

Chrysanthemum Season by Nguyễn Tấn Tuấn

Tuấn says, “I love taking photos of landscapes and traditional craft villages in my country, especially the golden chrysanthemums growing village in Sadec, Dong Thap, Vietnam, because of the way farmers have relied on nature and terrain to choose the right way to grow flowers. Sadec was formed on the tributaries of the Mekong River (one side is the Tien River, the other side is the Sa Dec River). These two tributaries of the river deposit alluvium have good humidity but are also often flooded and have high tides; perhaps that is why farmers here build high trellises to grow flowers on to avoid flooding and take advantage of the water source below to water the plants and limit pests as well as use boats to transport plants during harvest. In the last lunar month of the year, it will be the harvest season.

We will be attracted to the sight of the endless rows of golden flowers. That beauty has attracted me to come here every year to admire and take pictures. With the Flycam, I took photos showing the beauty of the craft village here, how farmers cultivate and harvest by boat next to the beautiful flower trellises."

The Amateur winner & Nature/Landscape category winner is Diego Manrique Diez from Spain for Green Storm, Green Dance and Spiral.

Green Storm by Diego Manrique Diez

Diego says, “In this breathtaking and extreme panorama, we get immersed in a natural paradise of lush mountains and wild beaches in Northern Norway. I remember that night as if it were yesterday. The intense cold was taking hold of me, and the overcast sky prevented me from seeing the awaited northern lights.

I was the only one left on that spot when the sky began to open up, followed by a majestic aurora borealis. The result is a panorama of three rows and 27 pictures in total, which captures the immensity of this place.”

The VR/360 category winner is Marcio Cabral of Brazil, for his immersive 360-degree underwater image (full immersive image is viewable on the website thepanoawards.com)

Cave Diver, Anhumas Abyss, Bonito City, Brazil

Regional MD of Epson Southeast Asia, Siew Jin Kiat, said, "We are thrilled to witness the incredible photography talent emerging from Southeast Asia. It is truly inspiring to see the depths of creativity and vision by artists across the region. At Epson, we are committed to fostering innovation and supporting photographers in bringing their unique perspectives to life. We look forward to seeing even more outstanding entries from this region in the years to come."

Competition Curator David Evans said, “Momentum continues to build from entrants in Southeast Asia, and also Asia more broadly. We are thrilled to have Epson Southeast Asia onboard as a joint major sponsor with Epson Australia, and given the increase year on year from this dynamic region, the timing could not be better. The quality of entries is astounding, and I am endlessly fascinated by the spectacular windows to the world presented by highly talented photographers far and wide.”

The judging panel for The Epson International Pano Awards includes some of the world's top panoramic photographers and industry professionals.

To view all the winning and top image galleries, go to https://thepanoawards.com/2024-winners-gallery