2021 Epson International Pano Award winners Today, the Epson International Pano Award winners were announced for the 2021 competition. 5,378 entries from 1,245 professional and amateur photographers in 97 countries were submitted this year, an impressive feat given the worldwide pandemic.
Joshua Hermann was the Overall Winner with his images of the swamps and marshlands in Louisiana, USA.
Daniel Trippolt won the Amateur category for a variety of landscape images. 'I discovered my passion for photography when I was 12 years old when my father gave me my first camera. Every free second of my free time was used to take photos of everything and everyone. From animal photography to sports, architecture and portrait photography, I tried everything and found my greatest passion and hobby in landscape photography. Here I am very much into hyperreal landscape photography, which distinguishes mefrom most Austrian landscape photographers. '
Winners received cash prizes and printing products from Epson. Entries for the 2022 competition will open up in April. All winners and finalists can be viewed on the Pano Awards website.
2021 Open Photographer of the Year: 'Eternal Triangle' by Joshua Hermann (USA)
Location: Louisiana, USA
Caption: A cypress tree generally has a wide flaring base. Due to its watery habitat, it develops this triangular base and root protrusions called “cypress knees” to help it stand in the soft, soggy bottom. As I paddled amongst the trees on this foggy morning the triangular trunks stood out in a symmetrical fashion. To me, it looked like enumerable triangles receding into the fog. I named this picture “Eternal Triangle” as an ode to one of my favorite jazz compositions by the great Sonny Stitt.
2021 Amateur Photographer of the Year: 'Shining Night' Daniel Trippolt (Austria)
Location: Switzerland
Caption: The first visit to this beautiful, mystical place in the Swiss mountains was a success. Shortly after arriving, I immediately noticed this branch in the water. It was clear to me that this would be the perfect foreground for my photo, as the Milky Way will also be in the right position.
Since the conditions were initially not ideal for the Milky Way, due to the cloudy sky, I prepared myself for an unsuccessful night. But experience has shown that weather conditions can change quickly, so that a good photo can still be taken. Also that night I was lucky that the weather changed and I was able to photograph the shining night sky.
In this portfolio there are 3 countries, 3 different motifs and 3 different conditions and yet they all have something in common: the The beautiful shining.
2021 Epson Digital Art Prize: 'Anatomy Lesson' by Manuel Enrique Gonz
Location: El Campillo, Huelva, Spain
Caption: Minerals, water and water currents are the ingredients with which nature creates these ephemeral landscapes. With each rainy period the canvas is transformed. This canvas is actually a raft of toxic waste from a copper mine, located in the province of Huelva, Spain, which was captured by aerial shooting.
These ephemeral formations will disappear with the next intense rains. I live only 1 hour away from this scenery, so I usually make a visit every week. There are always completely new structures and details that allow you to make countless abstractions, figurations, etc. I often have the feeling that an abstract expressionist painter has created a large canvas and that I am capturing fragments of this work of art with my drone.
2021 Raw Planet Award: 'Hidden Lake' by Marsel Van Oosten (The Netherlands)
Location: Atchafalaya Basic, Texas, USA
Caption: This image was shot in the Atchafalaya Basin in Texas and features several cypress trees. I love these trees because they are simply stunning, especially when there is some Spanish Moss growing in them that dangles down from the branches. They can grow and survive in water which can result in otherworldly scenery like this. I visited this area in autumn to get the warm color palette.
The only way to get here is by kayak because these swamps are too shallow for normal boats. Paddling here in complete silence is among my best wilderness experiences. When conditions are right, mist can form on the water, adding even more magic to the scenery.
2021 Curators Award: 'The Mountain Dreamer' by Max Rive (The Netherlands)
Location: Switzerland
Caption: A view in mid-summer from 31450 m/11320 ft over the Fieschergletscher with the Finsteraarhorn on the right (4,274 m/14,000 ft). With a length of 16 km/10 mi the Fieschergletscher is the second longest glacier in Switzerland after its neighbouring glacier the Aletschgletscher (22. 6 km/ 14 mi).
2021 Nikon Australia Award: 'Don’t Fence Me In' by Ray Jennings (Australia)
Location: Walcha, NSW, Australia
Caption: The Weather Bureau was forecasting snow for the New England Tableland in New South Wales (a fairly rare event) so I packed the warm clothes and camera gear and headed off with a fellow photographer in the hope of capturing snow around the Gostwyck Chapel at Uralla.
Sadly that didn’t happen so we headed to Walcha where snow was encountered on the way up and saw this simple but striking scene with the fence providing a classic leading line to the eucalyptus tree.
I would like to thank The EPSON International Pano Awards for providing the avenue for photographers around the world to showcase their awesome talent and for Nikon Australia for providing such a fabulous prize.
Highest Scoring Aerial Image: 'Poison Madness' by Gheorghe Popa (Romania)
Location: Geam
Highest Scoring Smartphone Pano: 'Torres del Paine' by Andrew Dickman (Australia)
Location: Patagonia
Highest Scoring Film Capture: 'Gastlosen' by Oliver Wehrli (Switzerland)
Location: Canton Fribourg, Switzerland
Highest Scoring IAPP member: 'Gentoo Penguin Colony' by Tom Sheckels (United States)
Location: Antarctica
Highest Scoring Vertical Image: 'Serpentine' by Peter Harrison (Australia)
Location: Menindee Lakes, NSW, Australia
Highest Scoring Gigapixel Image: 'Sunset over Kyrgyzs Mountains' by Yaz Loukhal (Switzerland)
Location: Kyrgyzstan
Finalist: 'Tonal Intersection' by Mark Brierley (Australia)
2021-10-20 01:03