World's best panoramic photography celebrated in 2021 Epson International Pano Awards
The winners of the 2021 Epson International Pano Awards have recently been announced. American photographer Joshua Hermann was name as the Overall Winner of the 2021 Open competition with his three entries: Eternal Triangle, Morning Burn, and Ancient Backwaters.
First held in 2009, the Epson International Pano Awards have gone on to become one of the world's largest competitions for panoramic photography. The 2021 competition attracted a total of 5,378 entries from 1,245 professional and amateur photographers in 97 countries. The prize pool offers thousands of dollars in cash along with other major prizes including anEpson SureColor P7070 printer, an Epson SureColor P5070 printer and an Epson EB-1780W ultra-slim projector.
The 2021 Open Winner
Overall winner Joshua Hermann's submission in this year’s competition included three powerful images, all captured in his home state of Louisiana. "Growing up in south Louisiana and coming to know the swamp and marshlands from an early age, the unique beauty and interesting ecology of the area has stuck with me throughout my life." Hermann said. "I hope to share the beauty of these places through my imagery, allow people to get a closer look into the uniqueness of these areas and ultimately to inform them of the importance of protecting these wetlands."
and overall winner in the Open category.
Speaking of his entry, Eternal Triangle, Hermann said: "I observed 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 favourite jazz compositions by the great Sonny Stitt.”
and overall winner in the Open category.
With regards to his second image, Morning Burn, he stated: “When conditions are right and cool moist air begins to warm over water in the swamp, mist begins to form over the water. If you are lucky enough for the mist to stick around when the sun breaks the horizon, a wonderful show takes place. There is a short window of time where the sun begins to set the mist ablaze with light. As I paddled, the scene constantly changed in front of me while the sun inched higher above the horizon. I stopped in front of this grove and setup my camera as the swamp put on a light show went on in front of me.”
and overall winner in the Open category.
About his third winning image, Ancient Backwaters, Hermann said, “Like trees in most of the US, many of the old growth cypress groves were felled during the logging era. Today there are a few places were these 1,000 plus year-old giants still stand. You will usually find these in pockets of backwater that were too hard for loggers to reach, or because the trees themselves were hollow and the trunks weren't the ideal shape for lumber. When I find these ancient monoliths in backwater ponds and sloughs, I am immediately transported to the swamp lands of ancient times.”
The 2021 Amateur Winner
Austrian photographer Daniel Trippolt has been named 2021 Amateur Photographer of the Year, with his three entries: Shining Night, Legendary Peaks, and Shining Heart.
and overall winner in the Amateur category.
Trippolt said that he discovered his passion for photography when he was 12-years-old, when his father gave him his 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," Trippolt says. "Here I am very much into hyperreal landscape photography, which distinguishes me from most Austrian landscape photographers. Landscape photography has become a huge part of my life, even if I don't have as much time to invest as full-time landscape photographers."
and overall winner in the Amateur category
Australian winners and finalists
A number of Australian photographers featured prominently as finalists and category winners. Mark Brierley won the Built environment/Architecture (Open) category with his image, Tonal Intersection, which was captured in Brisbane. He was also named as overall winner of the Open category. You can see a selection of images by Australian photographers below. To check out all the winners and finalists, head to the Pano Awards website.
and overall runner-up in the Open category.
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