Joshua Hermann from the USA has won the Open Competition for his three entries in the 2021 Epson International Pano awards for panoramic photographers – with main sponsor Epson Australia providing prizes that included Epson SureColor printers and an Epson projector. Mark Brierley of Australia won the Built Environment/Architecture award for 'Tonal Intersection, Brisbane, Australia.'
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| 'Eternal Triangle' , Louisiana, USA. Joshua Hermann |
The Epson International Pano Awards is the largest competition for panoramic photography, this year receiving over 5,300 entries.
Joshua Hermann from the USA won the Open Competition for his three entries, 'Eternal Triangle', 'Morning Burn' and 'Ancient Backwaters’; the Amateur Competition was won by Daniel Trippolt from Austria for ‘Shining Night,’ ‘Legendary Peaks’ and ‘Shining Heart’; and the Epson Digital Art Prize was won by Manuel Enrique González Carmona from Spain for 'Anatomy Lesson'.
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'Morning Burn' by Joshua Hermann |
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| 'Quality bar raised every year': Craig Heckenberg, MD Epson Australia |
"Who would have thought the Pano Awards would again be so successful during such another challenging year,” said Craig Heckenberg, managing director, Epson Australia. “This commitment to excellence and continued success are two of the many reasons Epson has been a proud sponsor of the Pano Awards for the past 12 years and we are delighted, but not surprised, at its continued popularity. The quality bar is raised every year and Epson is proud that our technology helps the photographers realise their passion and bring these amazing images to life. Epson congratulates all of the winners and entrants and as always, we stand amazed at their incredible passion and creativity.”
This year the competition received 5,378 entries from 1,245 professional and amateur photographers in 97 countries - "amazing stats for a competition held in the middle of a global pandemic" - all of whom were competing for thousands of dollars cash and prizes with main sponsor Epson Australia alone providing prizes that included an Epson SureColor P7070 printer, an Epson SureColor P5070 printer and an Epson EB-1780W ultra-slim projector.
Competition curator, Australian landscape photographer David Evans said, “We thought 2020 was a challenging year but 2021 took things to a whole new level. That said, despite the pandemic and so many other challenges the entries this year were nothing short of amazing. We are, yet again, overwhelmed with the level of support from entrants and sponsors, especially Epson and we thank you all so very much and also congratulate all this year’s winners and entrants.”
On 'Eternal Triangle,' Hermann said: “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. 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. I named Eternal Triangle as an ode to one of my favourite jazz compositions by the great Sonny Stitt.”
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| 'Ancient Backwaters' by Joshua Hermann |
On Ancient Backwaters, Hermann said, “Like trees in most of the US, many of the old growth cypress groves were felled during the logging era. 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."
The winner of the 2021 Amateur Competition was Daniel Trippolt from Austria with his Shining Night, Legendary Peaks and Shining Heart entries.
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| 'Shining Heart' by Daniel Trippolt |
“I discovered my passion for photography when I was 12 years old when my father gave me my first camera," Trippolt said. "Every free second of my free time was used to take photos of everything and everyone. The Covid crisis in the last two years has limited my landscape photography hobby a lot, which is why I'm all the more happy about my success in this competition.”
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| 'Anatomy Lesson' by Manuel Enrique González Carmona |
The Epson Digital Art Prize was won by Manuel Enrique González Carmona from Spain. “Minerals, water and water currents are the ingredients with which nature creates these ephemeral landscapes," he said. "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. 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.”
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| Tonal Intersection, Brisbane, Australia. Winner - Open - Built Environment/Architecture Mark Brierley, Australia. |
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/2021-winners-gallery
The Epson International Pano Awards was founded in 2009 by photographer Evans (2015 AIPP Australian Landscape Photographer of the Year) with the support of Epson Australia and has grown into a collaboration between professional photographers, industry professionals and sponsors.
