Focusing solely on the art of panoramic photography, the annual Pano Awards is easily the most consistently spectacular photo contest in the world. This year’s stunning array of highlights offers a deeply creative assortment of images, from sublime wide landscapes to colorful architectural compositions.
“Needless to say this is a year to remember,” says competition curator, David Evans. “We thought new entry and judging systems would keep us busy enough, then the world changed. We doubled down and got to work, and the upshot is a record year for the Pano Awards.”
In it’s 11th year, the Epson International Pano Awards received nearly 6,000 entries from 96 countries. The contest is simple, with only two categories: Nature/Landscapes and Built Environments.
Both categories are divided into Open and Amateur sections, with an Amateur defined as a photographer earning less than US$20,000 per year. Other than that, the only major stipulation is that entries be presented in at least a 2:1 or 1:2 aspect ratio.
This year the overall Photographer of the Year prize went to Canadian photographer Matt Jackisch. His top shot in the contest is a gorgeous composition of a lone tree popping up out of a deep snowpack.
“I find the more time I spend alone in nature, the quieter my mind gets,” says Jackisch, describing the moment he snapped the shot. “The quieter my mind gets, the more subtleties I notice in my surroundings. I only saw this tree because of that state of being. This image was a product of solitude and mindfulness.”
Meanwhile, the top Amateur prize went to Spanish photographer Juan Lopez Ruiz. Alongside his Built Environments winning shot of a financial complex in Madrid, a number of other images from this amateur photographer made the judges’ top 50, including several astonishing shots of lightning over gorgeous landscapes.
“My passion for photography has been with me since I was a child,” says Ruiz, “and I have always found it very interesting to be able to portray and immortalize the unique moments that nature offers us.”
Entries for the next year’s competition will open in April, 2021.
Take a look through our gallery at some more highlights from this incredible photo contest. And check out our previous coverage looking at the best of the 2019 and 2018 contests.
Source: The Pano Awards