2024 Winners Gallery

2024 Open Photographer Of The Year

Kelvin Yuen, Hong Kong

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

Striving for excellence and perfection, Kelvin won the International Landscape Photographer of the Year 2020 and gained worldwide recognition 4 years ago. He then started executing the “Wilderness Expedition” project with all his time and effort devoted to producing the ultimate works. Over the years, he has slept in a tent more often than in a bed. Despite the arduous journey, he enjoys taking photography in nature and understands that pursuing breakthroughs comes at a tremendous cost.

To Kelvin, landscape photography is more than just a scenic picture, it is an art crafted through exploration over time.

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Wilderness, Fitz Roy (2023)

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, Tibet (2023)

6000m above sea level in Tibet, this is 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.

Since high-altitude areas have the most untouched landscape, my “Wilderness Expedition” project mainly focused on these regions. Going on high-altitude expeditions is on completely another level. It is very physically demanding, particularly when carrying heavy equipment and gear, making reaching these places extremely difficult. But it is worthwhile because the scenery is also a whole other level.

The Volcanoes Theatre, Bromo National Park

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 2 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 view point, and took some photos from left to right with a 180 degree angle to create the best panorama in Bromo.

I started my photography journey in 2014, especially for landscape photography, and I am a full-time photographer and owner of Lifetrip Journey, an event organizer that plans photo tours for Indonesia and some other countries. Indonesia is one of the largest archipelago countries that has natural diversity. I want to explore more and take pictures and introduce it to the world.

Fikri Muharom was born and raised in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, but currently lives in Surabaya, East Java.
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We are thrilled to witness the incredible photography talent emerging from Southeast Asia, shared Siew Jin Kiat, Regional Managing Director, Epson 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.

2024 Amateur Photographer Of The Year

Diego Manrique Diez, Spain

Diego Manrique is a landscape photographer based in León, Northern Spain. He has traveled the world for the past ten years, especially the USA and all the National Parks there. It was not until 2020 that Diego started to get deeper into photography due to the pandemic. His current wife was based in New York while he was in Spain, so they could not see each other since the borders were closed for over two years. We could say that photography was his salvation in those hard times. It became the start of an incredible journey.

He started photographing the coastline of Asturias. Consequently, his work specialized in landscape photography, seeking to capture unique and stunning sceneries. His first trip to the Norwegian Arctic in 2021 was a turning point for him. Amazed by the spectacular fjords, their mountains, and breathtaking beaches, he focused on panoramic photography and winter landscapes.

Lately, Diego has received awards in many national and international photo contests. These have motivated him even more to keep exploring and loving landscape photography.

Instagram  |  Facebook  |  manriquephoto.com

Green Storm, Norway

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.

Spiral, Norway

Spiral is an impressive panorama that takes you through the dramatic mountains of Northern Norway, luxury spectators of the best northern lights.

I decided to stop in this spot to look for something different. Suddenly, the green lights appeared on top of the fjord, bringing to life a frame that draws an inverse spiral that connects the ground to the aurora. This effect creates a unique capture by stitching two rows of pictures.

Cave Diver, Anhumas Abyss, Bonito City, Brazil

I’ve always enjoyed visiting and exploring caves, and I wanted to convey the fascinating experience of diving into the incredible Anhumas Abyss.

Accessing this cave is an adventure in itself — you have to descend 72 meters by rappelling to reach its crystalline lake, which is over 80 meters deep and covers an area the size of a football field.

The lake is adorned with incredible speleothems, including the world’s largest underwater cones, some reaching up to 20 meters in height.

These formations take an astonishing 2,000 years to grow just one centimeter. The magic intensifies when sunlight penetrates the lake through a skylight in the cave’s ceiling — this occurs only during December mornings and for a few precious minutes in this specific place. Since we’re in the rainy season, you need luck to witness this beam of sunlight.

Through this VR pano, you can take an incredible virtual dive into this cave in a way that conventional photos cannot show us.

Instagram  |  Facebook  |  fotoexplorer.com

Fikri Muharom was born and raised in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, but currently lives in Surabaya, East Java.
Instagram

We are thrilled to witness the incredible photography talent emerging from Southeast Asia, shared Siew Jin Kiat, Regional Managing Director, Epson 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.

The Epson Digital Art Prize is decided by the executive team at Epson Australia from the top 50 entries in the Open competition. The entries must show excellence in digital post processing as well as 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.

Storm Dump, Western Australia

The Kimberley in far north Western Australia comes alive in the wet season. For that reason, I had scheduled a seven day helicopter safari to hopefully capture the incredible rainstorms. As we refuelled at a nearby regional airport, we had no idea of this approaching downpour. We took off and were immediately confronted with this menacing beast. I instructed the pilot Brad to move to the south to avoid being caught up in the downpour. The twisting and turning bends of the King River provided the ideal foreground for this panoramic image – one that will remain in my mind forever.

Instagram  |  Facebook  |  tomputt.com

At The Edge Of Despair, Bermagui, NSW

As a landscape photographer living in regional South East Victoria, I have access to many great photography locations in coastal and mountain regions. My main passion is in long exposure photography, where I’m able to create a scene with a surreal and often minimalist look and feel.

My photograph, ‘At the Edge of Despair’ was captured at the iconic Camel Rock on the South coast of New South Wales. Morning light filtered across the rock, highlighting its jagged and prehistoric like form. With a moody sky and turbulent ocean waves breaking around the base of the rocks, I was able to produce an image with a mystical appeal, creating a sense of fantasy for the viewer.

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Uprooted, Moab, Utah 

The evening this photo was taken began much differently than what you see here. A late-season monsoon storm had made the 4×4 “road” nearly impassable, and the heavy rain completely obscured the view of the valley and buttes below. I found myself questioning why I was even there, with almost no chance of capturing a photograph. But like magic, just as the sun began to set, the clouds lifted, and light poured into the valley, creating a golden haze and a rainbow. I rushed around, searching for any foreground element, when I found this beautifully twisted juniper tree. Mere minutes after I captured this panorama, the golden light and rainbow vanished as the rain returned.

Instagram  |  warnerwildernessphotography.com