Bigger is usually better and when it comes to photography going really big means shooting a panorama image. Well, to give you some big pano inspiration, EPSON has announced the winners of the 2018 EPSON International Pano Awards - the world's largest competition for panoramic photography.
Now in its ninth year, the 2018 competition saw nearly 5000 entries from photographers in 74 different countries, all competing for more than $50,000 in cash and prizes. This year’s overall winner of the 2018 Open competition was named as Veselin Atanasov from Bulgaria for an image entitled ‘Combing the Sunlight’, which was taken in Tuscany, Italy. Veselin commented on the image; ‘I shot this picture during one spring morning in 2017 in Tuscany.
I remember that I had a 70-200mm lens attached to my camera, and the scene in front of me required a wide-angle lens. The sun was quickly rising upward and I decided not to miss this moment while replacing a lens, so I shot the scene through the panorama of several frames from my hand without tripod. ’
Image by Veselin Atanasov/The EPSON International Pano Awards
Taking the Runner-up spot in the 2018 Open competition was German photographer, Daniel Eisele for the image entitled, ‘Life in Complex’, which was captured in Gifu, Japan.
Image by Daniel Eisele/The EPSON International Pano Awards
When it came to the overall winner of the Amateur competition, Nathaniel Merz from South Korea triumphed for an image entitled ‘Royal Ceremony’ that was captured in Daedunsan. Nathaniel commented; ‘Ever since first exploring the mountains here in Korea I have fallen in love with the bonsai-like pine trees clinging to the rocky peaks. This particular tree was always one of my favorites for its tall, regal shape and the fact that it stood alone right on the edge of a cliff. While it is beautiful year round, it looks particularly beautiful covered in just the right amount of frost and snow like I was luckily able to capture on this morning. At first, I was greeted by almost total white out conditions, but as I waited near this tree the fog began to move in and out just enough that the light was able to pour in and illuminate the tree and the surrounding fog in beautiful warm light. It was one of those moments where, thankfully, everything came together. ’
Image by Nathaniel Merz/The EPSON International Pano Awards
The Runner Up spot in the Amateur category went to British photographer Peter Li for this epic vertical panorama entitled ‘‘The Blue Whale’, which was captured inside the world-famous Natural History Museum, London.
Image by Peter Li/The EPSON International Pano Awards
The winner of the EPSON Digital Art Prize - an award that aims to reward excellence in modern digital post-processing - was named as Colin Sillerud from the USA. Colin commented on his image entitled ‘Spark’ that was captured at the Grand Canyon; ‘This image was the result of tenacious scouting, fanatic preparation, and luck when my plans and knowledge went out the window. Preparing for this year’s downpours I spent months scouting. As summer turned to monsoons, my trip was set. Then, an emergency
delayed my leaving and I began to worry about missing my window. Two weeks of storms followed and two weeks of emergencies kept me home. Out of anger and frustration, I changed my destination to the only area that seemed to have any clouds left. When I arrived, the sky was clear and I was defeated.
Cooking dinner in a stupor, a flash would occasionally light the corner of my eye, but I dismissed it as wishful thinking. Then came another flash, and another. Slowly turning, my eyes traced the horizon. Fifty miles off, a lightning bolt reached out and down from a barely perceptible cloud. My breath caught. By one am, three storms surrounded me, each unleashing a bolt every 5-10 seconds.
Image by Colin Sillerud/ The EPSON International Pano Awards
The winner of the Curator’s Award was announced as Austrian photographer, Stefan Thaler. This prize is awarded by competition curator, David Evans. Stefan image is entitled ‘Black Mamba’ and is an aerial pano of Maloyapass in Switzerland.
Image by Stefan Thaler/The EPSON International Pano Awards
Mauro Cirigliano captured this amazing panorama that showed the aurora, also known as the Northern Lights, in all their glory.
Image by Mauro Cirigliano/The EPSON International Pano Awards
Dutch photographer, Albert Dros, captured this colourful pano, entitled ‘Intimate Tulips’ within Holland’s province of Flevoland.
Image by Albert Dros/The EPSON International Pano Awards
. digitalrev.com2018-11-16 03:00
