Most images are showcased in square format, vertical, or a standard 3:2 landscape format. But if you’re shooting a landscape, then you’re not always getting the best format for the subject matter. And arguably, the panoramic format is best for landscape photography. But don’t take my word for it. The Epson International Pano Awards are in effect for 2024 — and that means that so many photographers have the opportunity to gain prominence from their beautiful photos. Several of the images are positively stunning and all embrace the panoramic format in a way that should be adopted more often.
Lead Image by Shurley Wung. Used with permission from the Pano Awards. For more, please head over to their website to enter.
Image by Ky Nhan Cao
You see, every year, the winners are announced, and then their photos are showcased on the web. But you’re not realizing their fullest digital potential unless you’re looking at them on a desktop computer or large monitor. So, instead, we always tell photographers to print their images instead. And, of course, Epson seems to agree.
This year, there’s a record $50,000 prize pool that includes $15,000 in cash and prizes, including two professional Epson printers and an Epson projector. Haida and Nikon are also contributing prizes to the Pano awards.
Image by Erwin Lim
Perhaps most fascinating is the addition of a VR and 360 prize. Those are two formats that really embrace digital photography a lot more; though they can surely work with good enough printing.
Many photographers might look at their images and submit photographs that get them the most likes on social media. But that’s not always a winning formula. Instead, if you look at the photographs submitted by previous winners, you’ll see that the images have an impactful reaction to emotions and the soul in a way. Some of them are dreamy areas, while others are more documentary-based and rare occasions. Many are also using some sort of special effect. Luckily, AI imagery is prohibited per the rules.
I truly hope that more and more photographers will submit images that don’t require Photoshop and that are mostly done in-camera. Many cameras, like those from Panasonic, Hasselblad, and Leica, have built-in panoramic modes that resemble an X Pan format. However, the rules also state that content-aware fill is permitted in small areas of the photographs, but they don’t clarify what a small area is defined as. Hopefully, it won’t allow for full sky-replacement or anything like that. As it is, there’s an award for digital art that praises post-production. While I truly understand that most of landscape photography has relied on post-production, I don’t think that we should make it a crutch. Indeed, we must ask ourselves when a photograph stops being a photograph and instead turns into a composite or anything else.
Image by Aytek Cetin
The Pano Awards are also pretty big on differentiating a professional vs an amateur photographer. They define an Amateur as someone who earns less than $20,000 a year in photograph-based income. This means that a semi-professional might be included in this category.
Many landscape photographers also do not often consider scenes with man-made objects to be landscapes. Indeed, that’s how the old Outdoor Photographer Magazine used to define it. But the Pano Awards have dedicated for those who photograph structures built by man. After all, we’ve touched every single part of this planet’s surface except for some of the deepest parts of the sea.
Early-bird entries close Monday, June 24, with the final deadline on Monday, July 15, 2024. Head to their website for more.
