The winners of the 2021 Epson International Pano awards have been announced and the overall winner of the 2021 Open Competition was Joshua Hermann from the USA with three entries, 'Eternal Triangle', 'Morning Burn' and 'Ancient Backwaters'.
Explaining how his winning entries came to pass Hermann said, “It is an honour to have my images selected in the Open Category alongside so many wonderfully talented photographers. One of the great things about photography is its ability to inform. 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. When shooting Eternal Triangle, I observed a cypress tree generally has a wide flaring base. Due to its watery habitat, it develops this triangular base and root protrusions called cypress knees to help it stand in the soft, soggy bottom. As I paddled amongst the trees on this foggy morning the triangular trunks stood out in a symmetrical fashion. To me, it looked like enumerable triangles receding into the fog. I named this picture Eternal Triangle as an ode to one of my favourite jazz compositions by the great Sonny Stitt.”
Describing Morning Burn Hermann said, “When conditions are right and cool moist air begins to warm over water in the swamp, mist begins to form over the water. If you are lucky enough for the mist to stick around when the sun breaks the horizon, a wonderful show takes place. There is a short window of time where the sun begins to set the mist ablaze with light. As I paddled, the scene constantly changed in front of me while the sun inched higher above the horizon. I stopped in front of this grove and setup my camera as the swamp put on a light show went on in front of me.”
On Ancient Backwaters Hermann added, “Like trees in most of the US, many of the old growth cypress groves were felled during the logging era. Today there are a few places were these 1,000 plus year-old giants still stand. 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. When I find these ancient monoliths in backwater ponds and sloughs, I am immediately transported to the swamp lands of ancient times.”
The Epson International Pano Awards showcases the work of panoramic photographers worldwide and is the largest competition for panoramic photography.
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.
The overall winner of the 2021 Amateur Competition was Daniel Trippolt from Austria with his Shining Night, Legendary Peaks and Shining Heart entries.
Trippolt said, “I discovered my passion for photography when I was 12 years old when my father gave me my first camera. Every free second of my free time was used to take photos of everything and everyone. From animal photography to sports, architecture and portrait photography, I tried everything and found my greatest passion and hobby in landscape photography. Here I am very much into hyperreal landscape photography, which distinguishes me from most Austrian landscape photographers. Landscape photography has become a huge part of my life, even if I don't have as much time to invest as full-time landscape photographers. 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.”
The Epson Digital Art Prize was won by Manuel Enrique González Carmona from Spain who said about his ‘Anatomy Lesson’ entry, “Minerals, water and water currents are the ingredients with which nature creates these ephemeral landscapes. With each rainy period the canvas is transformed. 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. These ephemeral formations will disappear with the next intense rains. I live only one hour away from this scenery, so I usually make a visit every week. There are always completely new structures and details that allow you to make countless abstractions and figurations. 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.”
Competition Curator, 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.”
Craig Heckenberg, Managing Director, Epson Australia said, "Who would have thought the Pano Awards would again be so successful during such another challenging year. 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 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.”
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
For enquiries and more information contact David Evans at contact@thepanoawards.com
