The winners of the 2025 and 16th Epson International Panorama Awards have been announced.
The Epson International Pano Awards was founded in 2009 by Australian landscape photographer David Evans (2015 AIPP Australian Landscape Photographer of the Year) with the support of Epson Australia, which has since grown into a collaboration between dedicated professional photographers, industry professionals and sponsors.
It has grown and continues to be the largest global competition for panoramic photography, as it showcases the work of panoramic photographers worldwide. Key awards include the Open Photographer of the Year, Southeast Asia Open Photographer of the Year, the Epson Digital Art Prize, Raw Planet Award, Curators Award, and others.
“The Pano Awards entries are always exceptional, and this year the creativity has truly been taken to the next level. It’s great to see so many more wide and ultra-wide panoramic shots this year,” said Epson Australia MD, Craig Heckenberg.
This year’s entries saw a prevalence of ultra-wide panoramas, led by the overall winner Alessandro Cantarelli, who has many such images in the top 50 according to the organisers. There were also increasingly innovative perspectives, including very low angles, very close-up subjects capturing movement, and aerial photography, the organisers noted.
Other interesting and sometimes unusual subjects included abstract, such as flower patterns captured by polarised light after hydrolysis and crystallisation and intimate nature vignettes such as snails, a beetle and fireflies. There were also far more shots of the Northern Lights than usual, coinciding with the 11-year solar cycle maximum, the organisers said.
Curator of the Awards, David Evans, said each year the boundaries of panoramic photography are pushed further, and 2025 has proven no exception. “This year’s collection reveals an extraordinary number of ultra-wide panoramas — sweeping, immersive works that transport viewers deep into the landscapes that inspired them, said Mr. Evans.
“Meanwhile, photographers continue to venture far and wide, uncovering both “hot” rising in focus locations such as Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Tibet and revisiting beloved destinations like Iceland, the Dolomites, Argentina and the Lofoten Islands. The diversity, creativity and technical excellence on display reaffirm the panoramic format as one of the most powerful storytelling mediums in contemporary photography.”
The judging panel for the Epson International Pano Awards also includes some of the world’s top panoramic photographers and industry professionals.
The overall winner of the 2025 Open Photographer of the Year, the Nature/Landscape category, is Alex Wides (Alessandro Cantarelli) from Italy for his entries, Last Fireworks, Jackpot, and Mann, while the award for Southeast Asia Open Photographer of the Year 2025 went to William Chua from Singapore.
The winner of the Epson Digital Art Prize 2025 was Daniel Viñé from Spain. The Amateur Photographer of the Year, First place Nature/Landscape category, went to Kevin Nyun, USA, for his entries, the Altiplano Landscape, Frozen, and Remnants.
The VR/360 winner was Christoph Simon from Germany for his panorama taken on a freezing March night in the high-temperature region of Hverarönd in northern Iceland.
“As the sun went down, the sky literally exploded. Layer after layer of clouds lit up, painting the desert with fire and gold. Using my Sony A7 IV with a fisheye lens on a tripod, I captured a full multi-exposure sequence at f/8 and ISO 100, rotating carefully around the nodal point to create a seamless 360° panorama,” said Wides.
“I have witnessed the wildebeest migration countless times, and it never ceases to amaze me. For this image, what caught my attention was a lone wildebeest turning back amidst the frenzy. In that instant, I knew that was the shot I wanted,” said Chua.
“In this coastal village of Vietnam, survival is woven in silence. These women, working in morning shade and salt-laden air, are the unseen guardians of sustenance. The nets they mend are not mere tools, but lifelines binding sea and community together,” said Viñé.
More photos @https://thepanoawards.com/ 2025-winners-gallery
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