“Power of Nature” by Kelvin Yuen. 2024 Open Photographer of the Year. Aerial Winner, First Place Open Nature/Landscape
Photographer Kelvin Yuen has been named 2024 Open Photographer of the Year at the Epson International Pano Awards. Based in Hong Kong, Yuen impressed the judges with his strong portfolio of landscape photography. This led him to beat out 4,529 entries from 1,105 professional and amateur photographers in 95 countries.
Yuen’s unyielding tenacity to get the shot he wants is evident in his submissions to the contest. For Power of Nature, he woke up at 3 a.m. to hike the iconic mountains of Guilin. However, a heavy thunderstorm thwarted his plans, causing him to pivot and capture the storm.
“I flew my drone to wait for the lightning due to safety concerns,” he shares. “The drones surprised me by being functional after 30 minutes of downpour. I took 700 photos with the same composition, of which more than 40 were lightning shots.
This photo is my favorite, as the lightning flashing in the middle illuminates the layers of the mountains.”
In the amateur division, Spain’s Diego Manrique Diez was named the overall winner for his impressive aurora images shot in Norway. “The intense cold was taking hold of me, and the overcast sky prevented me from seeing the awaited Northern Lights,” he recalls of the evening he took the winning photos.
“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.”
In addition to the overall winners, photographers were singled out across two categories—Built Environment and Nature/Landscape—in both the amateur and open divisions. Special awards were also handed out to honor achievements such as Highest Scoring Vertical Photo and Highest Scoring Film Capture.
Scroll down to see 25 of our favorite images from the 2024 competition, and head over to the official website to see even more winners.
Here are the exceptional winners of the 2024 Epson International Pano Awards.
“The Green Dance” by Diego Manrique Diez. 2024 Amateur Photographer of the Year, First Place, Amateur Nature/Landscape
“Chrysanthemum season” by Tuan Nguyen Tan. First Place, Open Built Environment. Epson Digital Art Prize. Open Overall Runner-up
“Heaven & Hell” by Danny Au. First Place, Amateur Built World, Amateur Overall Runner-up
“The Volcanoes Theatre” by Fikri Muharom. Southeast Asia Open Photographer of the Year
“Wilderness” by Kelvin Yuen. 2024 Open Photographer of the Year, Third Place Open Nature/Landscape
“Uprooted” by Nickolas Warner. RAW Planet Award, Fifth Place Open Nature/Landscape
“Storm Dump” by Tom Putt. Curator’s Award
“The Wave” by Elliot McGucken. Highest Scoring IAPP Member
“The jungle in the city” by Yuan Yakun. Highest Scoring Vertical Image
“Climbing” by Alessandro Cantarelli. Second Place, Open Nature Landscape
“Matrix Motion” by Oliver Wehrli. Highest Scoring Film Capture
“Blossom” by Ethan Su. Highest Scoring Gigapixel Image
This year’s contest has over 4,500 entries from photographers in 95 countries.
“The commanding seat aboard a Soviet Foxtrot-class submarine” by Peter Van den Wyngaert. Highest Scoring IVRPA Member
“At the Edge of Despair” by Michael Stringer. Nikon Australia Award
“The Dance” by Christopher Baker. 6th Place, Amateur Nature/Landscape
“The star” by Markus van Hauten. Second Place, Amateur Nature/Landscape
“Sunset of the Hong Kong” by Wutimet Bunyasirisith. Second Place, Amateur Built World
“Slaapstad” by Jay Caboz. Second Place, Open Built Environment
“Timeless Story” by Matteo Strassera, Third Place, Amateur Nature/Landscape
“Natural whims” by Jose Luis Estrada Cantero. Fifth Place, Amateur Nature/Landscape
“Turning Point” by Marie-Line Dentler. Third Place, Amateur Built World
“The Wave” by CP Lau. Fifth Place, Open Built Environment
“Home” by Huang WenJing. Second Place, Open Built Environment
“Blue Origin” by Shuchuan Liu. Highest Scoring Smartphone Image