Panoramic Views Of The World: The Best Shots From The 2024 Epson International Pano Awards (25 Pics)

Kelvin Yuen is a landscape photographer from Hong Kong who works internationally. He started taking landscape photos when he went on a spontaneous hike near his home at 18 years old. For the past ten years, he has aimed to capture beautiful and unusual landscapes, ranging from the stunning sights of Hong Kong to the wilds of the world.

Describing "Power of Nature", Yuen said, “The primary goal of this trip was to capture the iconic mountains of Guilin, renowned for their karst formations. On the day I took this photo, I woke up at 3 a.m. and was supposed to hike up for the sunrise. However, a heavy thunderstorm struck out of nowhere, so I decided to shoot the thunderstorm instead.

I flew my drone to wait for the lightning due to safety concerns. The drone surprised me by still being functional after 30 minutes of downpour. I took 700 photos with the same composition, of which more than 40 captured lightning. This photo is my favorite, as the lightning flashing in the middle illuminates the layers of the mountains.”

According to the organizers, this year’s competition saw a big rise in entries, especially from Southeast Asia, with 70% more submissions from countries like Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam. To celebrate this, the Pano Awards added a new Southeast Asia Open Photographer of the Year award. The winner of this new award is Fikri Muharom for his photograph "The Volcanoes Theatre".

Competition Curator, David Evans, said, “Momentum continues to build from entrants in Southeast Asia, and also Asia more broadly. We are thrilled to have Epson Southeast Asia on board as a joint major sponsor with Epson Australia, and given the increasing interest year on year from this dynamic region, the timing could not be better. The quality of entries is astounding, and I am endlessly fascinated by the spectacular windows to the world presented by highly talented photographers far and wide.”

The Epson International Pano Awards were founded in 2009 by Australian landscape photographer David Evans. Since its beginning, the competition has grown to become the largest global event for panoramic photography, attracting thousands of entries each year. It was created to celebrate the creativity and skill of photographers who specialize in wide-format imagery, and today, it serves as a major platform for both professionals and amateurs to showcase their work. "It is a labor of love for all involved."