Epson has announced the winners of the 17th Epson International Pano Awards, celebrating exceptional panoramic photography from around the world and highlighting the photographic talent emerging from Southeast Asia. The 2026 competition recognizes outstanding visual storytelling, artistic vision, and technical skill through panoramic images that capture remarkable landscapes and natural phenomena.
Now in its third consecutive year of joint major sponsorship by Epson Southeast Asia and Epson Australia, The Pano Awards continues to provide a platform for photographers across the region to showcase their work alongside exceptional panoramic photography from around the world. The competition brings regional photographic talent into the spotlight while celebrating the creativity and technical discipline required to produce compelling panoramic images.
Wutimet Bunyasirisith Wins Southeast Asia Open Photographer of the Year 2026
The title of The Pano Awards Southeast Asia Open Photographer of the Year 2026 was awarded to Wutimet Bunyasirisith, a landscape, fine art, and travel photographer based in Bangkok. His winning photograph, The Emerald Arch Over Lofoten, Norway, features a full-arch aurora borealis framing a mountain peak, with the spectacular natural display reflected across the waters of a freezing coastline.
The photograph captures the scale and visual impact of the Northern Lights as they curve around the mountain. The composition brings together the aurora, the mountain peak, and the coastal waters in a panoramic image that conveys the expansive nature of the landscape.
“This photograph came to life as the Northern Lights flared up and curved perfectly around the mountain,” Bunyasirisith shared. He explained that the immense scale of the aurora could not be captured in a single frame. This limitation led him to create a panorama, allowing the final image to reveal the complete arch of the Northern Lights around the mountain peak.
The winning photograph demonstrates the role of panoramic photography in capturing expansive natural scenes that extend beyond the boundaries of a single frame. Through the panoramic composition, Bunyasirisith presented the full scale of the aurora and its relationship with the surrounding landscape.
Epson Southeast Asia Celebrates Regional Photographic Talent
Siew Jin Kiat, Regional Managing Director, Epson Southeast Asia, highlighted the achievements of Southeast Asian photographers and the importance of supporting their creative work through the competition.
“We are thrilled to celebrate the exceptional talent emerging from Southeast Asia for the third year running. Wutimet’s success reflects a continuing trend of Southeast Asian photographers venturing to distant global landscapes to capture back awe-inspiring, world-class panoramic visuals. His work has shown us the relentless passion, vision and technical discipline that defines our region’s creative community. Epson is honoured to support our region’s best visual storytellers with world-class print solutions that preserve the depth, scale and rich colour of their photography.”
The statement recognizes the continued participation of Southeast Asian photographers in a global competition and highlights their commitment to capturing panoramic images in distant landscapes. Bunyasirisith’s achievement also reflects the artistic vision and technical discipline that Epson identifies as important qualities within the region’s creative community.
Epson Southeast Asia and Epson Australia have maintained their joint major sponsorship of the competition for three consecutive years. Through this support, the competition continues to offer photographers a platform to present their work to a wider international audience.
Competition Curator David Evans Praises Technical Mastery
Competition Curator David Evans also recognized the quality of the regional entries and the technical demands of panoramic photography. He emphasized the combination of artistic vision and technical execution required to capture challenging natural phenomena, particularly the Northern Lights.
“Panoramic photography demands a unique balance of artistic vision and technical mastery, particularly when faced with unpredictable elements like the Northern Lights. Wutimet’s ability to execute a flawless full-arch composition in sub-zero temperatures is nothing short of masterly. As a curator, watching photographers from Southeast Asia consistently push the boundaries of scale and narrative is one of the most rewarding aspects of this global competition.”
Evans highlighted Bunyasirisith’s ability to produce a full-arch composition in sub-zero temperatures, describing the achievement as an example of technical mastery. His remarks also emphasized the continuing strength of photographers from Southeast Asia, whose work contributes to the competition’s exploration of scale, composition, and visual narrative.
The winning image reflects the challenges involved in panoramic photography, particularly when a composition depends on unpredictable natural elements. Capturing the complete arch of the aurora required a panoramic approach that could accommodate the phenomenon’s immense scale while maintaining the relationship between the mountain and its surroundings.
Epson Imaging Technology Supports Photographers Worldwide
As joint major sponsors of The Epson International Pano Awards, Epson Southeast Asia and Epson Australia continue to support photographers globally through imaging technology. Their offerings include Epson SureColor professional photo printers and ultra-slim projectors designed for maximum color accuracy and archival print durability.
These imaging solutions form part of Epson’s support for visual storytellers who seek to preserve and present their photographic work. The competition provides an international platform for panoramic photography, while Epson’s professional imaging technology supports the presentation of images with attention to color accuracy and print durability.
The 17th Epson International Pano Awards continues to highlight panoramic photography from around the world, with the 2026 results placing particular attention on the achievements of photographers from Southeast Asia. Bunyasirisith’s recognition as The Pano Awards Southeast Asia Open Photographer of the Year 2026 marks a notable achievement within this international competition.
The full gallery of winning and top images is available through The Pano Awards 2026 Winners Gallery.
Media Usage & Image Accreditation
Publications that use images from The Epson International Pano Awards 2026 should credit each photographer and the competition as “The 17th Epson International Pano Awards.” The official website, https://thepanoawards.com, should also be included in the credit.
The image title and location are optional. These accreditation requirements apply when publishing images from the 2026 competition and identify both the photographer and the event.
