Funding

Grant · Self Funded

Fellowship•Remote

The Epson International Pano Awards

The Epson International Pano Awards (founded and curated by David Evans, Aldgate, South Australia)

Application Deadline

Closed · July 13, 2026

Reopens ~Jul 2027

Official Page

The Epson International Pano Awards is an annual international competition for panoramic photography, founded in 2009 by Australian landscape photographer David Evans, who runs it as founder and curator from Aldgate in South Australia. Epson Australia has been the major sponsor since the first edition, and Epson Southeast Asia joined in 2024. Photographers anywhere in the world enter online: images are uploaded to the entry system, scored blind by an international judging panel, and the strongest work receives Gold, Silver or Bronze merit levels alongside cash and equipment prizes.

Three competitions run each year — Open, Amateur and VR/360 — with Nature/Landscape, Built Environment and Aerial categories inside the first two. The organisers describe it as the largest competition devoted to the genre, and state that entry fees pay for judging, administration, marketing and IT rather than profit. Entries for the 2026 edition closed on 13 July 2026; judging runs through August and results are expected around late September.

Benefits & funding

  • 2026 prize pool worth over US$50,000, including US$15,000 in cash.
  • Open Awards first place: US$3,000 cash, a trophy, Epson products and software vouchers — a package valued at US$10,455.
  • Open Awards runners-up (two): US$1,000 cash each plus Epson products and vouchers, about US$3,200 each.
  • Open category second places (three): voucher packages worth about US$670 each.
  • Amateur Awards first place: US$3,000 cash, a trophy and a 10-day cherry blossom photography tour of Japan in 2027 — a package valued at US$8,600.
  • Amateur runners-up (two): US$1,000 cash each plus software and vouchers, about US$1,950 each.
  • VR/360 first place: US$1,000 cash, a trophy, Epson products and software licences, valued at US$3,000; second place valued at US$1,366, including US$400 cash.
  • Special cash awards of US$1,000 each: the RAW Planet Award, the Curator’s Award and the Epson Digital Art Prize.
  • US$200 each for the highest scoring gigapixel image, the highest scoring vertical image and the highest scoring IAPP member.
  • Southeast Asia Open Photographer of the Year: an Epson SureColor SC-P5300 printer with a full ink set, valued at US$5,270.
  • Gold awards represent the top 2% of awards given each year and carry Gold Club membership, a searchable public profile, and a one-year IAPP membership for Open division Gold winners.
  • Awarded images are published in the annual awards book and shown in exhibitions; a selection of 50 top scoring images from the 2023 to 2025 competitions opened at the Sydney Botanic Gardens Gallery on 3 June 2026.

Eligibility

  • Open to photographers of any nationality and any country of residence.
  • No age restriction.
  • No education or degree requirement.
  • The Open and VR/360 competitions accept all photographers, professional or not.
  • The Amateur competition is limited to non-professional and student photographers who earn less than US$20,000 a year from photography; winners are checked for amateur status.
  • Entrants must be the sole author of every image submitted.
  • Images need a minimum 2:1 aspect ratio (long side to short side); gigapixel images of one billion pixels or more, and 360-degree spherical images, are exempt from that rule.
  • Computer generated images and elements, including generative AI content, are not permitted, nor are stock or public domain images.
  • An image shortlisted in the top 10 of an earlier edition, or given a major or special award, cannot be entered again.
  • Entry is paid: US$22 per image in the Open competition, US$20 per image in the Amateur and VR/360 competitions. There is no limit on how many images one photographer enters.

Can you apply?

Open to all applicants

No nationality, residency, education, or experience limits are listed.

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We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.

Application process

  1. 1
    Read the competition rules and the image preparation guide.
  2. 2
    Prepare the files: JPEG in RGB (sRGB or Adobe RGB) at quality 10 or higher, 3000 pixels on the long side and no more than 1500 pixels on the short side for Open and Amateur; 6144 by 3072 pixels equirectangular for VR/360; no watermarks, and the photographer’s name in the filename.
  3. 3
    Create an account on the entry system and verify the email address.
  4. 4
    Choose a competition (Open, Amateur or VR/360) and a category, then upload each image; one image may enter only one category within the same competition.
  5. 5
    Pay the entry fee to confirm the submission before the published closing time.
  6. 6
    Wait for judging: entries are scored blind under random catalogue numbers, judge scores are averaged, the top 10 in each category are rescored, and results are published on the competition website.

Program timeline

  1. 3 June 2026

    Exhibition of 50 top scoring images from the 2023 to 2025 competitions opens at the Sydney Botanic Gardens Gallery

  2. Early-bird entries close (UTC-11); early-bird entry is required for the Curator’s Award

    22 June 2026

  3. Final entry deadline (UTC-11)

    13 July 2026

  4. Judging

    August 2026

  5. Late September 2026

    Results expected (the competition rules page lists results in October)

  6. opening and closing dates not yet published

    2027 edition

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