IMPORTANT RULES TO NOTE IN SUMMARY
The EPSON International Pano Awards is open to all photographers.
You retain copyright in each entry. Our sponsors, including Epson do NOT assume rights of use for commercial purposes. Images are used for display of winning and highest scoring images in relation to the competition only.
All images must be panoramic format, defined for this competition as a minimum 2:1 ratio (long side : short side).
Therefore, your entry files (Open and Amateur competitions) should be 3000 pixels on the long side, and NOT GREATER THAN 1500 pixels on the short side.
Images not complying with the minimum ratio rule will be given the lowest average score.
The ‘early-bird’ entry period closes on Sunday July 12th Midnight (UTC -11), 2015.
The late entry period closes Sunday July 26th Midnight (UTC-11), 2015. Multiple entry discounts will be unavailable during the late entry period.
In addition to the awarding of cash and the prize pool to the top places in each competition, scores will be scaled following final judging to award the following ratios of overall entries;
- Gold awards; top 2%, score 86 and above
- Silver awards; next 10%, score 80-85
- Bronze awards; next 33%, score 70-79
Awards certificates will be made available to recipients online as PDF files. Take care when entering your name in the entry process as this will be used directly for any certificate you receive. NOTE: Gold, Silver and Bronze awards do NOT denote a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place.
During the entry process you will be prompted to indicate your eligibility to be considered for the various special awards in the OPEN competition, which are additional to the main judging. Please tick all that apply to your entry.
The Jeff Mitchum Fine Art Prize will be decided by Jeff Mitchum from the top 10 eligible entries in the Open competition. To be considered for this award, your entry must predominantly be created ‘in camera’. This means no HDR, exposure blending, composites or cloning are allowed. Minimal cropping, RAW global adjustments and minor dodging and burning are permissible. In keeping with the competition, stitching is also permissible. Finalists will be asked to show original RAW files or film scans to be considered for this award.
The Epson Digital Art Prize will be decided by the executive team at Epson Australia from the top 10 eligible entries in the Open competition. To be considered for this award, your entry must show excellence in digital post-processing as well as having exceptional photographic technique. Entries must be 100% photographic in origin and the sole work of the entrant, but there are no restrictions on the level of retouching allowed, including but not limited to; stitching, composites, exposure blending, HDR, cloning, cropping, dodging and burning.
Additional prizes will also be awarded in the Open competition for; Highest Scoring IAPP member, Highest Scoring Gigapixel Image, Highest Scoring Image from Film Capture, Highest Scoring Spherical/360 Degree Image, Highest Scoring Wide Angle Image and Highest Scoring Aerial Image. Winners will be asked to provide proof in each case.
The Highest scoring IVRPA member across Open, Amateur and VR competitions will also be awarded.
A Gigapixel image is defined as more than one billion pixels. A Spherical/360 degree image encompasses a 360 degree view in all directions in the one image (note this is not the same as a VR ‘immersive’ image). Spherical/360 degree and Gigapixel images are exempt from the minimum 2:1 ratio rule.
Entries in the Nature categories must be predominantly of natural subjects, although some man made objects within image are accepted. An example of this would be a jetty or a building within a landscape.
Entries in the Built Environment categories must be predominantly of man-made subjects, although some natural subjects within the image are accepted. An example of this would be a park within a city environment.
Images may be from single capture or stitching software, film or digital capture, but must be 100% photographic in origin. Manipulation is allowed but excessive manipulation may be scored down by the judges if not well executed. Computer generated images and elements are not permitted.
Please be aware that entering multiple substantially similar entries may be marked down by the judges.
There is no restriction on the date of origin of entries, or on the number of entries per entrant, however images entered in previous EPSON International Pano Awards competitions are not permitted.
People, abstract/creative, B&W and vertical panoramic images can be entered in any category, with the exception of the VR/360 competition where vertical images are not accepted.
An Amateur is defined for this competition as someone who earns less than USD$20,000 per year from photography as an occupation. Amateurs may enter the Open, Amateur or VR competitions. All photographers earning more than US$20,000 per year from photography may ONLY enter the Open or VR competitions. Winners in the Amateur competition will be thoroughly checked for Amateur status.
Amateurs and non-professionals may enter an identical image into the Amateur and Open competitions if they wish, as they are judged as separate competitions.