The winners of the 17th Epson International Pano Awards, the world’s largest competition dedicated to panoramic photography, have been announced. Spanish photographers took both of the top titles.

Daniel Viñé Garcia was named Open Photographer of the Year. His winning image, The Sleeping Giant, is a 360-degree aerial panorama of the Parinacota Volcano in Chile, built from 33 exposures. Fellow Spaniard Tomás Sánchez Ruiz took Amateur Photographer of the Year.

Spain’s success continued in the categories. Mikel Iraeta won Open Nature and Landscape with Double arch on Milford Sound, a composite of 107 frames, and Sebastián Cantos Navalon won Amateur Built Environment. Xuecheng Liu (USA) took Open Built Environment, and Xuejun Long (China) won Amateur Aerial.

The Epson Digital Art Prize went to Preeti and Prashant Chacko from India for The Rugby Players, an image of white rhinos in Kenya’s Solio Game Reserve. Max Terwindt from the Netherlands received the Curator’s Award, and Wutimet Bunyasirisith from Thailand was named Southeast Asia Open Photographer of the Year.

This year’s competition was bigger than ever. It drew 4,084 entries from 1,037 photographers in 93 countries, up 19% on 2025, helped by new Aerial categories that attracted 680 entries on their own.

Those frame counts show just how much work goes into a top-level panorama. Stitching 33 aerial exposures into a seamless 360-degree image, or more than 100 frames into a single landscape, takes careful planning in the field as well as hours at the computer. The rise of drone panoramas is clearly reshaping the genre, and the new Aerial categories reflect that.

Epson International Pano Awards 2026: key winners

Where to see the winning images

All the winning and highly ranked panoramas can be viewed in the 2026 winners gallery on the Epson International Pano Awards website.