Epson has announced the winners of the 17th Epson International Pano Awards, with Wutimet Bunyasirisith receiving the 2026 The Pano Awards Southeast Asia Open Photographer of the Year title. The Bangkok-based landscape, fine art, and travel photographer won for The Emerald Arch Over Lofoten, Norway.
The Epson Pano Awards winners announcement highlights panoramic photography and photographic talent from Southeast Asia. The announcement puts a Southeast Asian photographer at the center of a global panoramic photography competition. The Epson Pano Awards winners gallery includes the winning and top images from this year’s competition and is available through The Pano Awards’ official website.
A full-arch aurora panorama
Bunyasirisith’s winning image shows a full-arch aurora borealis framing a mountain peak and reflecting across the waters of a freezing coastline in Lofoten, Norway. He said the photograph came together when the Northern Lights flared and curved around the mountain.
According to Bunyasirisith, the scale of the aurora could not be captured in a single frame. He therefore created a panorama that revealed the complete arch around the peak. The resulting image was selected for the Southeast Asia Open Photographer of the Year title in the 2026 competition.
The awards announcement also highlights the technical demands of panoramic photography. Competition Curator David Evans said the format requires a balance of artistic vision and technical mastery, particularly when photographers work with unpredictable elements such as the Northern Lights.
Evans described Bunyasirisith’s full-arch composition in sub-zero temperatures as “nothing short of masterly.” He also noted the sustained strength of entries from Southeast Asia and the way photographers from the region continue to explore scale and narrative in the global competition.
Third year of regional sponsorship
Epson Southeast Asia and Epson Australia are jointly sponsoring the competition for the third consecutive year. The sponsorship provides a platform for photographers across the region to present their work alongside panoramic photography from around the world, according to Epson.
Siew Jin Kiat, Regional Managing Director of Epson Southeast Asia, said Bunyasirisith’s result reflects a continuing trend of Southeast Asian photographers travelling to distant global landscapes to produce panoramic images. He attributed the work’s impact to the passion, vision, and technical discipline of the region’s creative community.
Epson said its support for visual storytellers includes imaging technology such as Epson SureColor professional photo printers and ultra-slim projectors designed for color accuracy and archival print durability. These product capabilities are part of the company’s stated role as a joint major sponsor of the awards.
Epson describes itself as a technology innovation and engineering company whose philosophy of efficient, compact, and precise innovation enriches lives and helps create a better world. Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the worldwide Epson Group generates annual sales of more than JPY 1.4 trillion.
For the company’s Philippine operations, Epson Philippines Corporation says it has operated since 1998 and maintains a network of more than 300 dealers, 160 Authorized Service Centers, and more than 700 stores nationwide. The company describes its work as focused on efficient, compact, and precise technologies.
The 2026 Epson Pano Awards winners gallery can be viewed through the official Pano Awards website. The competition’s image-use guidance asks publishers to credit each photographer and the competition as “The 17th Epson International Pano Awards,” with the official website included. Image titles and locations are optional.
