Oleg Gaponyuk triumphs in Epson Panoramic photography competition

The Epson Pano awards, aimed at rewarding those innovating and improving the quality of panoramic photography, has announced the winner of the 2011 competition as Oleg Gaponyuk. His image of Kuala Lumpur is a stunning example of the genre, and displays how panoramic photography can be used to its fullest.

After winning the competition Oleg said; ‘In April 2009 I chartered a helicopter and in the early morning departed to Kuala Lumpur to shoot several 3D spherical panoramas with AirPano.ru project. Coming closer to the downtown, I saw an amazing view… the skyscrapers overlooked the city in the mist throwing the fanciful shadows in the beams of morning sun. Although traditional photo-shooting was not in my plans, I couldn’t deny myself and quickly shot several panoramas right on the fly. This panorama stitched from 6 shots. Shooting took 4 seconds which allowed me minimize the parallax affected by the moving helicopter.’

Although a number of entries were digital images stitched together, many also utilised panoramic film. To see more entries head to the Pano Awards website.