The world is full of amazing scenes – and the International Landscape Photographer of the Year contest is here to prove it. This year’s contest – the seventh in the competition’s history – saw over 3800 entries from all around the globe, from pro and amateur photographers alike, all competing to share in the prize pool, which included US$10,000 cash, and the chance to be featured in the awards’ revered book.
So, who was crowned International Landscape Photographer of the Year? That would be Kelvin Yuen from Hong Kong, who is a full time professional landscape photographer. The top prize is based on a folio submission of at least four images, and Kelvin shot his winning images on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, which he says “can deal with the harsh shooting conditions such as extremely low temperature and heavy rain,” that he encounters.
Most of Kelvin’s wide-angle images are taken with a Laowa 12mm f/2.8 lens and he also uses Sigma’s 14mm f/1.8 for night shots. Plus, he makes use of a Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 and a Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8, relying on the Vibration Compensation features of the latter when he can’t use a tripod. He also shoots aerials with a DJI Mavic 2 Pro.
The Second place and Third place winners of International Landscape Photographer of the Year were Joshua Snow from the USA and Isabella Tabacchi from Italy.
Single images are awarded under the International Landscape Photograph of the Year title, and 2020’s winner was Kai Hornung from Germany. A semi-professional photographer, Kai uses a Sony A7R III and a number of Sony lenses covering 16mm to 400mm, most often the FE 100-400mm or FE 24-105mm, though for night scenes he sometimes shoots with the Sigma 14mm f/1.8. He also uses a DJI Mavic Pro 2 for his aerials images.
Second and Third place for International Landscape Photograph of the Year went to Dipanjan Pal from India and Chance Allred from USA, respectively.
The International Landscape Photographer of the Year competition also includes several special awards which change each year. The Dark & Moody Award was won by Grant Galbraith from Australia, while The Amazing Aerial Award was won by Gheorghe Popa from Romania.
The Snow & Ice Award was picked up by Hong Jen Chiang of Taiwan, and The Night Sky Award was won by Himadri Bhuyan from India. Finally, The Incredible Horizon Award 2020 was scooped by Evan Will from Canada.
All of the winning images earn a place in the seventh edition of the International Landscape Photographer of the Year awards book, along with other highly commended entries to total 101 amazing scenes.
