Our world in wide-screen: Stunning panoramic photographs taken from land, sea and the sky capture nature's beauty  

·        870 photographers entered the fifth Epson International Pano Awards

·        Nearly 4000 entries of breathtaking photographs were submitted 

·        Photographers competed for $40,000 in cash and other prizes  

From haunting images of clouds rolling in over a bridge in America to a surfer battling for a wave with a leaping dolphin, photographers from around the world have submitted some of the most stunning panoramic images ever captured.

Nearly 900 photographers entered the Epson International Pano Awards, an annual competition that brings together the best wide-lens images of the past 12 months.

American Dennis Ramos was the overall winner with his picture of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in St. Petersburg, Florida. 

'It was a beautiful cloudless day with some patches of rolling fog over the bridge. My friend and I decided to go fishing that mid afternoon. I found out that my reel wasn't working so I grabbed my camera gear instead,' he said.

'It took me a lot of time waiting and shooting in between the fog to get a good exposure. While waiting during long exposure times, I wished I had my fishing rod as well.'

Ben Neale, an Australian photographer, won the amateur competition in the nature and also the open nature category. He used a paraglider to capture a breathtaking image of a flock of brolga birds in Arnhem Land. The picture also won him the highest scoring aerial image.

'It was a tricky shot as I was out shooting landscapes that day and knew I would have to get very low to capture the brolgas in great detail, with a lot of sharp turns and some near misses it all came together in just 3 frames out of 200,' Mr Neale said.

Another Aussie photographer who made it in the finalist category was Matt Hutton. He named his shot 'Right Place Right Time' after capturing a magical moment between a dolphin and a surfer at Jacques Point in Western Australia.

The fifth Epson International Pano Awards received nearly 4000 entries from 870 photographers, each vying for the $40,000 top prize. 

+29

Dennis Ramos, the overall open photographer of the year

+29

Ben Neale's Arnhem Land won the amateur competition. He said 'the birds are Australian brolgas, it was taken from a powered paraglider and is a 3 image stitch' 

+29

Photographer Matt Hutton named his image Right Place Right Time after capturing this perfect and magical moment by luck 

+29

Craig Williams shot at Cable Beach, Broome, Western Australia. Mr Williams said 'having watched the large camel trains meander along the pristine Cable Beach at sunset many times, I recently decided it was time I attempted to capture this quite unique and spectacular scene within a photograph'

+29

The mountains in the background are the Whale's hill and the Buracão hill in Maytreia Gardens, Veadeiros Tablelands National Park, Brazil. Photographer Marcio Cabral said he 'used painted light in the foreground and waited for the best time to capture the arc of the Milky Way'

+29

Taken in the Republic of Iceland, ICE-Land required a 'full commitment of men and material'

+29

Huggen Angelese said, 'This early morning image was taken from the Marine Headlands across San Francisco, CA on September 2013. My imagination was captivated by the City that appears to be floating and being carried by the fog in the background. It was a golden sunrise at the Golden Gate Bridge!'

+29

Quindalup Boat Ramp Dunsborough, Western Australia. Andrea Jones said, 'My first attempt at capturing the photograph I envisioned for the Quindalup Boat Ramp was unsuccessful. The weather conditions were unfavourable, and fishermen arrived early to launch their boats'

+29

The Image captures a hanging lamp named Melograno Blu, "Blue Pomegranate" and is produced by an Italian Company with the same name

+29

Bob Kim captured Kirkjufellsfoss, one of the iconic triple waterfalls situated in Snaefellsnes Peninsula. Mr Kim set up his tripod before dawn. He said, 'This morning's colourful sunrise has exceeded my expectation with glorious display of warm light that penetrated into the heart of the mystic waterfall'

Photographer Ray Jennings took 9th place in the Open - Nature competition 

+29

Anna Gibiskys captures Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She said, 'The first thing you hear about this city will be his nickname - Marvellous City. Rio is a city of wonder both in its surroundings and its people. There is no other place like it on Earth!'

This photograph was taken from a small hill over looking the rice fields of rural China's north eastern Guangxi Zhuang region

+29

Photographer Kuo Chih Chen took 10th place in the Open - Nature competition

+29

Douglas Peebles captures 20+ foot waves in the early morning at at Waimea Bay, Oahu, Hawaii

+29

This photograph captures Ross Jones Memorial Pool, Coogee Beach, Sydney, Australia

+29

Ed Cooley's 'A Mysterious Land' captures Zhanjiajie National Forest, Hunan Province, China

+29

' The Rock' - Hermitage of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, in the north of Spain

Photographer Timo Lieber said, 'Earlier this year, I camped in the Rubʿ al Khali - the world's largest sand desert and one of the driest places on the planet. With only desert mice for company and endless sandstorms, it was also one of the more challenging environments I have worked in so far. But the reward came in form of amazing dune shapes and beautiful light'

+29

This medieval church that dates to the 12th century sits on this tiny little island called Cribinau in Wales, which is surrounded by a sea wall

+29

Julien Bastide photographs Montreal, Quebec from below the "Échangeur Turcot" which is a three level freeway interchange

+29

Jason Henthorne's 'Miami in the morning'

+29

This lake is located near a power plant in Hungary close to Bokod

The photograph, Mangroves, was taken at Wellington Point in Brisbane

+29

Marco Castelli captures Brunelleschi's Dome, Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral, in Florence, Italy. It is the biggest stone cupola ever built and the highest and widest point of view of the city

+29

Debbie Fowler shot this photograph from an open door helicopter ride over the Cambridge Gulf on the North Coast of Western Australia

+29

Australian photographer Ben Neale said 'This image took 2 weeks of flying and scouting for all the elements to finally come together, although the herds where numerous, to get a family group like this out in the open, in formation, on the red tinged grass was very difficult'

+29

Haibo Chi's Posture of kingfisher

+29

Photographer Mohammad Reza Domiri said using a tripod inside the Vakil bath in Shiraz, Iran is banned

+29

The image captures the Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York City

+29

The key elements for 'Macau Painting' was location, height, drops, colour and culture

+29

Photographer Ben Messina captured 'Eye of the storm' 'after spending the afternoon scouting locations for sunrise and sunset images. He said 'it was amazing to see this storm start to move in our direction'

+29

Will Dielenberg shot 'Holding back the sea' at Torquay, Victoria, Australia