Italian photographer Alex Wides (Alessandro Cantarelli) has claimed the prestigious title of Open Photographer of the Year at the 16th annual Epson International Pano Awards, the world's largest competition dedicated exclusively to panoramic photography. His breathtaking image, titled "Last Fireworks," captured a fiery desert sunset using advanced multi-exposure panoramic techniques with a Sony A7 IV camera.

Wides' winning photograph showcased his mastery of technical precision and artistic vision. Using a Sony A7 IV paired with a fisheye lens, he captured a multi-exposure sequence at f/8 and ISO 100, rotating carefully around the nodal point of his tripod-mounted setup to eliminate parallax errors. This meticulous nodal rotation technique allowed him to merge exposures seamlessly into a flawless 360-degree composition that captures the infinite, almost cosmic scale of the desert landscape.

The photographer described the magical moment that inspired his award-winning shot: "As the sun went down, the sky literally exploded. Layer after layer of clouds lit up, painting the desert with fire and gold." That fleeting moment became "Last Fireworks" – a fiery, ethereal landscape that demonstrates the immersive power of panoramic photography in its purest form.

Wides has established himself as one of the world's most recognized names in panoramic fine-art photography through over a decade of experimentation and innovation. His panoramic technique involves capturing between 30 and 100 exposures, carefully aligned and overlapped with minimal movement to create cohesive, immersive environments that mimic the sensation of standing inside the scene. His post-processing workflow takes place in Adobe Camera Raw and PTGui, where each frame is manually blended for optimal exposure balance, color continuity, and perspective harmony.

The Sony A7 IV, featuring a 33-megapixel full-frame sensor, provided the perfect combination of resolution, dynamic range, and color depth for this complex panoramic capture. The camera's technical capabilities, combined with Wides' expertise in extreme panoramic landscapes, resulted in a masterclass demonstration of contemporary panoramic photography techniques.

Founded in 2019, the Epson International Pano Awards has grown to become the premier global platform for panoramic photography excellence. The 2025 edition attracted thousands of entries across Nature/Landscape, Built Environment, and VR/360 categories, celebrating both professional and amateur photographers who push the boundaries of ultra-wide imaging and 360-degree photography. With the 2026 call for entries now open and featuring a new Aerial category, the competition continues to showcase the most powerful and innovative panoramic photography from around the world.