Epson Sponsors Nature's Best Photography Awards for Sixth Consecutive Year

Epson announces it is a global sponsor of the 2017 Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards Exhibition for the sixth consecutive year. As the exclusive Printer and Paper Partner for the ongoing exhibition, Epson's professional printing technology showcases the "Best of the Best" in outdoor photography. The award-winning photographs will be displayed in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, allowing visitors to celebrate the beauty and diversity of nature through the art of photography.

In addition, Epson is enhancing its partnership with Nature's Best this year through integrating projection mapping and large-scale projector imagery at the invitation-only awards ceremony and reception that will be held at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History on November 16. Epson will be using its projectors to create brilliant, colorful displays during the private evening event to showcase the award-winning photography on a large-scale.

"It's more important than ever to cultivate public interest in environmental conservation, and the annual Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards exhibition encourages the public to engage in celebrating the beauty that nature has to offer and thus be moved to preserve it," says Steve Freligh, awards director. "The advanced technology of Epson printers, inks, papers -- and this year, projectors -- makes it possible to showcase the work of the talented photographers who capture the incredible spectacle of nature. Epson's passion for providing prints of the highest quality allows us to share these inspiring photos and the stories they tell."

The 22nd annual Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards Exhibition opened Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017. Chosen from more than 26,000 entries from photographers, the exhibition will showcase 60 images from the extraordinary work of outdoor photographers in 59 countries. The images, along with an accompanying HD video, are displayed as large format prints ranging in size from 2' x 3' to nearly 4' x 6' in the museum, which welcomes more than seven million visitors annually. The exhibition prints were created on a 44" Epson wide-format printer that delivers superb photographic prints with extraordinary color, rich blacks, and exceptional print permanence levels, the company says.

With the 2017 awards, Epson is adding a projector element to its long-standing fine art photography sponsorship. Epson is partnering with several high-end solutions companies to create a projector mapping display during the private reception, including All of it Now creative design agency, Da-Lite for custom screens, and Nomad Event Systems for the production. Epson's laser projector solutions combine 3LCD technology with an integrated laser light source and a wide color gamut to deliver powerful, uncompromising images, the company says.

"For the first time during the awards reception, invited attendees will be able to experience the wonders of the natural world, projected throughout the museum's main rotunda," says Gavin Downey senior product manager -- large venue and meeting room projectors, Epson America, Inc. "We are excited to partner with so many industry-leading companies to give invited attendees a larger-than-life glimpse of these extraordinary images, and the legacy of the great outdoors the photographers aim to share."

The Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice Awards exhibition will be viewed by millions of visitors at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History located on the National Mall in Washington, DC and is open daily, free to the public. This annual photo competition is open to the public and photographers at all levels of expertise - pros, amateurs and youth -- are encouraged to submit. For more information, visit www.naturesbestphotography.com.