The World Wide Panorama

Introduction

The World Wide Panorama event of the third quarter of 2026 doesn't have a theme yet. It will be announced.

Theme Essay: Deception

The essay conveys the team’s idea of the event. It is usually published together with the Theme announcement and offers a starting point for the contributing photographers.

Deception

by Václav Černý

From Potemkin villages to the fake facades of Leinster Gardens, from the shell game to advertising, the world is full of deception.

Sometimes it's for good, sometimes it's for bad. You'd rather be deceived by a magician than by a political party or a food manufacturer.

Nature is a great deceiver too. Look at the mimic poison frog, which wants other animals to believe it is just as poisonous as the poison dart frogs it imitates. Look at the camouflage of a tiger, or the whole Phasmatodea - the family of stick bugs.

Listen to the cuckoo in the forest, while it lays its eggs in another bird's nest.

You can meet your favourite animated characters at Disney World, or even become part of a historical movie on a film set. But beware - some windows are just paintings.

Social white lies and shrinkflation seem like two sides of the same coin - but maybe they're both heads.

Go out now, without a mask, without makeup, and make some panoramas. Will you reveal the deception, or leave it for a watchful observer to find?

There is just one thing for sure. The camera never lies!