International Garden Photographer blog

Well, the judging is over, the exhibition is up, the book is printed, and the winners are announced. Time for a sit-down, a cup of camomile tea, a fluffy blanket and a catch up on what’s happening on Countdown. Maybe even a small slice of fruit cake.

It’s been an epic year. We have had about two months less than usual to get ready for the annual exhibition and so we are really, really and, yes, really, exhausted!. 

This year's winner - Upside Down by Magdalena Wasizcek

Bigger and better

We have had more entries than ever before and a whole swathe of new people taking part in the competition. We have had exhibitions in New York, Sydney, Wakehurst - Kew of course - Hereford and Portugal.

And what a set of winners and finalists we have! This year we are celebrating the fifth year of IGPOTY at Kew with a wonderful exhibition in the Nash Conservatory and you can see them all there.

Sometimes people say – why have an exhibition when you can see the photographs on the website, or in the book? To me it’s like watching a film on DVD compared with at the cinema. It’s a very different experience. You see the photographs much bigger and at their best. You mingle with people. You talk to your friend about the images, point things out and go back again to have another look. Going round an exhibition can be a life-changing experience for some people. It sticks in the mind.

Boat-house by Dace Umblija. Winner in the 'Breathing Spaces' category

Persistence pays off

This year we have seen some great achievements from people who have been trying to succeed in the competition right from year one. Dace Umblija has won the ‘Breathing Spaces’ category with her photograph of Winkworth Arboretum. Dace has come on a number  of our workshops and has always entered a variety of images – but has never been successful until now. And her photograph has been admired not only by the judges but by everyone who has seen it.

Our overall winner, Magdalena Wasiczek, has entered for the last four years and been a finalist before but never won a big award – this year she has won not only the overall winner award but also one of the categories –‘The Beauty of Plants’. Her photography has always been eye-catching but this year it has hit new heights.

So it’s time to reflect on a job well done by a large number of photographers. But what about the unsuccessful ones? Many of them have asked for feedback on their unsuccessful entries and they are waiting for replies which we are happy to give. We hope in the future, as this year, to unearth new talents as well as giving a lot of pleasure to a lot of people.

Apparently Carol Vorderman’s not on Countdown any more. And I’ve got crumbs all over my fluffy blanket. Yes we could start on the feedback emails right now. The next competition is already open and I’d love to see the early entries that people have begun to send in…and next year’s exhibition needs preparing…

Time to get up and at it!

- Philip -

More information

• The exhibition is now open in the Nash Conservatory
• International Garden Photographer of the Year Competition 6 is now open. Go to the website for full details.
• Want to develop and hone your skills? Why not come on one of our workshops like Dace did?

Buy the book

The book of IGPOTY 5 is now available at the Victoria Plaza shop, from Kew books, or from International Garden Photographer of the Year

Here’s what one person thinks of it:

"My copy arrived yesterday and after the day's grind I thought to flick through Collection 5 to quickly get an impression and take a moment between other tasks. It's Friday evening the twilight hour and a drink in my hand. I thought it would be a brief, relaxing - almost meditational moment between the real work - if you understand what I'm saying

Far from it, this collection is energising and inspiring. Each turned page is a new thrill. No doubt it's a strenuous annual challenge for you but what a result!! So goodbye three quarters of an hour and hello lift off!

What I love is the incredible permutation of the accidental, the carefully planned - the technological mastery, the eye for composition. And caring enough to return at dawn or some other improbable hour when the light will be right.

This is a long winded way of saying congratulations, what a privilege to be part of this fantastic programme."

The following blog entry is an abridged extract from Philip’s book ‘Better Plant and Garden Photography’ available from International Garden Photographer of the Year.

How to improve

Just like any visual designer, an understanding of colour theory for the photographer will enhance and improve your work. This is perhaps especially true of the garden and plant photographer who is excited and moved by colour. Skilful gardeners are extremely aware of how colour works in the garden, and it is the photographer’s job to tune into this heightened sensibility.

Knowing how to see and to use colour to create more impact with your photography is a basic part of the art. But it is especially important in a garden where you often hear the phrase ‘a riot of colour’ used to describe a lovely garden – especially in summer.

Harmonious brushstrokes of colour in the garden. Shot with a 105 mm telephoto lens to foreshorten the perspective and emphasise the colour layers. Photo by Philip Smith.

Editing the experience

We humans enjoy a ‘riot of colour’ because our eyes survey the scene and our brains pick out the various elements of the ‘riot’ one by one. We bring certain bits forward to our attention, so that other bits recede for a moment until we focus on them. But unless we are skilful and take care, our cameras will apply the same level of importance to all of the garden elements, without distinction, all in one go, and will compress them into a little two-dimensional space.

So being selective is all important. And if you can be selective with some knowledge behind you to back you up – then all to the good.

Colour concepts

The colour wheel gives a visual reference guide for using colour. Segments of colour which lie opposite one another are said to be complementary. Segments that lie next to each other are said to be harmonious. 

Complementary colours are often thought of as ‘opposites’ – red/green – orange/blue – yellow/purple. If these complementary elements are introduced into a photograph it communicates a strong and immediate colour statement.
 

Iris shot with a 185 mm macro lens - focusing almost on colour alone brings out the drama. Photo by Philip Smith. 

Project idea - complementary and harmonious colours

Experiment with complementary colours. Notice how in summer it is more common to see complementary colours in the border than it is at other seasons, with deep red flowers contrasting with green foliage. See how effective it is when dramatic autumn coloured foliage can be set against a blue sky.

Harmonious colours are those which sit next to or near each other on the colour wheel. When these are used in conjunction, they can inspire a sense of peace and calm. This is especially true of blues with purples, greens with blues. If using harmonious colours from the red areas of the colour wheel the feeling is often more dynamic, with yellows and oranges sitting somewhere in the middle. However it works, using harmonious colours gives you a great chance to get the ‘wow’ factor into your image.
 

Putting the background out of focus gives you an immediate 'colour wash' behind the plant. Use this colour to create counterpoint or harmony. Photo by Philip Smith.

Project idea - same colour

Choose a colour and create a still life – indoors or in the garden – of a range of shades of the same colour. This will help you to ‘tune in’ your eye to the subtleties of colour shades. Most people can distinguish one million different colours – with women often said to be better at this than men. Whether male or female, a heightened sense of awareness comes with practice.
 

Limiting the colour palette to a narrow range of tones is a technique that often works very well. Colour and tone can be enhanced after capture with Photoshop. Photo by Philip Smith

- Philip -

More information

• Judging is currently taking place for International Garden Photographer of the Year Competition 5!
• Order your IGPOTY 5 bookof the winning entries at a special pre-publication price of £14.99.

Excitement is rising as the last of the entries come in from all over the world. This year's IGPOTY competition is open until midnight 30 November - so not long to go now...

'Kenrokuen Gardens'. The first IGPOTY winner 2008 (Image: Claire Takacs)

Last chance to enter

This year we have lots of wonderful awards - £5000 for the top prize plus many other cash and other prizes. Also, any photographer who does not win a prize can ask for an expert critique of their entries.

Do you want to be part of it?

Are you thinking of taking part for the first time?

Wondering how to enter?

If you're worried about anything technical then please just drop us an email to info@igpoty.com

Exhibitions in 2012

There will be a suitably stunning exhibition opening in the Nash Conservatory at Kew Gardens from 1 March 2012.

Next year we will also have IGPOTY exhibitions in Cumbria, Exeter, Ironbridge Shropshire, Winchester, Falkirk and Chelsea Physic Garden. In addition we will be going overseas to the New York Botanical Garden and the Sydney Botanic Garden, Australia.

We invite you to be part of this exciting and life-enhancing project!

Good luck!

- Philip -

What does it mean to win IGPOTY?

Whoever wins International Garden Photographer of the Year (IGPOTY) 2011  will be £5000 better off – often for a ‘stake’ of just £10! For professional photographers, the exposure gained from any of the IGPOTY awards represents a giant boost for their careers.

Abstract impressions by Marianne Majerus
 

"When I entered for the first time, I didn’t expect anything. Even though I am quite well known in
my field, winning has given me international exposure". Marianne Majerus

For amateur photographers it can be the starting point for a new career

If you win a category, if you are a finalist, highly commended or commended, you will play a major part in the project for the remaining year. In 2012, you will participate in an exhibition which will be launched at Kew Gardens, then tour to Chelsea Physic Garden, Rheged Centre, Cumbria, and Sydney Botanic Garden, Australia. Other venues will be added as the year progresses. Many thousands of people will see your photographic skill alongside the best in the world.

Your photographs can be included in the many magazine and other articles that are written about IGPOTY around the world. They will be included in a high quality book which you will receive as part of your prize. You may choose to participate in our print sales programme, where you will receive ongoing revenue from the project.

If you win the Portfolio award you get not only a big £2000 cash prize but the ultimate accolade of a Royal Photographic Society gold medal. Above all, taking part in IGPOTY gives you the opportunity, along with us and Kew, to celebrate our green planet, and the essential part that plants play in all our lives.

What do the judges look for?

The judges look for an individual and fresh approach to the subject. This could be a new way of looking at a flower, or a view of a stunning garden or a portrait of a gardener. This year there is more scope than ever to expand your photographic horizons – ‘Greening the City’ celebrates plants in an urban environment – ‘Breathing Spaces’ is all about people enjoying green places, in association with the National Trust. Yes, technical quality is very important – but there is always room for the ‘amateur maverick’ to win through to the final!

Fireflies by Radim Schreiber
 

How do I give myself the best chance of winning?

1. Be careful how you select your entries. Make sure that the image you upload is as good as it can be; is it the best shot of the sequence you photographed? Caption it well; don’t write an essay on the image – but give succinct information that may give the judges insight into why you photographed this subject – and may make your shot stand out from the crowd.
2. Make sure you enter the right category. If you have a shot of a tree, enter it into ‘Trees Woods and Forests’ – rather than ‘Beauty of Plants’. If in doubt you can enter the same shot into two or more categories – they will be viewed by different judging panels.
3. The more photographs you enter, the better chance you have of winning – but the number of entries does not affect the judges’ views – each photograph is judged on its own merits.
4. Try not to leave it to the last minute to select your entries; uploading in advance of the deadline gives the option of changing your mind and time to reflect on your final choices.
5. Don’t be worried about the entry process if you are not confident with computers. It is very simple and many thousands of people use the system – but if you have worries you can always contact us to either sort the problem out or find another way to enter the competition.

Entering IGPOTY can be a gateway to a new career, a new revenue source, and a new dimension to the photography that you love. Whether you win or lose, you will have contributed to the project’s present and future aims of celebrating our green planet.

Selections from IGPOTY 4 are currently on show at Kew's Millenium Seed Bank at Wakehurst, West Sussex.

Find out more about the competition

- Philip Smith -

Early this morning a Dipper was singing on the stream below our garden – they usually appear here much later in the winter -  so this was a very prompt announcement that autumn is well on its way. And yes, the Liquidambar tree has just started to get its orange tinges.

One of my first professional assignments included photographing a beautiful Liquidambar tree in October on a sunny morning – I remember vividly the thrilling contrast between the bright blue sky and russet leaves.

Light fantastic

Autumn in our northern latitudes is a wonderful time for photography. For one thing, you don’t have to get up so early in the morning to take advantage of early morning light. And what a light it is, with a crispness that is really exhilarating, especially when glinting on dew-laden flowers.

You can look for opportunities to back-light your subject – where the sun is in front of the camera - and create wonderfully atmospheric shots.

Chatsworth House (Image: Matthew Bullen - finalist IGPOTY 2008)

When you are out photographing – always look for where the sun is. I often stand still and just turn a complete circle – observing how the light is affecting the scene from different angles.

When a subject is lit from behind, the camera probably cannot cope with the wide range of contrast, and so it will make the front of the subject - the surface with no direct sun on it – much darker and more shadowy than it appears in real life. You can use a white reflector to bounce light back into the subject and this will ‘lift’ the shadows and give you more detail. Some people use flash to do this job – but I always find this too harsh even on the low settings, and I prefer the control and subtlety of reflectors.
 

Schizostylis (Image: Philip Smith)

This plant was photographed with the sun in front of the camera and against a dark background (pond water). It needed a white reflector to get detail back into the blooms. Without a reflector, the shadows on the petals would have become hard and 'blocky' - losing the delicacy of the shot.

Wonderful colour

But in the autumn, it’s really colour we are after. And not just tree foliage – at this time of year the garden is full of reds, oranges and yellows, with Crocosmia, Heleniums, and Schizostylis. This colour range always looks great when contrasted with the deep greens of late summer foliage.
 

Bee on Helenium; don't forget insects are busy on warm autumn days - and often a little 'sleepy' -so easier to snap! (Image: Philip Smith)
 

Wakehurst Place is a great venue for leaf colour. Keep an eye on the Kew website to see when the trees are at their best. The IGPOTY exhibiton will be there this October in the Millennium Seed Bank.

Other top tips

Keep an eye on the weather forecasts, and be ready to go out when conditions are right. Mist and even fog can give you some great shots. When it’s misty, be careful of your exposures as underexposure is quite common - as mist is so reflective it can trick your metering – just like with snow scenes. I use the histogram on my camera to check exposure, exposing to the right as far as possible without blowing highlights.

When you are photographing trees it’s often difficult to know how to frame the composition. Look for strong branch shapes and build the composition around that. Don’t be tempted to ‘squeeze’ the whole tree in unless it is part of a broad landscape. Pick out a part of the tree and work with that – or even a single leaf or twig.

Autumn Leaf (Image: Olegas Kurasovas - IGPOTY winner 4Seasons autumn category)

Remember that the effect of strong colours is to dominate the image - so handle with care. If your subject is – say, a sculpture with subtle greys and browns, don’t compose it next to a blazing autumnal tree – it will get visually lost.

I am leading a one day workshop at Wakehurst Place on 20 October where we will be looking further into autumn photography - especially trees and colour.  Full details can be found here on the website.

You can find out more about IGPOTY's autumn category this year, and the whole competition here. DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES November 30th.

- Philip -