The International Garden Photographer of the Year (IGPOTY) competition celebrates all things botanical photography, including close-ups, abstract images and landscape scenes. The 17th annual winners have been announced and they are beautiful.
Garden Photographer of the Year was launched in 2007 by members of the British Society of Garden Photographers, and due to strong international interest, ‘International’ was added to the competition name the following year. The competition is run in conjunction with the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, UK, and an exhibition is held in Kew each year. The exhibit will then travel to other regions throughout the year.
This year, photographer June Sharp won the overall award and the abstract view category for her beautiful images of multicolored, layered branches.
“The layered branches of this conifer reminded me of the flying cranes that often appear in Japanese woodblock prints. In post-processing, I added a fill layer and changed the colors using Exclude blending mode. “I emphasized the movement and sensation of the birds dancing in a fantastical forest,” Sharp says of the winning photo shown above.
“When we judge photos, we want to be accepted into the story and taken on a journey. We bring you June’s photos, full of fun and depth that spark the imagination. The soft new growth that changes between the plants and the feathers is fascinating and enchanting. We are drawn into and beyond the dancing of the iconic crane, cradled in its ‘wings’. , you will be transported to a place of hope and peace. Rarely have humans been able to connect with nature and feel such compassion,” added IGPOTY Chief Judge Tyrone McGlinchey.
In addition to Sharpe’s overall win and highest score in the Abstract Views category, IGPOTY awarded winners in 17 additional categories, including four special award categories. The winners in the selected categories are introduced below.
The complete winners’ gallery, including second and third place winners and their recognized works, is available on the IGPOTY website. In the IGPOTY competition, Ananik Giteny’s portfolio “Evanescent” was also selected as the winner of the year.
The winners of the 17th International Garden Photographer of the Year Competition will be on display at Kew Gardens from 3 February to 10 March. More information about this and other exhibits can be found on his website at IGPOTY.
Image credits: All images courtesy of International Garden Photographer of the Year. Individual photographers are credited in the photo captions.