This spring, International Garden Photographer of the Year received lots of entries from around the world for its 4Seasons category, which featured a theme titled ‘New Mornings’.
Nick Shepherd was awarded first place for his stunning photograph of a large field of dandelion seed heads taken at dawn, as the sun emerged through the clouds, highlighting the sea of white seed heads against the awakening landscape. Second place was awarded to Gerard Leeuw and third prize to Jennifer Spencer for their captivating misty morning shots.
The winners of the 4Seasons competition can be viewed online on the winners page.
The fifth International Garden Photographer of the Year competition is now calling for entries for its 'Weather Eye' themed 4Seasons category.
Deadline 31st August 2011
The 4Seasons summer category theme for this year is 'Weather Eye' – a theme designed to encourage photographers to explore the different aspects of weather that are essential for plant growth. The weather can also be instrumental in creating a unique photograph – making the difference between an ordinary picture and something truly extraordinary!
Whatever the weather, where ever you are, IGPOTY judges are looking for photographs that have special atmosphere and depth enhanced by your interpretation of the theme 'Weather Eye'.
The winner of the 4Seasons category wins a cash prize of £500 and a copy of the latest IGPOTY book, 'International Garden Photographer of the Year Collection 04' (published in May 2011). Entries cost £10 for 4 images and can be made online at www.igpoty.com. All entries made to the 4Seasons categories will be automatically entered into the main IGPOTY competition.
For more information about IGPOTY and to enter the competition visit www.igpoty.com
Winning Images of the fourth annual IGPOTY competition.
Displayed below are two examples of winning images from the fourth annual IGPOTY competition.
This fine image, entitled "Sea Thrift Flowers" was created by Colin Roberts and is the overall winning image in the fourth annual IGPOTY competition.
What the judges said:
"This image struck me immediately - the depth of field is superb, leading the eye from the beautifully backlit flowers in the foreground all the way to the sea on the horizon, giving a great sense of depth to the picture and placing the thrift in context."
Clive Nichols - International Garden Photographer of the Year judge
"The judges all agreed that this photograph entered in the Wildflowers category embodies what IGPOTY is all about - great photography and an inspired celebration of plants."
Philip Smith
This fine winter image, 'Trees and their shadows from above' created by Michael Brown from Wisconsin USA, came second in the trees category.
Describing how this image was captured Michael said;
"One day while flying in a commercial jet, I looked down and saw how the shadows cast by trees on a golf course revealed their shapes. A short time later, after a fresh snowstorm, I hired a pilot and airplane and went aloft searching for a good stand of trees to photograph. I opened the airplane window and used a zoom lens to select different groupings of trees while the pilot circled the plane. The most interesting compositions were found when I was shooting directly into the sun and the shadows looked like reflections."
Other winning images from the fourth annual IGPOTY competition can be seen on the winners page.
