International Garden Photographer of the Year 2013

This rather wonderful competition shows some of the very best garden photography anywhere in the world, the results are often breath taking. Each year there are numerous categories and each have spectacular images.

Dennis Frates

Penstemon sunrise

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

Penstemon only grows in a very few isolated spots around Crater Lake. Of course every year is different, but with some scouting you can find small patches like this one. Often they don’t always fit into a good composition, but this location had the flowers, lake and sunrise visible together. Wind was a problem, and I had to wait a good deal of time for it to stop moving the flowers, which made me nervous, thinking I would miss the sunrise. I was excited to find an image that showed three aspects all together – the flowers, lake and sunrise. I spent several days in this area and scouted locations each day, so finding this particular spot in the early morning darkness was much easier.

 

Jonathan Berman

Tresco, Isles of Scilly, England

View of Abbey Gardens, Tresco

This is an early-afternoon infrared view over Tresco Abbey Garden, looking south, with my daughter viewing the scene. A tiny, four-day-old crescent moon is just visible. I first visited Tresco and its gardens as a child, and I remembered it as a magical place. I did not return for many years until I came for holidays with my own children. I wanted to capture in this photograph my undiminished wonder at this special place. I used infrared – with its ability to darken skies and lighten foliage – to create the fairytale atmosphere. The inclusion of my daughter added depth. I had photographed this scene on several occasions but on this occasion the cloud patterns and presence of the moon lifted it out of the ordinary.

Here are the closing dates for this year’s competition

Monochrome: 1 March – 30 April 2013
Macro Art: 1 May – 30 June 2013
Plants and Water: 1 July – 31 August 2013

The competition is open to everyone, amateurs and professionals alike. Entries are welcome from any country in the world. There are no restrictions on the type of camera you use, or the techniques you use to produce your final image.

Full details here