Garden Photographer of The Year

When I am teaching I always recommend those students who are interested in garden and plant photography to check out this site. It has such a wide array of different photographic subjects and styles and is really inspiring. The 2018 prize has been awarded so you can go and visit the site here

Gardens and landscape scenes from all around the world have also been commended in the competition, showing nature in all seasons. From rolling hills of golden rice in China to a flower-smelling hamster in Austria, take a look at a selection of winning images.

Marcio Cabral of Brasilia, Brazil, scooped the award with his winning image entitled Cerrado Sunrise.

Tyrone McGlinchey, managing director of IGPOTY said: “Marcio has captured a spectacular vision of plant life in the Cerrado, displaying the beautiful flowers of Paepalanthus chiquitensis, stretching out on countless filaments towards the first light of the rising sun.”

Mark Bauer spotted a carpet of purple heather in Stoborough Heath National Nature Reserve, Dorset.

Yi Fan shot this endangered medicinal plant growing wild in the mountains of Yunnan in China.

A wild European hamster smells a flower in Vienna, Austria, photographed by Henrik Spranz.

You can see many more on the BBC website here

An exhibition of the winning photos can be seen at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, from 10th February to 11th March 2018.

Alison Staite shot these sunlit Pulsatilla flowers at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London.

go here for the IGOPTY site

 

Garden Photographer of The Year

IGOPTY is an annual competition to find the great images of plants and gardens from photographers around the world. If you have any interest in this area of photography then this web site and the associated exhibition is an absolute must for you. The images are universally beautiful and engaging; you ask yourself if it is this easy, it is photography in a garden, why can’t I do it. I guess it is about a great understanding of the use of your camera, huge amounts of patience, the desire to be there at the best moment and attention to detail. We can help with the camera bit with our courses on understanding your camera and with help on improving your composition and the use of software to make the most of your images we can help too. However the getting up before dawn to be in the right place at the right time that is up to you. To see the full gallery of winning and placed images go here to the IGOPTY site

Volker Michael – Finalist First Rays Jistrum, Friesland, The Netherlands

Rosanna Castrini – Commended The Ring Piedmont, Italy

Jianjun Huang – Commended Charming Dongjiang Guangdong Province, China

Lili Gao – Finalist Waiting Dandong City, Liaoning Province, China

Stefano Coltelli – Commended Plitvice Falls The Plitvice Lakes National Park, Plitvicka Jezera, Croatia

The winner is

This late autumn photo – from Snowdonia National Park in North Wales – has been crowned the overall winner of the 10th annual International Garden Photographer of the Year competition.

Taken by Lee Acaster, and entitled Left, this stark image won the Trees, Woods and Forests category – and then beat thousands of other entries to win the top spot.

Garden designer Chris Beardshaw – one of the competition judges – says the photo “perfectly encapsulates both the extremes of fortune and personality of these giants”.

While Clare Foggett – who edits The English Garden Magazine – says the image “draws the viewer in, to reveal the still surface of the lake behind. It demands closer inspection”.

If you wish you can see these and many more on the BBC website that has a major feature on the competition and winners

The exhibition is toured and here are dates

Venue	Exhibition	Photographs
November 1st 2016 – Feb 28th 2017	The Beth Chatto Gardens, Colchester, ENGLAND	9	Outdoor selection from Competition 9
January 14th – March 5th	National Trust Sissinghurst Castle & Gardens, ENGLAND	9	Indoor exhibition, competition 9
January 21st – March 1st 2017	Willis Museum Gallery, Basingstoke, ENGLAND	9	Indoor exhibition, competition 9
Feb 4th – March 12th 2017	Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, London, ENGLAND	10	IGPOTY Annual launch ceremony – winners of Competition 10 [indoor exhibition] announced to the public.
March 24th – June 18th 2017	de Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS	10	Outdoor selection from Competition 10
April 1st – June 4th 2017	RHS Garden Hyde Hall, Rettendon, ENGLAND	10	Outdoor selection from Competition 10
April 1st – November 15th 2017	The Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle, Merano, South Tyrol, ITALY	10	Outdoor exhibition, competition 10
April 1st – November 15th 2017	Gibraltar Botanic Gardens (The Alameda), GIBRALTAR	10	Outdoor exhibition, competition 10
August 28th – October 29th 2017	National Trust Sheringham Park, Norfolk, ENGLAND	10	Outdoor exhibition, competition 10

Best ND filter: 6 top models tested and rated

From Digital Camera World

I didn’t even realise that such filters needed to be tested and rated so this article was very interesting. I have to say I bought a variable nd filter from 7dayshop.com for less than £12 and thought it quite good but now I know better

Bright light isn’t always a good thing. Get some serious stopping power as we test six of the top options to find the best ND filter for photographers…

Fast shutter speeds are great for freezing motion, but that’s not always what you want when you’re taking a photograph.

Mount your camera on a tripod and set a long exposure, and you can add motion blur to subjects like weirs and waterfalls, for a much more dreamy look.

Tripods also make it possible to blur people and vehicles out of busy street scenes as they’re walking around, for cleaner architectural shots.

The only problem is enabling a long exposure in bright light, such as on a very sunny day, as over-exposed and even blown-out photos are likely.

SEE MORE: 9 filter mistakes every photographer makes (and how to avoid them)

One solution is to fit a high-density neutral filter to your lens, typically one with a rating of 10 stops.

These dark filters reduce the amount of light passing through the lens. If, for example, a sunny scene would require a setting of f/11 at 1/125 sec for a correct exposure, fitting a 10-stop ND filter will enable you to slow the shutter speed to eight full seconds at f/11.

Another option, which is also particularly advantageous when shooting video, is to use a variable or ‘fader’ ND filter.

Based on two polarising filters, one of which is rotated against the other, these usually give a range of between two and eight stops.

SEE MORE: How and when to use ND filters (and what the numbers mean)

Best ND filter: 01 Tiffen IR ND 3.0

Price: £65, $90 for 77mm fitting
Tiffen’s older standard ND 3.0 filter is a typical triple-density filter that gives the usual 10-stop light reduction.

However, in our tests it gave a very pronounced red colour cast when used on a Nikon D7000, and the effect was still noticeable to a lesser extent when fitted on a D610.

According to Tiffen, the new IR Cut edition is specially engineered to reduce ‘infra-red and far-red pollution’.

SEE MORE: Choosing the best ND filter -remember these 4 tips and print out this cheat sheet

In our tests, we did find that it gave a much more neutral colour balance on both cameras.

The standard of construction is very good, with a low-profile design to combat vignetting, even when used on ultra-wide lenses, and no light seepage around the edge of the filter.

The claimed 10-stop density is very accurate. If you’re on a limited budget, this filter is a very good buy.

Verdict
Pros… Very good colour accuracy, low-profile design.
Cons… Metering with the filter fitted tends to give dark images.
We say… Very good performance and excellent value.

Want to see what else is tested….go here

Storm Photography Tips (With 10 Stunning Examples)

Heading out to shoot a storm can be a great way to come back with some exceptional photographs. As you can see from the photographs below, storms often result in moody, dramatic and eye-popping images. But there are a lot of things to think about before you go out on a shoot like this, not all of them necessarily photography related. These are a few things you may want to consider. Read more

Landscape Photographer of the Year 2013 Book

This just might be the perfect present for someone you know

The award celebrates the landscapes of the United Kingdom, showcasing the country through the work of the nation’s best amateur and professional photographers. Landscape Photographer of the Year: Collection 7 is a stunning coffee table book containing beautiful full colour reprints of the winning and commended entries. It is published by AA Publishing and available from Amazon

Here is a selection of just some of the fantastic images featured in the book:

Charlotte Gilliatt, ‘Iconic’ London, Urban View

Charlotte Gilliatt, ‘Iconic’ London, Urban View

Colin Westgate, ‘Beach Huts in the Snow’ Mersea Island, Essex,

 David Mould, ‘Autumn Morning Light’ Loch Rusky, Perthshire,

Your View Graeme Peacock, ‘Gateshead Millennium Bridge’, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear,

Linda Wevill, ‘Frosty Gate’, Romney Marsh, Kent –

Your View Mirek Galagus, ‘Corfe Castle’, Dorset. Highly Commended –

Classic View Mirk Galagus, ‘Sundial’, Beachy Head, East Sussex, Classic View –

Calumet Award Paul Mitchell, ‘Micheldever Woods’, Hampshire.

STM Choice & Highly Commended – Classic View Robert Birkby, ‘Bill & Ben’, Fort William, Scotland. Runner-up –

Classic View Scott Wilson, ‘Black Rock Cottage by Moonlight’

Your View Tim Way ‘Sky on Skye’, Inner Hebrides, Scotland,

14 Essential Landscape Photography Tutorials

From those cheeky chaps down under we get this from Rob at Lightstalking

The theme of landscape photography repeatedly shows up in the most popular posts on Light Stalking and if the proliferation of websites and magazines specifically about landscape is anything to go by, then it is very popular among the wider photography community too. Getting started in landscape need not be a huge exercise – there are literally hundreds of fantastic tutorials available for free online. We have taken the liberty of collecting some of our favorites.

©Keith Barnes, Tasmania

General Tutorials

Landscape Photography for the Serious Amateur – This remains one of the all time most popular posts on Light Stalking and is a fantastic introduction to the art from landscape photographer, Chris Gin.

11 Surefire Landscape Photography Tips – A general article from a great website.

Three Elements of a Great Landscape – the Photo Naturalist (who took the image above) is a great resource for any outdoor photographers, and this is a typically solid guide from that site. Check out their other landscape articles too.

©Keith Barnes, Tasmania

Situational Tutorials

Not all landscape is the same. You are going to have a hugely differing set of conditions between shooting a coastal landscape and shooting in the desert. These tutorials are a good start if you already know where you’re planning to shoot.

Digital in the Desert – shooting in the desert has a lot of unique challenges. This is a thorough review of some of the issues you will come up against.

13 Steps for Creative Coastline Photography – a tutorial by Simon Bray for the fantastic Tutsplus network – this one is worth checking out for the examples alone.

5 Quick Tips for Coastal Photography – another cool list of tips from Digital Photography School with some fine examples too.

A Guide to Capturing Autumn Mist – a seasonal guide for landscape photographers who are looking to get good captures of mist in their work.

©Keith Barnes, Tasmania

See the rest of these tutorials here

Click Here: 14 Essential Landscape Photography Tutorials

Slow a new ebook from Craft and Vision

We really like the Craft and Vision ebooks, incredibly cheap £3.25 ($5), for such useful and inspiring books, beautifully illustrated and absolutely hit the marks for people who are photographers, those interested in photography rather than just those who happen to own a camera. If you like taking pictures then all of the Craft & Vision books would add to your skill and vision.

Looking to explore the creative possibilities behind the slow end of the shutter dial? Looking for some new ideas, or want a primer on intentional camera motion, panning, long exposure techniques, and the equipment to help you make it happen? SLOW is an excellent place to begin.

Andrew S. Gibson’s SLOW is 64 spreads of teaching and inspiration on the techniques and aesthetics of using a slow shutter to create expressive images skillfully captured through exposure and movement. To complement his own work, Andrew also includes two case studies from photographers Doug Chinnery and Joel Tjintjelaar, which help to provide tangible insights on the subject of long-exposure photographyGet further details on this new book here

Other books in the series include these titles

This is an inspiring and beautiful eBook that teaches just about everything David’s learned about landscape photography while chasing the light across seven continents. As a landscape eBook for all levels, photographers will find the education and inspiration to make beautiful photographs of their own, no matter what adventure awaits them.

This massive eBook boasts 65 spreads (130 pages if you’re still counting the old way,) is broken down into sections on Gear, Composition, Light, Land, Water, Snow, and Detail Shots, and is accompanied by large, beautiful photographs, all with complete EXIF data, many of them previously unseen, from travels on all seven continents. There’s also Behind the Shot sections that discuss topics like exposure blending, maximizing sharpness, using ND and polarizer filters, and shooting in weather, like fog. Whether you’re new to landscape photography or looking to hone your craft this eBook will be a valuable and inexpensive addition to your library.

Portraits of Earth An Introduction to Landscape Photography David duChemin

Your camera phone is always with you, and whether you’re an amateur or vocational photographer, it only makes sense to know how to use it to your advantage. eyePhone: Making Stronger Photographs with your Camera Phone is a stunning 45-page PDF eBook, full of inspired insights, invaluable tips, creative considerations, and must-have resources to help you take your photography, and creative life, to the next level.

Whether you shoot and process hundred of images each month or you just take the casual snapshot, you’ll discover exciting ideas and concepts that are sure to turn your camera phone image gallery into a portfolio you’re proud of. This is a game-changer for photographers. It’s photography that fits in your pocket and the avid photographer will benefit from knowing how to wield its potential.

“Thanks to Al Smith I learned more about the camera on my iPhone in 10-minutes than I had in two years. My iPhone has made me a better photographer.” – David duChemin

eyePhone Making Stronger Photographs with your Camera Phone Al Smith

There are more than 30 excellent ebooks in this series and discounts available for multiple purchases might be the best £3.25 you ever spent on your photography, see the full series of ebooks here

30+ Breathtaking Rock Formation Photography

From Tripwire Magazine by Sonny M. Day

“Around the world, there are a lot of rock formations which are amazing to look at to say the least. How do these rocks come into being? What have they gone through before they become what they are – beautiful and wonderfully sculpted as if some intelligent being intervened in their making? This feeling of awe and appreciation about these nature’s wonders have lead some tribes living within the vicinity of some of these rock formations to regard them as dwelling places of gods or spirits. Well, who wouldn’t? Even people of today, with modern beliefs and technology cannot help but be filled with awe at the sight of these amazing rock formations. This appeal is what makes them popular subjects of photography.

Here in this post, we are sharing with you some breathtaking rock formations around the world which are famous because of their unique features. These photos are taken by photographers who like many of us, appreciate natural beauty and wonders. If you like this article, please help us spread by clicking our social media buttons. We will also be glad to hear your thoughts about these awesome rock formations. Enjoy!”..….MORE

Balanced Rock, Garden of Gods

Photo used under Creative Commons from outdoorPDK

Babele Romania

Photo used under Creative Commons from Alina1683

Great Ocean Roads

Photo used under Creative Commons from  Harsh1.0

Reed Flute Cave

Photo used under Creative Commons from roychung1993

More from this set of pictures

Landscape Photography For the Serious Amateur

This really interesting article is By Chris Gin on Lightstalking

This is a guest post by New Zealand landscape photographer, Chris Gin. Some of you might recognise images from Chris’ Flickr stream that we have used in our collections before.

“I’ve been into landscape photography for a couple of years now. It’s a fantastic hobby and hugely rewarding, but also has a bit of a learning curve. While I would not consider myself anywhere near a pro at this stage, I’ve picked up on a few useful things here and there. Below are some tips which I hope others who are just starting out in the world of landscape photography will find useful.”

• Avoid clutter. Only include things in the frame that you want to present to the viewer. The best photos are clean and simple. If there are unwanted items in the way, such as power poles, cars, roads, buildings etc, try a different angle to hide them from view. Small things can be cloned out in post-processing but larger items will just distract the viewer.”

More Here: Landscape Photography For the Serious Amateur

Click Here: Landscape Photography For the Serious Amateur

Photography Links of the week

Here is the weekly round up brought to us all by Toad Hollow via Lighstalking. Enjoy the ride.

Another wonderful week in the wide world of photography passes us by, and Toad Hollow Photography is there collecting a list of links of tutorials, great photography and interesting blogs to share with everyone.  This comprehensive list contains links to truly incredible works by some truly gifted artists and photographers.  We hope you enjoy viewing the images and blogs here as much as the Toad did in bringing them to you.

Chinese Border Town #2 by Jonathan Kos-Read, on Flickr

Check out the Toad’s latest acclaimed photoblog series “The Toad And The Lodge”, showcasing a series of images captured of a long term care facility that lies abandoned for over 17 years now.  This 5 part series discusses the history of the location as well as drawing on metaphors for the meaning of life.  Pt 1: Tillicum Lodge: A Lost Facility | Pt 2: The Silence Is Deafening | Pt 3: The Overgrown Courtyard | Pt 4: Field Of Whispers | Pt 5: Echoes Of Our Elders.  The Toad also maintains a large gallery of images on their Architecture and Landscape Photography website.

Here is a sample of this week’s links for the full set go HERE

TUTORIALS

Project in development: Inexpensive way to shoot expensive jewelry – Alex Koloskov is one of my favorite photographers, not only is he one of the leading photographers of our generation, he also selflessly continues to give back to the photography community through his blog posts.  This post is a great example of this; here Alex shows us how to achieve GREAT results in the genre of product photography using relatively inexpensive and easy to use photographic components.  If you’re interested in emulating fabulous lighting for your imagery then you just simply must see this article.

Quick Tip: Duplicating a Project – sometimes a brief article with tips and tricks can be just as helpful as a full on 1,000 page tutorial.  This blog post is a great example of this.

Dunure waves by overgraeme, on Flickr

Quick Photo Tip: Turn Your Photo Upside Down – another fabulous article by Joe Baraban gets the photographer thinking differently about the photography they produce.  This is a great exercise, guaranteed to get everyone looking at their compositions with a different perspective.

Portrait Editing In Photoshop-part 2 of a series – a great piece that shares some awesome insights, tips and tricks into performing portrait editing in Photoshop.  Complete with a sample image, this tutorial will definitely get the creative juices flowing in terms of using this tool for your post-processing needs.

Composing Better Backgrounds in Photography – a great tutorial that gives the reader some great tips on how to compose a shot with a great background.  This short and easy-to-read article delivers some great ideas on how to come home with the perfect shot, well worth the time to visit and read.

Red White and Blue Shoe – this post and image belongs in two categories for this weeks list, here in the Tutorials section and in the Great Photography section below.  Ultimately, the great tips and tricks on studio lighting won over, and we placed it here.  Erik and Kathleen Kerstenbeck capture a truly unique shot and discuss the intricacies of the lighting employed to achieve this look, producing a post that is guaranteed to delight in terms of great photography, but also shares some great tips and tricks on this particular style of photography.

Photo Composition Technique – The Feinberg Rule – I have a voracious appetite for learning about compositional and lighting techniques and this article delivered something absolutely new to me.  This brief tutorial discusses The Feinberg Rule and supplies an example image to use to visualize how to apply it.  This is an exciting technique that I have never heard of myself, and am very much looking forward to trying it out in our practice.  Check it out yourself!

GREAT PHOTOGRAPHY

Girls School L – Into the Light | Abandoned Girls School L | Corridor | The Conservatory | The Grand Staircase | Staircase Detail | The Upper Rooms | The Pool Party – what a completely fabulous series posted here by one of our generations leading UrBex photographers, Chris Maskell.  This fabulous bit of heritage architecture that once was a girls school now lies in near ruin.  Chris carefully and purposely composes a stunning series and provides some background history on the location to provide extra depth.  No matter what your taste in art, this series is guaranteed to delight and amaze everyone who pops by for a visit.

Learning to See (Part 8) – profound, touching, emotional and accented with some of the best photography the world has ever seen, this post from Tom Dinning takes us deep into ourselves and answers some questions about why we pursue this craft.  Guaranteed to inspire you to push further and harder, this wonderful post will leave you with as many questions remaining as answered.  This is a must-see post for this weeks list!

Click Here: The Coolest Photography Links Of The Week