Judging from our Morning Eye Candy posts, you might think the unconscionably talented Ivo Vermeulen is one of only a few people on NYBG grounds gallivanting about with a camera in tow. He’s certainly prolific enough. But if you follow us from day to day, you’ll come to notice that photography in general is a core interest here at the Garden. There are so many colors, shapes, and fantastical landscapes on these 250 acres to share with the rest of the world, and we’re encouraging anyone and everyone to jump in with their gear of choice–smartphone, fully-fitted Nikon, homemade pinhole or otherwise.
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We’re 7,000! 7,000 photos that is, uploaded to our photostream on the photo-sharing website, Flickr. And if you like taking your own photos (instead of looking at ours), we have a Group Pool, too (with nearly 10,000 user-submitted photos), where everyone is free to share their shots of the Garden.

A Touch of Fall (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)

densityB by Barbara Reiner

It’s the second month of our photo contest, and a hearty congratulations to Barbara Reiner for winning our second monthly NYBG-IGPOTY photography contest. The NYBG photo judges had a tough time picking the winner this month, but in the end felt that Barbara’s rose triptych just edged out cindy {k}’s scene among the tulips for this month’s theme “American Beauty.” Barbara will receive a NYBG gift pack, which includes two All-Garden Passes, a $25 credit towards the Adult Education class of her choice, a catalog for the Library exhibition Historical Views: Tourists at the Alhambra, and the catalog from Hirschfeld’s Broadway Scrapbook. We’re also still working on getting copies of the photography book, Better Plant and Garden Photography, written by IGPOTY founder Philip Smith, over from the U.K. as well. Congratulations Barabara! Please send us an email with your contact information through this form (select website from the pull-down menu).

Head below the jump to see the rest of this month’s winners.

Butterfly by Heather Lang

A huge congratulations to Heather Lang for winning our first monthly NYBG-IGPOTY photography contest. The panel of NYBG judges felt that Heather’s photo of a butterfly (on what looks to be an ornamental sage) was the tops in capturing the June theme of “Picturing Summer.” Heather will receive a NYBG swag bag, which includes two All-Garden Passes, a $25 credit towards the Adult Education class of her choice, a catalog for the Library exhibition Historical Views: Tourists at the Alhambra, and the catalog from Hirschfeld’s Broadway Scrapbook. We’re also working on getting copies of the photography book, Better Plant and Garden Photography, written by IGPOTY founder Philip Smith, over from the U.K. as well. Congratulations Heather! Please send us an email with your contact information through this form (select website from the pull-down menu).

Coming in a close second is this photograph by Patricia Gonzalez which, humoursly (and literally) captures the theme with a pair of shutterbugs snapping away in the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden.

In the Rose Garden by Patricia Gonzalez

In third place is this iconic NYBG image of a lotus taken in the Conservatory courtyard pool by Elizabeth Mueller.

Lotus by Elizabeth Mueller

We had 35 photographs entered into this first contest, and the quality was really high. It was difficult settling upon a winner, so congratulations to Heather, Patricia, and Elizabeth!

For the July contest we have picked the theme “American Beauty.” Stumped? Don’t be! Be creative! Pictures needn’t be patriotic, or all red, white, and blue. Perhaps you snapped a shot of Benjamin Franklin’s choice to be our national bird–the turkey–walking around the grounds, or maybe you took a plant portrait of a rose with an all-American name. If you’re afraid we might miss the point of your photo, please include an explanation in the description area. For the July contest, please use the tag nybgigpoty2.

And let’s simplify matters a bit this month, too. Why doesn’t everyone just limit themselves to five photos. Don’t worry about entering one per week. Feel free to plop them all into the group, en masse. And as always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Congrats again to the winners!

Summer, regardless of whether or not the calendar says so, is here. So let’s make “Picturing Summer at the Garden” the theme for this inaugural monthly NYBG-IGPOTY contest on Flickr!

But first, let’s set some ground rules:

1.Photos must be taken at The New York Botanical Garden, but needn’t be from this month, year, or even decade. Please make sure they adhere to the theme and that you own the copyright to them.

2. Please enter only one photo per calendar week. That means in June you can enter up to five (5) photos, but please submit them a week apart. The weeks of June are defined as: Week 1, 6/1 – 6/4; Week 2, 6/5 – 6/11; Week 3, 6/12 – 6/18; Week 4, 6/19 – 6/25; and Week 5, 6/26 – 6/30.

3. For your photograph to be considered, it must be placed into the NYBG Group Pool and be tagged with the term NYBGIGPOTY.

4. The NYBG Flickr Pool is moderated by NYBG staff. While we work a lot, we tend to not work in the evenings and on weekends, so if your photo does not immediately show up in the pool, that is why; it just hasn’t been approved yet. If several days go by, or if Monday afternoon comes around and your photo still hasn’t shown up in the pool, please let us know.

5. In the spirit of IGPOTY, please feel free to comment on each others photos (nicely, please) and to share tips, tricks, techniques, and stories.

6. One monthly winner and one or two runner’s up will be chosen by a panel of NYBG staff and friends of the Garden. We’re hoping to get commentary on the photos from IGPOTY’s staff as well!

7. The winner will receive a small prize from us, but we haven’t figured out what that will be yet. Stay tuned!

8. Entering the monthly NYBG-IGPOTY contest does not mean that you have been entered into the official International Garden Photographer of the Year contest. Click here to enter.

As a reminder of what IGPOTY is all about: It’s an international garden photography competition run out of the U.K. in conjunction with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.  2011 is the first year that The New York Botanical Garden is participating as the exclusive U.S. partner. IGPOTY is hosting a special commendation for a photo taken here at the Garden in honor of our 120th Anniversary. The winner will receive a year’s Membership to the Garden. The winner of the overall IGPOTY contest will win around $8,000 (depending on the exchange rate). All winners will be published in a book, and will be featured in an exhibition at Kew, and soon at the Garden as well. Everyone who enters the contest may request a written critique of their photographs from IGPOTY’s wonderful panel of judges.

Please let us know if you have any questions by leaving us a comment below. Good luck, and happy shooting!

Photos by Ivo M. Vermeulen, who, like all NYBG Marketing department employees, is not eligible for these monthly Flickr contests.

The Conservatory (photo by Garden photographer Ivo M. Vermeulen)

Six weeks, dozens of new community members, and thousands of photos later, we’re down to 12 finalists in the first ever Caribbean Garden Photo Contest! We had a blast looking at all of your gorgeous shots, and I know that our photo guru Rich Pomerantz had a really great time meeting and working with many of you in the Conservatory. But like all good things, the contest had to come to an end (even though we’re already looking forward to next year!).

And there’s still time to vote in the contest to help us determine two overall winners in the Sense of Place and Macro categories! All you need is a free Flickr, Yahoo or Google account, and then you can leave a comment on your favorite photographs. The winner in each category will be determined based upon a final tally of comments and favorites gathered from today until Monday, March 7 at noon. So get clicking and support your favorite photographer!

See all the finalists below!

It’s been a few weeks since we announced a Photo Contest as part of Caribbean Garden, a reinterpretation of the permanent collection inside the historic Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. We’ve hit a few bumps along the way logistically, but that hasn’t effected the quality of the photos that you have entered! There are several weeks left in the contest, and another winter storm has barreled into the city to welcome February, so come enjoy the warmth of the Conservatory and snap a few pictures while you’re here!

To get you excited about participating, here are a few of the winners from the previous weeks’ contests.

Head below the jump to see the winners from the past two weeks of the contest!

The holidays are photogenic: all those sparkling lights and (glögg-induced) rosy faces! It’s a time that screams for grampa to pull out his old film camera, for auntie to stick a Flip in your face, and for mom to beg the entire family to pose in those special reindeer sweaters she managed to find in everyone’s size. But not every holiday photo need be awkward.

Here at The New York Botanical Garden we’ve got photo ops aplenty, and they’re all beautiful! But there’s no need to take our word for it. Just ask any of the 250 members of The New York Botanical Garden group pool on Flickr. Or, better yet, take a look at some of the beautiful photographs that our visitors have posted on their own! And then, if you like what you see, you can join the group (by signing up for Flickr) and begin uploading your own shots from around the Garden.

Learn more about joining us on Flickr below.