“Trees in Utah” by Micha Pawlitzki. Commended 2009.
Our friends at the International Garden Photographer of the Year contest asked us to remind you that there is just one week left for you to enter this prestigious contest, and I thought it was an excellent opportunity to remind you that the Garden is an amazing place to take photographs with which to enter!
I’m sure most people think that spring and summer would be the best times in which to undertake a photographic exploration of our 250 acres, but fall is also an incredibly beautiful time, especially since the reopening of our Native Plant Garden earlier this year. Native plants seem to really shine in fall, they lend so much beautiful texture and color to the landscape. And let’s not forget fall’s amazing light. It lends an incredible luminosity to flowers and leaves, and the long shadows of this season can add incredible drama and contrast to your shots.
Our “Nature’s Pharmacy” photo exhibition may have taken its leave from the Ross Gallery just as summer’s Wild Medicine bowed out, but it was only one small aspect of the International Garden Photographer of the Year competition. Meanwhile, the annual, worldwide quest to uncover the best of the best among nature photographers muscles onward, and 2013’s window for entry is swiftly closing. It only takes one pristine picture to gain recognition in the contest, of course, so don’t let the schedule pressure you out of the race!
With only three weeks left until the October 31 deadline, the heat is on for the globe’s up and coming shutterbugs to flaunt their mettle, whether that’s photographing a rustic onion harvest in an idyllic home garden or braving a cavernous woodland for a shot at a family of pallid mushrooms. With over $20,000 in cash and prizes on the line for participants, this challenge isn’t one you should brush off lightly. And whatever your nature photography draws you to, chances are good that there’s an IGPOTY category to accommodate it, including those below.
Each year, thousands of photographers from around the world venture out with cameras in tow—into their gardens, their backyards, their local greenmarkets, and the wilderness at large. They all have the same goal, of course, though their subject matter often differs wildly. They’re after one of the most prestigious nature photography prizes out there: The International Garden Photographer of the Year award.
For the 2012 judging, The New York Botanical Garden—the exclusive U.S. partner of IGPOTY—threw its hat in the ring with a special photo category geared toward therapeutic plants, challenging friends, fans, visitors and photographers from all over to capture the very plants and garden imagery that we now feature in our Wild Medicine exhibition. Alongside a cash purse and global recognition, the awards for taking top honors in this challenge included a featured place in our “Nature’s Pharmacy” gallery exhibition, viewable now in our Ross Gallery.
First Overall — Dennis Frates, “Penstemon Sunrise”
“… The photographer has waited for exactly the right moment, on the right day and he has made a huge effort to be in the right place. The ‘Wildflower Landscapes’ category is all about plants in their natural environment, and this image is a fantastic example of the sheer tenacity and adaptability of plant life.”
— Philip Smith – International Garden Photographer of the Year Project Director
Have you been biting your nails much over the final results of the International Garden Photographer of the Year contest? I admit we’ve done a bit of that! Not least because our exclusive U.S. partnership with IGPOTY garners us our own unique photo category among the many being judged for the 2013 announcement. It’s pretty exciting stuff! And with long lists of entrants, an even greater number of photographs to judge, and a fierce level of competition between some of the world’s most capable nature photographers, the stakes are high enough to warrant the nerves. But no longer!
There are a few caveats to that whole “winter’s majesty” thing. First, and this is one I learned not long ago, don’t wander out into a howling snow storm in leather-soled captoes unless ice-skating to the subway sounds fun. Second, that majesty only lasts for as long as it takes you to start shivering. And while living in the northeast means skiing, sledding, and all the joy of pristine white mornings, so often it seems easier to coop yourself up inside and listen to the snowflakes dusting your bedroom window. But! And I emphasize this: there’s a way to stay warm and enjoy what mother nature has to offer in New York City. If I told you that the NYBG offered a slice of summer during the frostiest time of year, would you believe me?
Soon, it won’t be that hard to wrap your head around! As the snow comes falling and you’re waging war on the ice coating your windshield, the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory‘s yearly Tropical Paradise will become New York City’s go-to escape for a little warmth, music, and relaxation in the rain forest. And, yes, I do mean rain forest. Our Victorian glasshouse remains an iconic landmark, representing not only New York’s architectural history, but over a century of botanical expertise. Inside, you’ll join our expert docents for tours of the Conservatory’s permanent collection, including soaring palm trees, alluring tropical flowers, and the many joys and oddities that thrive in our misty rain forests.
This is a super-important reminder, everyone: you have one more day! That’s all that remains of your window to submit photographs to the International Garden Photographer of the Year competition before the judges close up for deliberations. And if you can’t have your submissions in by Friday, November 30, you’ll find yourself waiting at least another anxious year before you have an opportunity to win over $18,000 in prizes, international recognition, and your work in a professional exhibition!
Even if you can’t find the time to hike outdoors in search of that perfect shot, there’s no reason to give up hope–IGPOTY accepts old photos, as well. Just head over to their official competition page for guidelines on what to pull out of your portfolio. In the meantime, here are a few winning photographs from past years to jog your inspiration.
The New York Botanical Garden is the official U.S. partner of the International Garden Photographer of the Year competition, and your chance to enter this prestigious contest is fast dwindling. But never fear! Photographic fame and fortune are still within reach; with an entry deadline of November 30, you still have just under a month to gather together your best photographs and submit them for the chance to see your works featured in exhibitions around the world and to win thousands of dollars in prizes.
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The International Garden Photographer of the Year 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. There are scads of categories to enter, and many additional prizes are available as well, including NYBG’s own “Wellness” prize. Winners will win cash and see their photographs hung in a gallery at the Garden during next summer’s Healing Plants Around the World exhibition.
Not everyone has the patience–or the real estate–for large-scale gardening, some people just have enough for burnaby condos for sale and even with a smaller garden. Honestly, it’s probably not even on the radar for someone who can’t keep a pot of English ivy alive on an office desk. But if you happen to have a knack for beautifying nature through your lens, rather than your trowel, the garden can still prove itself a source of spirited inspiration! That’s why the International Garden Photographer of the Year competition takes place annually. With the prizes just announced for this year’s competition, now is the time to pack up your tripod and do some fieldwork.
With nearly $8000 in cash being awarded to the top winner of this year’s competition, and thousands of dollars up for the taking in the many individual categories of the contest, IGPOTY’s prestige among nature photographers is well-earned. And there’s an added perk for friends of the Garden: as the exclusive U.S. partner of the IGPOTY competition, The New York Botanical Garden is offering an additional purse of $1000 as part of the lead-up to our 2013 summer exhibition exploring the healthful benefits of the plant kingdom. Winning photos in the Wellness category will not only take home some of that cash, but also the opportunity to see their photographs hung in the Ross Gallery as a part of the long-running exhibition. Think of it as your stepping stone toward IGPOTY glory.
"Medicinal Herbs," by Carol Sharp -- IGPOTY Finalist, Bountiful Earth
Whether it’s the latest telephoto lens, a top-of-the-line camera body, a spacious new gear bag, or to see your photographs on display in a public exhibition, there’s a wishlist in every photographer’s back pocket. But, really, how long has it been since you crossed something off of yours?
Beginning May 2013, selected photographs from the prestigious International Garden Photographer of the Year competition will go on display at The New York Botanical Garden as a part of our summer exhibition, Wellness: The Power of Plants. The NYBG is the exclusive U.S. partner of this worldwide photographic competition that showcases the very best professional and amateur garden photographers from around the globe, and this year we are upping the ante by offering a cash prize to the winners in a category sponsored by us: Wellness.
In addition to the more than $18,000 in prize money offered to the winners in the annual International Garden Photographer of the Year competition, the winning photographs in the Wellness category will hang in the Ross Gallery at the Garden and we will award an additional total purse of $1000. With $500 for the first-place photograph in the Wellness category, $250 for second, $100 for third, and $50 going to each of three runners up, there’s ample opportunity to earn the recognition and reward your art deserves.
As we get down to brass tacks in the Caribbean Garden photography contest, our partners across the pond are already stumping for their next round of entries. And with the caliber of winning participants recently unveiled, those looking to become the next International Garden Photographer of the Year find themselves up against stiff and startlingly talented competition.
2011’s IGPOTY proceedings pulled skillful nature photographers out of the woodwork. Be it through painstaking preparation or the luck of being in the right place at just the right moment, many of the images captured by the multinational list of participants are almost unconscionable in their beauty. Gritty, ethereal, preternaturally real–the winning selections call up these descriptors among others. It’s a smorgasbord of aesthetic eye candy reaching toward the peak of the artform.
