And off we go! Last Friday marked the close of the first week of competition for our Tropical Paradise photography contest, and our early submissions are already looking fantastic. (Though with the roller-coaster of icy weather we’ve been having lately, it’s no surprise our shutterbugs are happily holing up in the summer warmth of the Conservatory.) For those of you who haven’t already made it out to our glasshouse for some shooting, don’t worry—there’s still the better part of five weeks left (’til February 28) to take part.
Still, I wouldn’t wait too long. Submitting new photos during each week’s judging period can only better your chances to win our grand prize: a free Adult Education class of your choice. And because we have two categories of submission—macro and sense-of-place (close-up and wide angle, respectively)—you’re welcome to play to your photographic strengths. For anyone not sure about rules, schedules, or submission guidelines, check out our contest page.
But that’s enough of recaps. Let’s get down to the winners and runners-up for this first week of competition. We’ve got some familiar faces among the early birds this year, and they’re often the ones to beat.
It’s frosty outside, I’ll give you that, but the quintessential winter beauty covering much of the Garden right now makes the few extra layers of clothing so worth it. Pristine fields of snow are everywhere, dotted with the patterns of tiny squirrel and bird feet. The spots of color—berries, conifer needles, the remains of the leaves—are that much more high-contrast with so much white surrounding them. But you don’t have to track down color in the winter landscape if you’d rather have a warmer go of things. That’s what Tropical Paradise is for!
Our spotlight on the permanent collections of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory is crowned by one of my absolute favorite events of the year: the Tropical Paradise photography contest. It’s a chance for our visiting shutterbugs, expert and novice alike, to snap a few shots of beautiful plants and locations in our glasshouse. More importantly, there are prizes up for grabs. And all you need is a camera—DSLR, iPhone, whatever you’re comfortable with—and a Flickr account (they’re easy to make). You’ll find the full rules, schedule, and submission guidelines here. But don’t wait too long—while there are still five weeks to go in the contest, participation will start to pick up, and each of those weeks is a new chance toward winning!
Even if you’re not much for photography, there’s plenty to see and do around the Garden this weekend, both indoors and out. Just a reminder that this is the last weekend of All Aboard with Thomas & Friends, so register soon—those tickets won’t last long. In the meantime, check out our full schedule below!
Around this time of year, right when winter digs in ahead of the spring thaw, we like to pack up the model trains and some of the holiday lights to focus on what can only be called island escapism. Of course, we’re not expecting anyone to shell out a huge sum of cash for a red-eye to the Caribbean! Instead, we’re bringing the warm weather to New York City. Though I suppose you could say we’ve always had it. Beginning Saturday, January 18, the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory‘s permanent collection of tropical plants becomes an even bigger Garden highlight during Tropical Paradise, with special events and activities planned to help you ditch the galoshes and scarves for some time in the rain forest. And the photographers among you—novice and veteran alike—should take note!
The past few years have seen a number of rising stars among local photographers taking part in our annual Tropical Paradise photography contest, but there’s always room for a new face on the winner’s podium. And if you’re thinking of taking part, don’t worry—there’s more than just street cred’ up for grabs. We’re offering each of the two grand prize winners a seat in an Adult Education photography course of their choice. And, yes, I did say two winners. The only motivation you need is to find paradise in the natural beauty of the Conservatory, and share that vision with the community of fellow photographers.
“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.
Any time I pass through the Ross Gallery these days, there’s a near guarantee that I’ll run into a couple of visitors stopped by their own curiosity, admiring Allan Pollok-Morris’ prints. The images are arranged on either side of the room in a mosaic of landscapes and architecture, depicting a Scottish countryside seldom seen by those living on this side of the Atlantic. Terraced hills and labyrinthine beach tracings mingle with cottage gardens in a stirring together of different styles by myriad artists, all of which you can see on the pages of the exhibition’s inspiration, Close: Landscape Design and Land Art in Scotland, now available in our Shop in the Garden.
The book itself builds bridges across eras, capturing the old and the new in a landscape known for its mercurial weather and geography—as much rain and unforgiving stone as green pasture and sunlight. We caught up with Allan in our Native Plant Garden during his visit to New York City, part of a well-documented national tour of the country’s gardens that has taken him clear across the continental United States. In his many years photographing gardens and landscapes by renowned international artists, he’s come to his own conclusions on what makes for a grabbing landscape experience, and what will likely be most important to garden design in the future.
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.
I haven’t traveled to Scotland yet, but in my thoughts it’s a green and airy place, textured with the golems of mountains, cairns, and foggy grasslands. Admittedly that’s a romantic generalization better left to youthful misconceptions. But there’s still something to that old notion when I view the landscapes in Allan Pollok-Morris’ atmospheric photographs, prints of which are now being hung in The New York Botanical Garden‘s Ross Gallery. From what I’ve seen so far, the opening of our visiting Close exhibition should be an escape for any visitor.
Inspired by the outdoor art installations, gardens, and sculpted landscapes that multinational artists have wrought throughout Scotland’s challenging country, Pollok-Morris’ set out over the course of five years to meet these creators and photograph their lasting contributions to the world around them. But the name of the exhibition, “Close,” might warrant a deeper explanation for those without the benefit of a Scottish upbringing.
“No one collective description can be applied to the wide variety of subjects in this group,” Pollok-Morris writes. “Instead, when choosing a name, I opted for a small, unassuming word which, in Scottish dialect, was used to describe a landscape so inspirational that heaven seemed closer to earth in that place. For example, I grew up in MacGregor country, where it is said the most famous member of this clan, Rob Roy MacGregor, was buried in Balquhidder because he had described the glen as ‘close’.”
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.
Last week, Joel Kroin returned to the NYBG just in time for the opening of the Native Plant Garden. Naturally, he had his pinhole camera with him. Because of the nature of pinhole photography—the length of exposure and the time it takes to create an image—moving things often “ghost” in the final result. Of course, Joel assures us these are real ghosts and he’s just a recording medium for their presence, so we’re going to let the images speak for themselves here.
For your peace of mind, no, we don’t have the Ghostbusters on retainer.
And off we go! Last Friday marked the close of the first week of competition for our Tropical Paradise photography contest, and our early submissions are already looking fantastic. (Though with the roller-coaster of icy weather we’ve been having lately, it’s no surprise our shutterbugs are happily holing up in the summer warmth of the Conservatory.) For those of you who haven’t already made it out to our glasshouse for some shooting, don’t worry—there’s still the better part of five weeks left (’til February 28) to take part.
