Win thousands of pounds worth of cash and prizes in the Garden Photographer of the Year 2008 competition. In addition, the winners will have their photos exhibited for four months at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London. There are five different categories - My Garden, Garden Views, Plant portraits, Life in the Garden and Trees - and you can enter single images or themed portfolios. The closing date for submissions is 31st January 2008.

Garden Photographer of the Year Press Release

Calling all ‘budding’ garden photographers. Are you the next Garden Photographer of The Year? With thousands of pounds worth of cash and prizes up for grabs, this is a unique opportunity for entrants to have their photographs exhibited for the four summer months of 2008, alongside some of the world’s most talented photographers in the gardening and landscape world. Several hundred thousand visitors will see the top one hundred pictures at a purpose-built outdoor exhibition at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London.

We are now calling for entries in the following categories:
My Garden
Garden Views
Plant portraits
Life in the Garden
Trees

Amateur and professional photographers are encouraged to enter single images or themed portfolios and there will be prizes to suit both types of entry. There will be a new special award for Young Garden Photographer of The Year supported by Chris Collins, the BBC Blue Peter Gardener. Entries for this category are welcomed from young photographers under the age of 16 and are free.

A panel of high-profile industry and art professionals will judge the competition and the winning images will be displayed from May to September 2008.

For more details on “How to Enter”, please visit http://www.gpoty.org

Previous competition judge Chris Beardshaw - television presenter and garden designer, says: “Our plants and gardens are delightfully dynamic and effervescent - subtly and constantly morphing. So much can be missed at the blink of an eye but, thankfully, it is precisely that precious moment that the camera captures for eternity.”

About the venue: Visitors to Kew Gardens will be inspired by all that this World Heritage Site and historic garden landscape has to offer, from the iconic glasshouses and Pagoda to the exceptional botanical collection, majestic vistas and hidden corners that provide a home to a wealth of wildlife. Kew is a wonderful place to enjoy summer days but is just as beguiling at other times of year, from the mists and golden colours of autumn through crisp winter days to the riot of spring bulbs and blossom. It’s a photographer’s paradise!

• Closing date for submissions is 31st January 2008.
• Online entry at www.gpoty.org
• Under 16s can enter Young Garden Photographer of the Year and Kew Gardens free of charge.
• Kew Gardens is a major international visitor attraction and its 132 hectares of landscaped gardens attract over one million visitors per year. Kew was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2003 and represents over 250 years of historical landscape. The site houses over 40 listed buildings and other structures including the Palm House, Temperate House, Orangery and Pagoda as well as two ancient monuments, Queen Charlotte’s Cottage and Kew Palace. RBG, Kew is a world famous scientific organisation, internationally respected for its outstanding living collection of plants and world-class herbarium as well as its scientific expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development in the UK and around the world. www.kew.org.
• Further information on the Garden Photographers’ Association, please visit www.gpauk.org
• Further details about prizes and judges will follow.
• Professional photographers wishing to photograph at Kew Gardens should contact [email protected] to obtain a photography permit.

Photo Credit: © Clive Nichols

Your Comments