The finalists for the Garden Photographer of the Year 2008 contest have been announced. Theirphotographs will be showcased at an exhibition launched on 22nd May at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, which runs until late September 2008.  The winners themselves will be announced when the show opens, as part of the opening of Kew’s Summer festival. Prizes include £5,000 cash for Best Single Image, £5,000 for Best Portfolio, and over £10,000 worth of vouchers from Manfrotto, Kata and Visible Dust. The competition for 2009 is now open with new categories including “World Botanic Gardens” and “The Edible Garden”.

Finalists announced for Garden Photographer of the Year.

After thousands of photographs were submitted to the first ever international Garden Photographer of the Year competition earlier this year, the entrants have now been whittled down to a list of talented photographers, classed either as “Finalists” or “Commended” and announced today at www.igpoty.com.

The panel of eleven judges, including renowned garden photographer Clive Nichols and TV’s Chris Beardshaw, deliberated at length over photographs of an incredibly high standard from as far afield as Hawaii, Japan and Australia.

The Finalists’ photographs will be showcased at a high-profile exhibition launched on 22 May, in a purpose-built outdoor area at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and running until late September 2008.  The winners themselves will be announced when the show opens, as part of the opening of Kew’s Summer festival.

Also due to be launched alongside the exhibition is a top quality coffee table book from AA Publishing, Garden Photographer of the Year: Collection 01, which captures these inspiring finalist images, and includes more commended photographs from all of the competitions categories: Trees, Plant Portraits, Garden Views, My Garden and Life in the Garden – as well as a special category for the Under 16s, Young Garden Photographer of the Year. 

In its first year, this international competition has already caused quite a stir amongst those with an interest in both photography and gardening.  Prizes include £5,000 cash for Best Single Image, £5,000* (includes £2,000 of Calumet photographic store vouchers) for Best Portfolio.  There are also over £10,000 worth of vouchers from Manfrotto, Kata and Visible Dust.

The competition for 2009 is now open with new categories including “World Botanic Gardens” and “The Edible Garden”.  Full details on all the categories, how to enter can and “early bird” offers can be found at www.igpoty.com.

· Finalists and commended pictures announced today at www.igpoty.com
· Winners announced 22.5.08 at Kew Gardens, London.
· Exhibition opens to the public on Saturday 24th May and runs until 28th Sept 2008
· For information about the judges, go to www.igpoty.com/Judges.asp?parent=competition
· Prizes include £5,000 cash for the Best Single Image, £5,000* (includes £2,000 of Calumet photographic store vouchers) for the Best Portfolio,  plus there are now more than £10,000 worth of vouchers from Manfrotto, Kata and Visible Dust. For full list of prizes, go to www.igpoty.com/Prizes.asp
· Special prize for Young Garden Photographer of the Year (U16s): Canon EOS 40D complete with 17-85 lens, plus more than £500 worth of vouchers from Manfrotto, Kata and Visible Dust
· Entries cost £10 for up to 4 images in a single image category and £20 for 6 images in a themed portfolio. Competitors can enter as many categories and as many times as they like.
· Under 16s can enter Young Garden Photographer of the Year and Kew Gardens free of charge. 
· Entrants must first register then login in order to upload images at www.igpoty.com
· A selection of the finalist photographs for press use are are available from http://www.igpoty.com/press   Username: gpotyimages Password: tulip57
· Garden Photographer of the Year, Collection 01 will be available from 23rd May, price £25,  (ISBN: 978 0 7495 5711 9)
· Kew Gardens is a major international visitor attraction: 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
· Professional photographers wishing to photograph at Kew Gardens should contact [email protected] to obtain a photography permit.

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