The winners of the fifth International Garden Photographer of the Year (IGPOTY) competition have been announced. The title winner of the £5,000 prize for the best single image is Polish photographer, Magdalena Wasiczek for Upside Down (above). The Best Portfolio Prize is awarded to Joanna Stoga, also from Poland, for Qi - a collection of six incredible images created using x-ray imagery. The Young Garden Photographer of the Year title goes to 15-year-old Patrick Corning for his enchanting photograph of a male Grey-Tailed Mountaingem Hummingbird feeding from garden flowers in the Cordillera de Talamanca mountain range in Costa Rica.

IGPOTY Press Release

Winners of the fifth International Garden Photographer of the Year competition are announced

The winners are:

International Garden Photographer of the Year, 2012

The title winner of the £5,000 prize for the best single image is Polish photographer, Magdalena Wasiczek for Upside Down. A magical photograph, chosen from the Wildlife Havens category, of a delicate female Brimstone butterfly perched upside down on a flowering sweet pea plant. Magdalena spotted crowds of Brimstone butterflies in her garden, enjoying the nectar from the flowers. The butterflies then settled amongst the sweet peas giving Magdalena the opportunity to photograph these wonderful creatures. Magdalena was also a Wildlife Havens finalist with her delightful photograph of a beautiful green Small Elephant Hawk-moth caterpillar who obligingly posed for the camera! Magdalena was Highly Commended for her stunning shot of a small Common Blue butterfly hidden amongst the petals of an iris in the same category.

IGPOTY Judge Andrew Lawson commented on Magdalena’s overall winning photograph: “I love the subtlety and balletic simplicity of this picture.  The brimstone alighting on a sweet pea is a fortuitous event, brilliantly seen.  The butterfly and the flower are the perfect complement to each other.

The outlines of the insect’s wings are continuous with the lines of the flowers; and the patterning on its wings picks up an echo of the pink colour of the flowers. The negative spaces between the different shapes are particularly beautiful. The pea tendril at the bottom right is an essential part of the composition, creating repetitive shapes and acting as a metaphor for the butterfly grasping onto the flower.”

Magdalena Wasiczek was awarded 1st place in The Beauty of Plants category for her ethereal photograph of Heleniums in late summer titled Rain in Summer. One of Magdalena’s favourite plants, she photographed the Heleniums whilst on holiday in Glichów in southern Poland.

Best Portfolio

The Best Portfolio Prize is awarded to Joanna Stoga, from Poland, for Qi. A collection of six incredible images created using x-ray imagery. Joanna explored the ‘life energy’ within the plants influenced by Qi energy found in traditional Chinese culture. Joanna said: “X-ray technique reveals not only the remarkable forms and structures of plants, but also gives us the rare opportunity and possibility to feel this incredible energy.”

The best Portfolio award is sponsored by the Royal Photographic Society. John is awarded a Royal Photographic Society Gold Medal and £2,000.

Young Garden Photographer of the Year

The Young Garden Photographer of the Year title goes to 15-year-old Patrick Corning for the best single image from an under 16 year old. Hummingbird is an enchanting photograph of a male Grey-Tailed Mountaingem Hummingbird feeding from garden flowers in the Cordillera de Talamanca mountain range in Costa Rica.

Patrick’s entry of Green-winged Orchids growing at Mardon Meadow, a Wildlife Trust reserve in Kent, was Highly Commended in the Young Garden Photographer of the Year category.

Category Winners

The winners of each category are:

The Beauty of Plants: Magdalena Wasiczek, Rain in Summer
Beautiful Gardens: Roger Foley, In the Garden of The Four Seasons
Wildlife Havens: Magdalena Wasiczek, Upside Down
Breathing Spaces: Dace Umblija, Boat house
Bountiful Earth: Henrique Souto, Quince
Trees, Woods, Forests: Kerekes István, Forest dwellers
Fragile Landscapes: Steve Nicholls, Lava Ferns
Greening the City: Claire Takacs, Conversations from a balcony at dusk along the High Line.

The winning images can be viewed online at www.igpoty.com

The fifth annual International Garden Photographer of the Year exhibition, which showcases all of the winning and finalist images from the competition, opens on the 3rd March 2012 at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG, Kew). This year the exhibition is located indoors in the beautiful Nash Conservatory. The exhibition is open at Kew Gardens until 9th April; it will then travel to other venues in the UK and abroad. More information about the IGPOTY exhibitions can be found on the IGPOTY website.

The International Garden Photographer of the Year Collection 5 book will be available from 3rd March and will be on sale in Kew’s Victoria Plaza shop as well as online. This stunning volume celebrates the winners, finalist and highly commended entries from the International Garden Photographer of the Year 2011 competition.

The prestigious sixth International Garden Photographer of the Year competition is now open! Please visit www.igpoty.com for more details.

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