The winners of the fourth 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 UK-based photographer, Colin Roberts for Sea Thrift Flowers, while the Best Portfolio Prize has been awarded to John Grant, from the USA, for Fairy Tales and Reveries. The Young Garden Photographer of the Year went to 15-year-old Jamie Unwin for Little Mouse on some Wild Wheat, an enchanting black and white photograph of a curious wild mouse who allowed Jamie close enough to capture it on camera (above).

Press Release

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

The winners of the fourth International Garden Photographer of the Year competition have been announced.

The winners are:

International Garden Photographer of the Year, 2011

The title winner of the £5,000 prize for the best single image is UK-based photographer, Colin Roberts for Sea Thrift Flowers. A superb shot of Widemouth Bay in Cornwall, as a beautiful sunset streams across the sea view, illuminating the flowers in the foreground. Colin’s winning photograph was chosen from the Wildflowers category. Colin was also awarded third place in the Wildflowers category for his photograph Viper’s Bugloss, and Highly Commended awards for Sainfoin Meadow and Cow Parsley.

“The judges all agreed that Colin’s photograph, entered in the Wildflowers category, embodies what IGPOTY is all about - great photography and an inspiring celebration of plants.“says IGPOTY organiser Philip Smith.

Best Portfolio

The Best Portfolio Prize is awarded to John Grant, from the USA, for Fairy Tales and Reveries. A collection of six incredible images exploring the boundaries between photography and art. John’s brilliantly detailed portfolio displays a dream-like quality whilst using botanical subjects to illustrate the theme of movement and the passage of time. 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
(award sponsored by Calumet Photographic Limited)

The Young Garden Photographer of the Year title goes to 15-year-old Jamie Unwin for the best single image from an under 16 year old. Little Mouse on some Wild Wheat is an enchanting black and white photograph of a curious wild mouse who allowed Jamie close enough to capture it on camera.

Two of Jamie’s other entries, Lady in Red and Flight! were finalist images in the Young Garden Photographer of the Year category.

Category Winners

The winners of each category are:

Plant Portraits – Mandy Disher for Cosmos atrosanguineus ‘Choco Mocha’. The Plant Portraits category is sponsored by Photobox.
People in the Garden – Brad Mailer for Garden Jumper.
Garden Views (award sponsored by Towergate Camerasure) – Marianne Majerus for Abstract Impressions of a Secret Garden.
Wildlife in the Garden (award sponsored by Creatively Different Roller Blinds) – David Chapman for Tadpole.
Trees – Leszek Paradowski for The Beech with the Human Face.
Wildflowers – Colin Roberts for Sea Thrift Flowers

Special Awards

Spirit of the American Garden – Andrea Jones for It must be love.
Best Image of Kew Gardens – Jeff Eden for The sun sets on the Palm House at Kew.

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

The fourth annual International Garden Photographer of the Year exhibition, which showcases all of the winning and finalist images from the competition, opens on the 14th May 2011 at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG, Kew). This year the exhibition is located adjacent to the Pavilion Restaurant.

The International Garden Photographer of the Year Collection 4 book will be available from May 14th 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 2010 competition.

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

Photo: Little Mouse on some Wild Wheat by Jamie Unwin - Young Garden Photographer of the Year 2011

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