We all want to take photographs that have meaning, but understanding how to effectively communicate this through photography can be tricky. Macro photography offers many opportunities to say something different about the natural world and it’s this unique interpretation that is important. To help us . . . engage with this topic, we spoke with multiple IGPOTY award winner, Minghui Yuan about his relationship with the genre. What do you like about macro photography? I love macro photography. I like to discover the microscopic world around us, because the real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but at looking at things with a different perspective. I try to show the beauty and dignity of extraordinary species, analogous to ordinary people in the pursuit of survival and life. How would you describe your approach? In my work, macro photography seems to be the most profound tool to translate my visual language. It is a physical extension of my imagination. However, macro photography allows me to see beyond my imagination, breaking through the natural limitations of the eye, whilst shooting in a natural way. What do you look for and why? Macro photography depends entirely on your imagination and shooting techniques. To understand your subjects you must have an understanding of habitats, the environment and ecological knowledge. Through this we can better deploy equipment to get the best results. Over or under exposure can affect the colour of the photograph whilst impacting emotional quality. I often use aperture priority mode and average metering, and combine this with exposure compensation to adjust the brightness. For me, I want to discover more about the human experience through studying other natural forms of association. I look for botanical shapes, patterns, colours and textures. I always try to find the joy of life, through expressions of love and hope. I also look for relationships between plants, including solitude and companionship. Plants depend on each other, so it’s important to try to understand this relationship. The microscopic world is a strange and mysterious place, where it’s easy to get lost in our own fantasies. When shooting in nature, I need to feel "the dignity of life" and "the joy of life" through what I’m seeing via the camera lens. All life has equal value so I like to use multi-level viewing angles to observe different layers of life. What key elements make a good macro image for you? The key elements of a good macro image consist of the relationship between fantasy and reality, simple patterns and colours used to original effect, and imaginative composition. What equipment do you use and why? I usually use a Nikon SLR camera body and a macro lens. The fixed focal length macro lens is my most used lens when shooting macro. This makes for more efficient shooting as you begin to understand the best distances involved for certain shots. The most important aspect is to find the optimum focal plane of your subject. The focus should grab the subject at the most crucial point; the reasoning for having something on the focal plane should be a central part of your image. It has to tell a decisive story. A telephoto macro lens can also be useful for making interesting blurred backgrounds and proper use of backgrounds can make all the difference. What's your advice to other photographers entering the Macro Art Photo Project? The Macro Art Photo Project is a piece of creative performance, but it is also the art of thinking. My interpretation of this is that there is a fine balance between the conscious creative mind and the subconscious. Too much conscious processing and the power of natural observation can be suppressed. Sometimes a new perspective or new approach can just happen, without too much introspection and you’ll never know unless you start shooting. — Find your own meaning. Enter Competition 12 now.

With a lot of art, just starting can be the hardest part. If you're having trouble finding out where to begin with the Macro Art Photo Project or need some inspiration, we asked macro art specialist and IGPOTY Royal Photographic Society representative for Competition 11, John Humphrey, to shed some . . . light on his approach to this exciting genre. -- Art photography is not easy to define, in fact I often feel that it sounds rather pretentious. However, many photographers want to produce images that make an artistic impact rather than simply being records of their subject. For me, botanical close-up and macro photography is often my starting point in what I hope is an artistic journey. Whether I succeed is for others to decide! The first step of course is to take the picture. For close-up work this can be technically challenging since as you get closer to the subject, the depth of field becomes shallower and movement becomes magnified. These issues can be addressed in a variety of ways or accommodated into the picture to add impact. One of my early approaches in this field was to photograph pressed flowers. They are often very attractive subjects when viewed close-up and have the additional appeal of being flat, so depth of field is not an issue. Scanning across the surface of a pressed flower will often reveal pattern, colour and texture that we ordinarily wouldn’t notice, and can deliver extremely attractive photographs. Where the subject is not flat but overall sharpness is still the objective, we now have a very clever tool at our disposal, namely focus stacking. Here, a series of pictures is taken, and specialist software identifies the sharpest parts of each image and combines them into a sharp composite. An alternative approach is to settle for a shallow depth of field and to accommodate subject movement in the photograph. The blurring of parts of the image can lend a sense of depth and visual appeal that might not be present in a more static image. My final step is often a venture into Photoshop. I will probably adjust levels and colour saturation to suit the desired result. I also invariably experiment with textures, usually applied via a displacement map so that the image is displaced to match the texture image, usually a picture of a separate textured subject such as tree bark or rock. John Humphrey John is a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and presents workshops on Macro and Art Photography. Some of his pictures can be viewed on his website www.johnhumphrey.co.uk -- Let's get started. Enter the Macro Art Photo Project now.

Congratulations to Simon Hadleigh-Sparks for his winning image of a magnificent maple tree at the Savill Garden. Judges were impressed by not just the composition, choice of subject and technical ability, but also by its emotional impact. The image manages to communicate something beyond competency . . . and this is what makes great garden photography, indeed great nature photography. This emotional impact has been of pronounced quality this year throughout the winners and is worth further exploration. ‘Jumping Over Karma’ strikes us with its immediate sense of scale, character and context. In fact, these three elements help create a unique sense of identity and identity helps us emote. The scale of the maple is impressive and whilst drawing us in, we are struck by its complexity, its twists, turns and textures, each punctuated with the piercing tips of its leaves. This formation of character is built up in layers of contrast, and black and white is perfect for creating these nuances.  Context then emerges and we see the jumping, leaping forms of a proud and ancient arboreal spirit. ‘Weeping Willow’ by Carolyne Barber also displays these processions of scale, character and context. Scale is established through a thick, central trunk with an almost impossible number of hanging vertical branches. The highlighted white areas of these branches are made to look and feel like running water, which goes onto form the overarching character of the image which invokes a melancholy yet stoic defiance of winter and the passage of time. The context is made even more poignant by the dark outline of another tree in the background and the foreground of smaller plants, framing the shot and focusing the scene. As a final example Minghui Yuan’s ‘Damselfly Umbrella’ has a sense of explicit scale which works harmoniously to create a relationship between natural elements in the composition. The meaning and poetry of the image only really becomes apparent when we notice the third and tiny character of the scene. This then forms a highly effective emotional aspect, the context of which complements the plant rather than detracting from it. Using these three terms then can be helpful for analysing emotional quality and impact. Look out for how scale, character and context has created a winning identity in the other winners and even in your own garden photography. Creating this identity of course isn’t exclusive to black and white. Give it a go in our next Photo Project of the year: Macro Art. Enter now.

Thinking about an infrared capture for the Black & White Photo Project? Michael Hudson, winner of last competition’s, talks us through his capture. How much planning was involved? Did you go out with an idea of the kind of shot you wanted? I was on holiday with my family in the area and I . . . had read about the Wood where the shot was taken and was hoping to photograph it. But it was hard to find on the map and I had just about given up hope of finding it when I realised it was a field away from where we were staying. I actually walked there twice that week. I had an idea for the type of shot I was looking for. I’d made images of trees from a similar angle, looking up the trunk at the full branches with a wide angle lens, but each one is different. What I like about this one is the moss covered branches and trunk, and the bright backlighting. Can you tell us a little more about the image and the kit/techniques used? I used to shoot a lot of infrared film many years ago, which was tricky and temperamental to work with, but if you got it right, the results were very beautiful. I’ve hired an infrared converted camera a couple times now and I really like the look that the infrared camera gives me. I always convert infrared to black and white in post processing as I don’t usually like the effects it has on the colours. What do you like about the picture? I like the full feeling of the image, the way the tree fills the frame. And because it’s an infrared image, the leaves don’t dominate the picture, but instead, the branches do. It’s a simple image, but there’s a lot of detail in it at the same time. I also liked how the branches, covered in moss, have a very old, weathered look. Did you do much to it in post-processing? As a raw, infrared image straight out of the camera, it needs a fair amount of processing. First I converted it to black and white, then I boosted the contrast and clarity, to give some sharpness to the details in the branches and the leaves. I brought back some detail in the highlights, but not too much as I like the backlit feel to the image. Do you have any tips for capturing infrared imagery? Look at a lot of other infrared images to see what infrared does to the landscape. In nature, leaves and grass turn white and blue skies darken. Become familiar with it because it involves a different way of seeing. Once you begin to know what infrared does, you can look for appropriate subjects. Unlike infrared film, where youoften wasted a lot of film to get one good shot, it’s easy to experiment with digital infrared.— Enter the Black & White Photo Project now.

Black and white has so much to offer the genre of garden photography. In fact, the thought process behind many black and white images reveals how photographers are encouraged to engage with subjects in a nuanced, emotional and somewhat deeper way, accessing a rich narrative of artistic story . . . telling. But why? Rachel Chappell helps us answer this as she talks us through her award-winning black and white photograph, from Competition 11.  What drew you to shoot this image in black and white? I wanted to create an image which was distinctly minimalist but still had enough detail to be interesting. Although the image is all about movement with the long wavy lines I also wanted it to be calming and restful. I had been looking at the black and white landscape work of Cole Thompson and Michael Kenna. Both of these photographers use black and white quite expertly and are not afraid of using both true black and true white to dramatic effect. How did you achieve the desired effect? I am sure the day was not windy but looking through the lens close-up there appeared to be a small gale blowing! Also the part of the grass I was interested in was at the top of a very long and bendy stem. To ensure that I could compose the image as I wanted, and to have a range of aperture options open to me, I set up my camera and tripod indoors. The grass stem was clamped in an old clamp stand (remember those from science lessons?).  As I wanted a minimalist effect I placed a sheet of plain white card behind the grass. Ultimately I chose the mid aperture of f/9. Working at a close distance of around 6 inches this allowed me to have some sharp areas but also some softer edges. I often like the combination of hard and soft edges to tell a more rounded story and leave some work to the imagination. Did you use any special equipment? I do a lot of macro work and the lens I use most of the time is a 105mm macro lens. This allows me to get up close to the flowers and isolate the part of the flower which I am most interested in. My best bit of ‘special’ equipment is a small 4 inch square of card wrapped in silver foil. I can hold this in one hand without creating too much draft as I reflect the light back onto the grass. What plants do you think work best for black and white photography? I feel that creating a black and white photograph allows the photographer more scope to tell a story. The removal of colour takes away a layer of realism which allows you to take a different approach and put emphasis on another aspect of the image. Flowers which photograph well in black and white tend to be those with definite features of shape, texture, lines. When working in black and white it is even more important to be aware of the light and composition as it will add to your story. If your story is about lines, as it was in this image, then the composition needs to be arranged so that lines really stand out. -- Ready to tell your story? Enter the Black & White Photo Project now

With the Black & White Photo Project deadline rapidly approaching it’s good to revisit genre specific skills and  take a look at some interesting techniques to complement your style. In this post, Digital Camera magazine’s Claire Gillo takes a look at backlighting. Light your object from behind . . . to create a magical halo effect Backlighting looks extremely effective when shot in the monochrome medium. By lighting your subject from behind, you capture a silhouetted object with a halo outline. Once you remove the colour from the image, the silhouette and halo effect is enhanced even further.   For this tutorial we used an external flashgun and picked a wild flower from a hedge. We also had a reflector to hand to bounce some light back into the top part of the subject. You may also need to do this depending on the size of your subject. We also placed our flashgun onto a pile of books to bring the light closer to the flower. There are many different techniques you can use when backlighting a subject. In our example we’ve kept it simple, but if you want to add in an extra touch, you can also try spraying some water onto the subject. If you use a fine-mist spray bottle, the small droplets will ping out against the dark background. If you try this technique, just make sure you keep wiping your flashlight with a towel because after a few sprays it may get a little damp! 1)Pick the right subject You want to pick an object that will silhouette while describing an interesting outline. Flowers are good for this technique, but you want to avoid the usual pretty full-faced type. Seed heads or weed-like species work best, and anything with spikes or hairs that are going to catch the light are preferable. Put it in a vase so it stands upright, and place it on a flat surface. We secured our flower in place using some Blu Tack and a vase. 2)Set up the background Set up a dark background behind your subject. We used a thick brown blanket. As long as the background is dark in appearance, it doesn’t matter if it’s not black because we can easily fix this in processing later. It’s best to use a thick material like velvet that will absorb the light rather than a shiny surface that will reflect the light. If necessary, angle the background to eliminate any stray light reflections. 3)Set up the camera Next set the mode dial on your camera to manual so you are in complete control of the exposure. Set the shutter speed to 1/250 sec because this synchronises with the flash light. Also, set the ISO low to 100 for optimum noise-free results. Now we can balance the aperture setting with the flash. In this example we set the aperture to f/16 to keep the subject completely sharp from back to front. 4)Set up the flash camera settings We want the background to be under-exposed. And we’re going to use the camera’s built-in pop-up flash to trigger the external flashgun. Under the Built-in flash setting, set the flash to the wireless function so that the external flashgun and the camera are communicating. Set the pop-up flash to fire so it doesn’t have any impact on the final result. We’re only using it to fire the external flash, not to light the subject from the front. 5)Set up the flashgun Set the flash unit to the Slave setting and put it into manual mode. We can also control the intensity of the flash through the built-in flash feature on the camera. We set ours to fire at 1/16th of its full power. The setting you need will vary depending on the power of your flashgun, and its distance to the subject. Angle the flash head up and place it behind your subject, like in the picture above. Finally, we’re ready to start shooting! 6)Fire away! We had to use a reflector to bounce the light back into the top part of the flower. Without the reflector, we found the top part of the subject was under-exposed. If you struggle to hold the reflector and take the shot at the same time, get an assistant to help you, or mount your camera on a tripod. When you take the shot, make sure the main focus point is sharp on the centre of the flower. Check the exposure using your camera’s histogram. 7)Convert to black and white Open the image in Adobe Camera Raw by double clicking its thumbnail in Bridge. In Camera Raw, convert the image to black and white using the Convert to Grayscale setting. Our flower has some green parts, so we can use the green channel to boost the outline. In the Basic panel we want to enhance the Blacks and boost the Contrast. Once you’re happy, click Open Image to bring it into the main image editor. 8)Dodge the top of the flower Although we used the reflector to enhance the light at the top of the subject, we’re going to do a bit of dodging and burning to help enhance the end result. Duplicate the background layer, select the Dodge tool and set the Range to Highlights and the Exposure at 10%. Run a small brush around the top of the flower, building up the effect slowly. Now go to the Burn tool and set the Range to Shadows. Paint in the centre to darken the silhouette.  Enter the Black & White Photo Project now

A huge thank you and congratulations to all of our winning photographers who have once again captured the incredible beauty, diversity and importance of plant life, from the wilds of Patagonia to the English country garden. A special congratulations goes to Marcio Cabral, of Brasilia, Brazil, who is . . . the overall winner and the International Garden Photographer of the Year Competition 11. Marcio is recognised as one of the top landscape photographers in the world and holds a world record for the largest underwater panorama. The winning image entitled, Cerrado Sunrise, was shot in the vast ecological region known as the cerrado in Brazil. Marcio said: “Paepalanthus chiquitensis Herzog is my favourite wildflower and I have been photographing it for more than a decade. These wildflowers have an incredible effect when photographed at sunrise or sunset as they reflect sunlight and this generates a striking effect that looks like the flowers have been individually illuminated. Although this location has a large flowering field, it is not easy to find a perfect spot with the flowers lined up to fill the foreground. I visited this site for a week until I was able to capture this formation of clouds before the sunrise.” Marcio’s love of the region holds strong botanical significance as well as many photographic opportunities. Prof. Ana Maria Giulietti, the world Paepalanthus specialist and Honorary Research Associate in the Americas team of the Identification and Naming department at Kew Gardens said: “Individual plants are found with flowers and fruits throughout the year, especially after the rainy season. The flowers are pollinated by beetles, wasps, and flies. Once the plant has reproduced or set seed, it dies. Featuring large populations and a wide geographic distribution, Paepalanthus chiquitensis is not considered endangered. However, the accelerated advance of monoculture plantations on the cerrado causes concern for the future. The implementation of the National Plan for the Conservation of Everlasting Plants is a crucial element to reverse this process and reduce the impacts on the natural populations of these plants.” Apart from possessing interesting access points to discuss conservation in South America, the image is technically brilliant, showing superb control of contrast and exposure with flawless composition. Judges felt a real connection with the image and the endless filaments and flowerheads stretching into the distance beyond. The scale and impact of their presence added to a sense of timelessness. This feeling echoes the fact that conservation and living in harmony with plants and nature is a process that doesn’t have an end point. We must continue to carry this sentiment far into the future, wherever we go. See the winners on your coffee table. Buy the book here

It’s almost February and that means it’s almost time to reveal the winners of the International Garden Photographer of the Year Competition 11. Winners will be made public and available to view online from February 9 2018, with the exhibition at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew opening to the public on . . . February 10. If you’ve never been to the most prestigious flagship exhibition of garden photography in the world, then you’re in for a treat. This year will feature the most ever framed prints supplied by UK based pro lab, One Vision Imaging, and include garden photography from classic categories such as The Beauty of Plants, Breathing Spaces and Wildflower landscapes as well as two new main categories, Abstract Views and Outdoor Living. Also new to this exhibition will be images from the mobile phone only category Gardens on the Go,  a new Still Life Photo Project, plus the winner of the special Portfolio category My Garden Stories. And of course, Captured at Kew, with the largest selection of winners exhibited to date. The photography on display will aim to broaden your understanding of the natural world and inspire you to see our green planet with renewed beauty and importance. Expect to see images from around the UK plus countries all over the world such as: Ireland, USA, Germany, Denmark, Croatia, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. Each image will have a story to tell and offer a new perspective on plant life through the exciting and growing genre of garden photography. Conservation will be, as always, an important theme of this competition year so watch out for interesting interpretation provided by the Kew Science team. This exhibition is vital to the IGPOTY mission as we continue to work with Kew to share the wonder of plants. So discover your inspiration for 2018 with the finest images of plant life in the world at the birthplace of botany.  The exhibition will be on display in the Nash Conservatory until March 11 2018. Entry is included with the price of admission to the Gardens. The next venue to host the exhibition of Competition 11 will be RHS Hyde Hall, which opens on March 21. For more information about Kew visit kew.org

Central to IGPOTY as an organisation is to display photography that has meaning and purpose. The images we exhibit lead a global conversation in how we think about plants and gardens, the importance they have on our lives as citizens of a diverse green planet and the responsibility we share in . . . ensuring they exist around us for generations to come. Botanic Gardens Conservation International then are natural partners. If you haven’t heard of them, they are the largest plant conservation network of botanic gardens in the world. Its members include the largest, most renowned gardens on the planet – Kew, New York, Missouri, Singapore, Sydney and Shanghai – but they also include many smaller gardens situated in the world’s plant diversity hotspots. And just as the BGCI joins together organisations that are passionate about plant conservation, IGPOTY brings together individuals who are passionate about representing, interpreting and documenting plant life through photography. To strengthen and reinforce shared objectives of awareness and conservation, IGPOTY and BGCI will be launching a new ‘Threatened Plants Photographic Award’. Winners will be selected from images entered into the Beauty of Plants.  Simply enter as normal and BGCI and IGPOTY judges will choose an image that displays both compelling photographic skill and threatened plant life, which tells a captivating and vital story about conservation. Indeed, conservation is a central part of this new partnership. It’s one thing highlighting a threatened plant but it’s another to conduct conservation work to actively protect the species. This is what botanic gardens do every day all around the world. Part of this award then is about celebrating the work of botanic gardens in protecting plant life. The award will launch at the start of Competition 12 on February 20 2018. The winner will feature in the latest edition of the IGPOTY book and receive special prizes from BGCI. Working together we can always achieve greater, better, more meaningful things. So, when you find yourself on that freezing mountain pass, or lonely forest path, remember you’re not alone on the journey and that individual actions can have global resonance. Find out more about BGCI

Thank you all so much to everyone who entered Competition 11, and thank you for your patience as we experienced unprecedented demand. The hard part is over, now sit back and relax whilst the IGPOTY judges get to work. If you haven’t entered IGPOTY this year the shortlisting procedure is as . . . follows: 1. Judging begins.2. Shortlist chosen.3. All entrants receive a prompt via email to login and check their account. This prompt will also be posted on social media channels. Your dashboard will indicate if you have been shortlisted or not.4. Shortlisted photographers upload high-res directly to website (and ensure all required photograph information has been entered). 5. Final places decided.6. All shortlisted entrants receive a prompt via email to login and check their account. The dashboard will indicate if your photograph has been awarded a place. We aim to begin shortlisting on the week commencing November 13 for around 1 week. Please be around for a small amount of time during this period to ensure you can respond to any shortlist requests. The sooner you get high-res images and information to us the better - this is much appreciated. We’ll be in touch again with all entrants via email and keep you updated at every step. If you still have questions don’t hesitate to get in touch with us directly on social channels or via email. If you’ve been in touch already we will respond as quickly as we can. As ever, winners are made public when we launch the exhibition at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in February. We can’t wait to see the winners there. Also remember entries into the Humphry Repton Special Award will remain open until midday on December 31 2017. Best of luck and thank you again from the IGPOTY Team.

It’s almost the end of October and that means the end of the competition year. We’ve been hard at work to make the competition better than ever, with more benefits for photographers than ever before. So If you haven’t entered, are wondering what IGPOTY is all about or are considering being part of . . . Competition 11, here are our top reasons why you should take part: Prizes Prizes are important. We know and recognise that you should be rewarded for your hard work. That’s why last year we raised the prize money from £5,000 to £7,500 for the overall winner. There’s also £2,000 on offer for the best portfolio, plus RPS medals for 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place. Category winners also receive equipment prizes. It doesn’t stop there. We work with some amazing partners who offer unique experiences, exposure and cash prizes through our range of special awards. From bespoke exhibitions to €1000 - check out the available awards. International exhibitions Not only do we launch our exhibition of winners at the world-famous Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in February we also have an ever-growing international exhibition tour as they are a central part of the IGPOTY mission. They are critical in communicating the beauty and importance of a green planet and the vital role photography plays in doing this. That’s why we endeavour to keep expanding the programme and share your work with an even greater audience. The programme next year includes venues in the UK, Germany, Spain and Amsterdam plus more to be announced. Global coverage Whether you’re just starting your journey as a garden photographer or are a seasoned professional, exposure and media coverage is critical to reignite or kickstart a career. We regularly feature in consumer magazines, national newspapers and some of the world’s most popular online news websites. As Richard Bloom, Overall Winner of Competition 9 said: “The publicity generated from winning IGPOTY has been huge and is itself a reward potentially worth more than the prize money.” Ethics and Community What does your photography say about you and what you stand for? Entering IGPOTY broadcasts the fact that you care about plants, green spaces and the environment and just how critical they are to our lives. A competition should align with your own artistic convictions and we care passionately about a green planet. We believe a competition should go beyond its definition and present a much grander vision. That’s what we offer. We’ve also just launched public profiles, which is the foundation for a more interlinked social community. Being part of a competition should be just that, and anyone is welcome to join. This element is set to grow, so get in early and make the most of the free exposure. Recognition We understand that competitions aren’t just about prizes. There are deeply personal factors. To be recognised by others for something you love is perhaps the most satisfying. And if you are a winner, whilst we can’t guarantee spiritual wholeness, we can guarantee a deep sense of lasting and profound recognition. Enter now

Here at IGPOTY we have a competition vision that encourages everyone to creatively engage with nature. If we’re saying we believe everyone has the ability to be involved then everyone needs their own individual space to track their journey, publicise their achievements and expose their work to the . . . wider world. That’s why we’ve just launched updated public profiles. For winners, you will see your awards (we’re working on importing more historic competition data) and links to your winning images. Even if you’re not an IGPOTY winner there’s loads of reasons to create a public profile or update an existing one. It’s a public way to say you’ve joined the IGPOTY community, announce your presence as a garden/nature photographer and reinforce an existing career through the IGPOTY audience. If you have your own website and social presence it’s the perfect opportunity to increase your SEO and backlinks. You’ll also be ready for any media/public searches if you’re placed in any competitions. You’ll also have a searchable index of public profiles where you can find photographers just like you. We also feature recently completed profiles on the homepage to really amplify you and your work. This means more public exposure and another unique reason to take part in this competition. In order to take advantage of these benefits you’ll have to make your profile public and ensure all public data is filled out in full (sensitive information like telephone number, email address and home address will never be shown). You can even change the background image to further personalise the IGPOTY experience. Be ready for the end of this competition year and turn up your exposure to maximum. Head to your dashboard to edit your profile then enter Competition 11 before October 31!