AGS Photographic Competition 2024

The competition this year attracted a total of 313 images from 20 entrants across the nine classes, down from last year but still highly competitive.  The high standard of photographs submitted meant that the competition in most classes was very closely contested and judging quite rigorous.  Because there were so many images of such high quality, the judges awarded two third places in a few classes, and several images in each class were awarded ‘Highly Commended’ status, where they had missed out narrowly on the prizes.

As usual, we would like to thank the judges for their hard work (a long and gruelling but enjoyable day of Zoom meetings), and of course all the exhibitors for entering such an impressive array of pictures and making the judges’ job so difficult.

It is a great delight to see winning pictures from so many different types of device, ranging from full-frame digital SLR cameras, through mirrorless and compact cameras to mobile phones.  This just emphasizes that it is the picture that counts, and not how you capture it.

Class One: (39 entries) An alpine or rock plant in a natural (wild) landscape.

Entries for this class should feature both a plant (or plants) and the landscape or habitat in which they grow.  The plant or plants should feature prominently in the photo, but be balanced by the landscape; the scenery should support and not dominate the composition, but convey a sense of context and geographical location.  

In this class, perhaps more than any other, good composition is key, and that is easier to achieve with a well-defined, compact clump of flowers rather than a meadow full of flowers, spreading out from the primary subject on all sides. 

First: Hilary Birks, Norway – Saussurea gossipiphora

• Taken in the Cocarbo Valley, southern Tibet.  August 2009
• Camera: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T100 compact

A fabulous capture of a seldom seen plant from Tibet.  The judges liked the dominance of the plant in the frame, with a clear depiction of the habitat behind it, and the photographer has just managed to keep detail in the woolly highlights of this fascinating vegetable snowball.

Second: Mayur Prag, Cape Town, South Africa – Protea rupicola

• Swartberg, South Africa.  December 2024.             
• Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV.

Third: Liam McCaughey, Lisburn, Northern Ireland – Primula elatior

• Mannlichen, Switzerland, with the north face of the Eiger in the background, June 2023.
• Camera: Apple iPhone 13 mini

The judges loved the composition here, and the beautiful capture of a familiar plant.  However, the line of the path on the left, and the yellow sign behind the plant, once noticed, count against it slightly.

Highly Commended:

Ursula Junker, Olten, Switzerland – Arnica montana

• Kleine Scheidegg, Bernese Oberland, Switzerland with the Eiger and Mönch in the background. July 2024.
• Camera: Nikon D7500 with Nikkor 10-20mm zoom lens at 18mm.

Celia Sawyer, Long Compton, Warwickshire, UK – Geranium cinereum

• Mugla, SW Turkey, June 2023
• Camera: Apple iPhone 14 Pro

Hilary Birks, Norway – Pedicularis roylei

• Cocarbo Valley, southern Tibet, August 2009.                               
• Camera: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T100 compact camera

Tony Goode, Tywyn, UK – Campanula cochlearifolia

• Gasterntal, Berner Oberland, Switzerland.  July 2012.
• Camera: Panasonic DMC-FZ38

Tony Goode, Tywyn, UK – Thlaspi rotundifolium

• Anzeindaz, Alpes Vaudoises, Switzerland.  June 2014.        
• Camera: Nikon D5200 with 18-55mm zoom lens at 22mm

Class Two: (39 entries) Portrait of an alpine or rock plant in the wild

In this class the essential element is to feature a plant in its entirety (more in the manner of a botanical study), including all flowers, leaves and stems. The immediate scenery need only suggest a wild location.

First: Celia Sawyer, Long Compton, Warwickshire, UK – Urospermum dalechampii

• Bonifacio, Corsica, April 2024.            
• Camera: Apple iPhone 14 Pro

Simple, but a beautiful image.

Second: Mayur Prag, Cape Town, South Africa – Ranunculus glacialis

• Swiss Alps: July 2024
• Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV.

This image could have been entered in class 1, but it is primarily a portrait of the plant in its immediate habitat, in front of a mountain background.

Third= Richard Moore, Edinburgh, Scotland – Saussurea gossipiphora

• 4500m Selele Pass, Nepal: October 2023.
• Camera: Canon Powershot G7 X Mark II

This image really captures the weirdness of this plant, which looks like an alien which has crawled out of a UFO.  The detail of the plant is captured beautifully, but the brightness of the rocks on either side is a little distracting.

Third= Steve Clayton, Ripponden, UK – Anemone narcissiflora

• Barcellonette,  Mercantour Alps: June 2010.
• Camera: Nikon D700 with 28-105mm zoom lens at 70mm

The judges liked the detail captured in the white flowers, and the contrast between these and the dark green foliage and out of focus background.

Highly Commended:

Hilary Birks, Norway – Meconopsis horridula

• Cocarbo Valley, southern Tibet, August 2009.                               
• Camera: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T100 compact camera

Janet Hails, Worcester, UK – Ranunculus glacialis

• Dolomites, Italy, July 2024.
• Camera: Ricoh Pentax K-1 Mark II with 100mm macro lens

Richard Moore, Edinburgh, Scotland – Leontopodium monocephalum

• 5000m Kanchenjunga Glacier, Nepal: October 2023.
• Camera: Canon Powershot G7 X Mark II

Ursula Junker, Olten, Switzerland – Jasione montana

• Fair Isle, Scotland. June 2024.
• Camera: Nikon Coolpix A900

Class Three: (47 entries) Close-up detail of an alpine or rock plant

Here the photographer should be trying to reveal the more intimate beauty of alpines by emphasizing features of special interest, such as individual flower(s), groups of leaves or magnified floral structures. The picture can be taken in the wild, in the garden or in the studio, with natural or artificial lighting.

First: Celia Sawyer, Long Compton, Warwickshire, UK – Iberis oschtenica

• Photographer’s garden, April 2024.
• Camera: Apple iPhone 14 Pro.

Lovely patterns of colour and shape, well seen in a perhaps less glamorous subject.

Second: Henry Fletcher, Derby, UK – Meconopsis ‘Lingholm’

• Branklyn Gardens, June 2024.
• Camera: Apple iPhone 11.

A fabulous capture of the detail in the flower, with lovely backlighting, but the judges felt the top and left sides could have been cropped a little to remove distracting parts of a dead flower.

Third: Tony Goode, Tywyn, UK – Sempervivum hort.

• Photographer’s garden.  June, 2024.
• Camera: Sony ILCE-6400 with 18-135mm zoom lens at 93mm.

The judges loved the concentric rings made by the yellow stamens and white stigmas.

Highly Commended:

Celia Sawyer, Long Compton, Warwickshire, UK – Pulsatilla halleri subsp. grandis

• Photographer’s garden, March 2024.
• Camera: Apple iPhone 14 Pro

Henry Fletcher, Derby, UK – Trillium foetidissimum

• Photographer’s garden, 2024.
• Camera: Apple iPhone 11.

John Dower, Frodsham, UK – Orchis olbiensis

• Picos de Europa, June 2023
• Camera: Fujifilm Finepix S7000

Richard Moore, Edinburgh, Scotland – Saxifraga federici-augustii subsp. grisebachii

• Kevock Garden Plants, February 2024
• Camera: Olympus TG-6

Class Four: (31 entries) An alpine plant in cultivation in a garden setting.

This can be in your own garden or a garden you have visited.  The plant(s) may be displayed in a close-up, portrait or wider view.  We tend to go out and take ‘snaps’ of the plants in our garden, but it is well worth spending some additional effort to take better quality images.  In a garden, particularly your own, you have more control over the timing of your photo, so you should be able to take it when the plant is in perfect condition, the weather is cooperative, and the light is good.  You also have scope to use artificial light sources and backgrounds if you deem these to be necessary.

First: Anne Hughes, Belfast, UK – Lilium pyrenaicum

• Rowallane Gardens.  May 2024.
• Camera: Apple iPhone 13

The judges loved the composition of this image, and the way the background flowers and the tones of the conifers complemented the main subject.  It was a close contender for the overall winner, but missed out, partly because the cropping is slightly tight on the right hand side.

Second: Tony Goode, Tywyn, UK – Crocus tournefortii

• Photographer’s garden, September 2023
• Camera: Sony ILCE-6400 with 18-135mm zoom lens at 135mm.

This was a lovely close-up view of the whole plant, with lovely detail in the branching orange stigmas, and the raindrops on the petals.

Third= Richard Moore, Edinburgh, Scotland – Saxifraga rosacea

• RBG Kew Rock garden, May 2021.
• Camera: Apple iPhone 7

The judges liked the composition, and the way the plant flowed down over the rocks and through the picture.

Third= Tony Goode, Tywyn, UK – Colchicum x agrippinum

• Photographer’s garden, August 2023
• Camera: Apple iPhone 8

A nice, well framed portrait taken in good light.

Highly Commended:

Henry Fletcher, Derby, UK – Primula viallii

• Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, June 2024.
• Camera: Apple iPhone 11

Sam Booth, Harrogate, UK – Meconopsis ‘Lingholm’

• RHS Harlow Carr, June 2021
• Camera: Panasonic DC-G9 with Leica DG 100-400mm zoom lens at 400mm

Tony Goode, Tywyn, UK – Crocus laevigatus ‘Dark Form’

• Photographer’s garden. November 2023.
• Camera: Sony ILCE-6400 with 18-135mm zoom lens at 86mm.

Class Five: (27 entries) An alpine plant in a pot.

Many of our members grow their alpines not in the open garden but in pots.  Here we would like to see photos of those plants.  This subject gives you the opportunity to apply a great deal more photographic control than plants in the wild:  you can control where you take the photo (indoors or outdoors, with any background you choose), when you take the photo (when the plant is in perfect condition), and time of day, which gives control over lighting and weather.  You can use artificial light sources and backgrounds if you wish.

First: Tony Goode, Tywyn, UK – Dionysia ‘Monika’

• AGS Pershore Show, February 2024.
• Camera: Apple iPhone XR.

A great capture nicely composed, with good even lighting – about as good as you can do as a visitor taking pictures of plants on the show benches.

Second: Henry Fletcher, Derby, UK – Paris luquanensis

• Private garden, Kirriemuir: June 2024
• Camera: Apple iPhone 11.

The judges liked the drama and geometry of the flower; the close-up position gives a strong dynamic to the picture.

Third= Celia Sawyer, Long Compton, Warwickshire, UK – Iberis oschtenica

• Photographer’s garden, April 2024.
• Camera: Apple iPhone 14 Pro.

A striking portrait of a plant we often overlook.

Third= Tony Goode, Tywyn, UK – Cassiope lycopodioides ‘Jim Lever’

• Photographer’s garden, March 2024.
• Camera: Sony ILCE-6400 with 18-135mm zoom lens at 135mm

The low angle and black background work well to capture the daintiness of the white bells.

Highly Commended:

Steve Clayton, Ripponden, UK – Erythronium oregonum sulphureum

• Photographer’s garden.  May 2016.
• Camera: Sony DSC-RX100M3

Class Six: (34 entries) Alpine fauna in the wild

Wild flowers are always accompanied by fauna from the mammoth to the minuscule.  The majority are an interesting distraction, but make popular subjects for many photographers.  Most of us, returning from a trip to view alpine flowers in the wild, will find at least a few photos of wildlife amongst our images. And if the background shows a mountain landscape or alpine plants that can give a welcome context.

First: Henry Fletcher, Derby, UK – Luna Moth (Actias luna female)

• Alexandria, Louisiana, USA: March 2024
• Camera: Apple iPhone 11

The judges loved the colour palette of this image, with the green moth resting on soft brown leaves.  There is wonderful detail in the moth, and in particular in the antennae, projecting fortuitously over a darker area of leaf.  Although there is a lot of detail in the leaves, it doesn’t distract as they are all a similar colour and tone.  This was a close runner-up in the vote for overall best image.

Second: Richard Moore, Edinburgh, Scotland – A caravan of dzo

• A caravan of dzo moving through the mountains
• Selele Pass, Nepal, October 2023.
• Camera: Canon Powershot G7 X Mark II

The judges liked this a lot, but the competition was stiff.

Third: Mayur Prag, Cape Town, South Africa – Rock Ptarmigan

• Scotland.  July 2023
• Camera: Canon EOS 6D with zoom lens at 420mm

A lovely photo of the bird, with grasses to indicate habitat, but the out of focus foreground was a little distracting.

Highly Commended:

Hilary Birks, Norway – Owl fly

• Near Datҫa, SW Turkey, April 2024.                      
• Camera: Ricoh Pentax K-70 with 18-135mm zoom lens at 135mm

Lovely photo of the insect; it’s a shame the flower it is sitting on was so bright.

Janet Hails, Worcester, UK – Black veined white

• Pindos, Greece, June 2024
• Camera: Ricoh Pentax K-1 Mk II with 100mm macro lens

A great photo, in a tough class

Janet Hails, Worcester, UK – Small elephant hawkmoth

• Pindos, Greece, June 2024
• Camera: Ricoh Pentax K-1 Mk II with 100mm macro lens

Another great photo, but perhaps a fraction too dark and lacking in contrast. 

Liam McCaughey, Lisburn, Northern Ireland – Oreina cacaliae, Leaf beetles

• Saas Fee Switzerland, June 2024
• Camera: Olympus OM-1

Tony Goode, Tywyn, UK – Marmot

• Above Saas Fee, Switzerland. June 2013.
• Camera: Panasonic DMC-FZ38.

Class Seven:  (35 entries) An alpine landscape.

This class is for an alpine landscape.  It need not necessarily show specific plants but should concentrate on the scenic beauty and/or geology of the setting. You should be inspired by unusual natural beauty, from the small and intimate to the grand panorama. This class always attracts a great diversity of images, and it is one of the most interesting, and difficult, to judge.  Normally, enticing, appealing landscapes fare better with the judges than forbidding ones.

First: Mayur Prag, Cape Town, South Africa – Giants Castle, Drakensberg

• South Africa: January 2023
• Camera: Canon EOS 6D

Second: Mayur Prag, Cape Town, South Africa – Dolomites peaks

• Italy: July 2024
• Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with EF 24-105mm zoom lens at 85mm

Spectacular light and clouds on a familiar mountain scene.

Third: Ursula Junker, Olten, Switzerland – Aletsch glacier

• Aletsch glacier seen from Moosfluh
• Aletsch Region, Valais, Switzerland, August 2024.
• Camera: Nikon D7500 with Nikkor 10-20mm lens at 20mm

Lovely composition, with the lines of ice sweeping through the picture.

Highly Commended:

Ursula Junker, Olten, Switzerland – Hrafnagjá

• Þingvellir, Iceland, September 2024.
• Camera: Nikon D850, with Nikkor  24-120 mm lens at 35 mm

Tony Goode, Tywyn, UK – Avalanche above Anzeinde

• Switzerland. June 2016.
• Camera: Nikon D5200 with 55-200mm zoom lens at 90mm.

Tony Goode, Tywyn, UK – Anzeinde

• Switzerland. June 2023.
• Camera: Apple iPhone 8

Janet Hails, Worcester, UK – Dolomites

• Northern Italy, July 2024.
• Camera: Ricoh Pentax K-1 Mark II

Class Eight. (28 entries) ‘The Alpine Gallery’.

Here we are looking for a quirky, amusing or unusual image featuring alpine plants. Digital manipulation is allowed; in fact anything goes, and we hope to see some wildly imaginative images.  

This class always produces a wide variety of images, which makes it an entertaining break in the hours of debate by the judges. 

First: Steve Clayton, Ripponden, UK – Ranunculus pyrenaeus

• Argentiere, Ecrins, France, June 2010
• Camera: Nikon D700 + 105mm lens
• Editing: Combines use of several effects, including the Edge Filter, and vignetting.

This was an excellent use of artistic filters.

Second: Celia Sawyer, Long Compton, Warwickshire, UK – Cow bells in Switzerland

• Cow bells in Switzerland, September 2023.
• Camera: Apple iPhone 14 Pro
• Editing: No manipulation performed

This amused the judges.  An alpine subject we hadn’t seen photographed before.  There was much debate about the identity of the white flowers in the background.

Third: Janet Hails, Worcester, UK – Pulsatilla vulgaris

• Photographer’s garden.  March 2021.
• Camera: Ricoh Pentax K-1 Mark II fitted with a Pentax 100 mm macro lens

Another interesting use of the artistic filters, with some interesting colour selections.

Highly Commended:

Sam Booth, Harrogate, UK – Sea of Meconopsis

• Hutts Himalayan Garden, October 2024
• Camera: Panasonic DC-G9 with Leica DG 12-60mm zoom lens at 60mm

A great use of zoom blur to produce a very dynamic, swirling image.

Janet Hails, Worcester, UK – Scabiosa atropurpurea

• Sicily, Italy, April 2024.
• Camera: Ricoh Pentax K-1 Mark II

A lovely picture of the seedhead, with a great background, but not ‘quirky’ enough for the judges.

John Dower, Frodsham, UK – Missed the bus again !

• Picos de Europa, June 2023
• Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ330

Class Nine. (33 entries) ‘The Wonder of Wildflowers’.

This class is intended to celebrate the visual spectacle and impact that alpine plants can create.  We want to see spectacular panoramas of flowers, whether a carpet of a single species or a tapestry of different plants, colours and shapes.  

As usual, the entries could be divided into two groups – wide views of massed flowers, and more intimate meadow close-ups.  Both fulfil the brief for the class, and it seemed appropriate that the first two images exemplified the two groups. 

First: Mayur Prag, Cape Town, South Africa – Namaqualand Flowers

• South Africa: August 2024
• Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with EF 24-105mm zoom lens at 47mm

What a spectacular display!  Despite qualms about how ‘alpine’ this scene was, it certainly illustrated the wonder of wildflowers, and won the class on sheer ‘wow’.

Second: Tony Goode, Tywyn, UK – Meadow Flowers

• Arolla valley, Switzerland, June 2016
• Camera: Nikon D5200 with 55-200mm zoom lens at 200mm

A wonderful diversity of meadow flowers.

Third= John Dower, Frodsham, UK – Ranunculus kuepferi

• Close to la Grave, French Alps, June 2014
• Camera: Panasonic DMC-FZ200.

A massed flowering of Ranunculus kuepferi.  Although the sky is burnt out, it doesn’t detract from the spectacle.

Third= Ursula Junker, Olten, Switzerland – Alpine Meadow

• Brunni (above Engelberg), Central Switzerland, July 2024
• Camera: Nikon D7500, fitted with Nikkor 10-20 mm lens at 12 mm

A beautiful display, with a beautiful pastel colour palette.

Highly Commended:

Hilary Birks, Norway – Hillside near Lake Tahoe

• Hillside near Lake Tahoe, California, July 2024.
• Camera: Ricoh Pentax K-70 with 18-135mm zoom lens at 40mm

Janet Hails, Worcester, UK – Dolomites Flowers #2

• Northern Italy, June 2024.
• Camera: Ricoh Pentax K-1 Mark II

Janet Hails, Worcester, UK – Dolomites Flowers #3

• Northern Italy, July 2024.
• Camera: Ricoh Pentax K-1 Mark II with 100mm macro lens

Tony Goode, Tywyn, UK – Crocus albiflorus

• Grand Chamossaire, Alpes Vaudoises, Switzerland. June 2019.
• Camera: Nikon D5200 with 55-200mm zoom lens at 190mm

Thanks again to the judges, and of course all the exhibitors.  We hope this will inspire you to get outdoors and start taking photos for this year’s competition.