Winning images f rom International Garden Photographer of the Year 17

IGPOTY/June Sharpe

OVERALL WINNER and 1st PLACE, 7IM Abstract Views ‘Birdscape’ June Sharpe Location: Kent, England “The layered branches of this conifer reminded me of the dancing cranes often featured in Japanese woodcuts. I added a fill layer and used the exclusion blending mode to alter the colours in post-processing. This enhanced the feeling of movement and the sense of the ‘birds’ dancing in a fantasy woodland.”

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM

Settings: 1/350 sec at f/5.6, ISO 800

IGPOTY/Leena Roy

WINNER: Plants and Planet ‘Mangrove Tree (From Underwater)’ Leena Roy Location: Bunaken National Marine Park, Sulawesi Island, Indonesia “A mangrove tree surrounded by numerous roots on the seabed, which I photographed from under the water, looking up. Mangrove forests not only act as carbon banks but they also stabilise the coastline from storms and erosion, as well as being a vital habitat for fish, crustaceans and hunters like sea snakes. The leaves of the tree are underwater at high tide and, above water, their canopies are home to many birds and mammals.”