I take photographs almost every day. Partly as a way to document life but perhaps above all as a way to be creative and express myself. This is causing my image gallery to become large – very large 😉 As a result of my photography, I now have thousands of images in my image bank. Therefore, I am looking for areas of use for my photos. Some images become motifs for pictures for exhibitions and markets. Another way to show my pictures to others is by competing in photography. Since many of my subjects are photographed in the garden, it is a good fit to participate when the Sjöbo Garden Association invites you to a photo competition. This year’s (2024) competition had three themes in which you could compete:
- Edible
- Plant portrait
- Macro / Close-up
All said and done – I submitted one photo in each category or theme. All were taken in my garden during the year. And it went well! All three were placed. I was so happy when Kerstin (the chairperson) wrote to me and congratulated me on the result. You can see the photos I submitted below along with the story of why I chose these particular entries.
The theme “Edible” in the photo competition
This picture is one of several in a project I call “Mini Bouquets”. I like to show off the details of smaller flowers. Flowers that are so small that you almost need a magnifying glass to see them are at the same time almost more detailed than normal-sized flowers, at least calculated per square centimeter. That’s why I’ve started making small bouquets of these mini flowers and photographing them.
The first photos I took of my bouquets were just of the bouquet itself and nothing else. But after some comments that you didn’t see the size of the small flowers and bouquets – and some suggestions (some good and some not so good) on how this should be fixed – I have included other objects in the photographs. This particular bouquet is flanked by something edible from the garden. The harvest of strawberries and raspberries were placed in nice little containers bought at flea markets by me or good friends who know my minimalist interest.
My competition entry on the theme “Plant Portrait”
The photograph of the apricot-colored (and here we can start discussing the name of colors…) roses was my choice when it came to the theme of plant portraits. We have had this rose in our flowerbed for many years and it has always bloomed gratefully, but this particular season it was more willing to flower than ever. The cluster of flowers you see on the right in the picture consists of no less than fourteen flowers and buds, all at the top of the same stem! – Did I mention I like roses 😉
“Macro / Close-up” – the most fun theme when I compete in photography
The little green bug in the picture is a juvenile wart-biter that settled on a yellow Welsh poppy in the flowerbed. The day I photographed the green insect was one of the few days now that I took out my “real” camera (Nikon D90, system camera) for a walk in the garden. Most of the photographs I take are otherwise taken with my mobile camera because it is always at hand.
So this day I took a walk in the garden with my “macro eyes” on and this little green insect caught my eye as it sat so still in the poppies with a few dewdrops glistening on its body. It willingly allowed itself to be photographed in several positions, but I chose this particular photo as my entry for the competition.
Finally, some thoughts on garden associations…
Finally, I would like to extend a big thank you to the Sjöbo Garden Association for holding this photo competition every year as one of many great activities! (More small reports will certainly come in the future about trips and other meetings made under the auspices of this association).
Are you a member of a gardening association? If you have an interest in gardening and plants in general, it’s a nice way to socialize with like-minded people. On the Swedish National Garden Association’s website you can find a garden association locally in Sweden!
/ Carina
