Flowers and plants

This black and white image of a tree is called Skeleton. The square crop removes any distractions and helps to reinforce the rib cage aesthetic created by the trunk and branches. With the light directly hitting the tree, the main subject stands out from the dark background.

This is a stunning image of a tawny owl. We like how the flowers have been used as foreground interest, blurred by the relatively wide aperture and long focal length. Crucially, both of the owl’s eyes are visible and perfectly sharp, providing a clear focal point.

Shooting from below and behind the flower so it’s backlit against the sun was a clever decision. We like how the light shines through the petals, revealing their delicate textures. The black and white conversions helps to mitigate any potential colour casts and really complements the minimalist nature of the image.

This image breaks convention by embracing a wide-angle focal length, which is often avoided when shooting close-ups. The low angle and barrel distortion makes the flowers appear tall and imposing, which adds to the drama of the brooding sky. Flash was used to separate the windswept subjects from the dark background, but is subtle enough so as not to jar with the natural aesthetic.

Flower photos don’t have to be close-ups of single subjects. This field of lupins stretches as far as the eye can see and is a beautiful example of how blooms can be the subject of a sprawling landscape. The image was captured in Iceland during the midnight sun. Multiple exposures were captured at different focal planes and then blended in post to create a focus-stacked photo.

We really like the creative use of the shallow depth of field. The eye is immediately drawn to the few rows of lavender that are sharply defined, but by framing the blurry white building behind, depth has been added to the image without detracting too much from the subject.

No flower-themed shortlist would be complete without a stunning shot of some bluebells. This attractive specimen was initially photographed on a plain white background. Pale blue parchment paper was then layered over the top to create a gorgeous painterly texture in post.

This profile of a pulsatilla alpina looks stunning against the pale blue background. The backlighting clearly silhouettes the stem and illuminates the white, feathery seeds, popping the flower against the background. Flavio had to wait for the windy conditions to die down so he could photograph the specimen at 1/25 second and capture the razor-sharp details of each seed.

Unbelievably, professional lighting wasn’t used to illuminate this stunning still life. It was light painted with a torch during 20-second exposures, which were then blended together in post. The result is a gorgeous painterly effect with soft highlights and deep shadows.

This month’s winning image is so much more than just a beautiful photo of a flower. The focus stacking technique was used to mitigate the shallow depth of field produced by the 105mm macro lens. The result is an incredible amount of detail and front-to-back sharpness. Natural and artificial lighting was used, which gently pulls the white flower from the pale background.

We like how these leaves form a fractal-like pattern that appears to go on forever. The black and white conversion was an excellent choice; it amplifies the striped pattern on the leaves and removes any colourful distractions that may have otherwise detracted from the pattern. The harsh natural lighting also helps to separate and define each leaf, while also adding plenty of depth.

This incredible composite illustrates the wilting of a potted plant. It was photographed over several days and blended together in post. The use of both black and white and colour cleverly defines each stage, and prevents the image from appearing too busy.

This bug’s eye view was achieved by laying the D7000 on its back. Without the rear LCD and viewfinder, several attempts were made to capture the perfect composition. Flash was then used to make the bluebells pop against the background. A very creative shot indeed!