A photographer from Devon has won this year?s Royal Horticultural Society Photographic competition, beating around 4,000 entries to take the title.
Sarah Gallifent from Bideford scooped the top prize of £1,000 with her close-up of a Phormium Alison Blackman plant.
Describing the quality of this year?s entries as ?staggering? Tim Sandall, one of the competition judges, said: ?Sarah?s was the most outstanding photo that we saw and our decision to award her the prize was completely unanimous. It stood out against so many other fantastic prints because it is so incredibly creative and creates an abstract form that generates a stunning piece of art.?
Sarah, who was a textile designer before moving into photography, captured the winning at RHS Garden Rosemoor, Great Torrington, Devon.
She said: ?The photograph was taken in a fine day in late October. The rich, coloured stripes of the Phormium Alison Blackman caught my attention ? the colours magically glowing in the afternoon light. The conditions were not perfect and it took several attempts before the unique moment in time was finally captured.?
A competition spokesman added: ?Sarah uses the camera lens to isolate an object, extract it from its context and remove any indication of scale, resulting in abstract images that may intrigue, stimulate and challenge the viewer?s imagination.?
The winning entries are due to go on show at the Medici Gallery, 5 Cork Street, London W1S from 22-26 January 2008 (entry is free, call 020 7495 2565).
For details of next year?s competition, which opens for entries in February, visit www.rhs.org.uk/news/photocomp.asp.
Picture credit: Sarah Gallifent
