RHS photographic competition

Treetops © Caroline Fraser 2011

Am delighted to receive a highly commended certificate in the RHS 2011 photographic competition for my image 'Treetops'. The image was taken at Hawkwood, my local haven in suburbia, but could have been taken anywhere, being an abstracted version of treetop silhouettes.

 It is interesting to consider what the value of entering a competition is. Many cynics say that all competitions are of more value for the promotors than the entrants. Given the entrance fee for many competitions, and the publicity that surrounds the event, you might think that it would be a worthwhile exercise, but if you take a look at the RHS website home page, you will be hard pushed to find any information relating to the competition, and in order to find the results I had to do a search using their search engine. It may be that Medici cards are the big winners here; they get to use their choice of winning images for their cards. I received a certificate, but can safely say that being a winner has not directed a single person to my website...........!

One winning photographer is the incredibly talented Polina Plotnikova , a friend of mine, who has a whole page to herself on the RHS website for her stunning plant portraits. She sells prints via the RHS, so it may be that  winning a competition has allowed her to work with the RHS in a way that really benefits her.

one of Polina's plant portraits

It seems that both entrants and the organisers have potential to benefit; you just need to win big, not be a runner up!