The International Garden Photographer of the Year (IGPOTY) competition has announced its winners for the 2020 Macro Art photography contest. Partnering with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, IGPOTY offers multiple themed contests throughout the year. For the Macro Art contest, photographers captured minuscule moments of beauty in gardens around the world. Each photo is rich in color, detail, and texture despite the tiny subjects. A hidden world of garden life is revealed through this collection of stunning images.
This year's first place prize was awarded to Bruno Militelli of São Paulo, Brazil for his black and white image titled Botanic Loop. The coiling tendril of the passion fruit plant (Passiflora) is a natural adaptation which allows the plant to climb like a vine. The geometry of this winning shot stands out in monochrome. Other photographers chose to depict the microcosmic garden world in vivid color. Finalist Ecaterina Leonte of Salt Lake City, Utah created her image Rainbow Lily with a prism and sunlight. Leonte captured the color spectrum of light on the lily with a macro lens. Second-place winner Anne MacIntyre of St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England shot the image Mountain of Tulips with colorful fallen petals from her garden.
Many of the awarded photographers also captured little visitors to their gardens. Rob Blanken's commended entry The Hunter is a perfectly timed moment. In the macro image, a spider waits in its web with rainbow-colored light scattering from the strands. This year's Macro Art contest has come to a close, but it continues to inspire viewers to see the beauty in tiny things, and aspiring photographers may still enter the International Garden Photographer of the Year awards in multiple categories. Grab a camera, get outside, and see what natural beauty you stumble across!