Congrats to all of the winners, beautiful photos! Will there be a hand recount?😀

Big congratulations to the winners! What a lot of gorgeous photos!

Every year I am struck by one thing. We appear to have lots of people who are professional photographers, and they never post or participate in anything. They just come for the photo contest. I'm wondering if it's possible to limit it to participating members only?

Congratulations to all the winners of this years contest and a huge Thank You for sharing your beautiful photos!

plantmanager said: Every year I am struck by one thing. We appear to have lots of people who are professional photographers, and they never post or participate in anything. They just come for the photo contest.

I noticed a couple of new to me member names with entries in the contest and I looked at their profile pages and saw that they have indeed participated on forums. Perhaps they are employed and don't have the time to be as active on the site as some of us who are retired or maybe employed part time but they must access the site once in awhile, or how would they have known about the contest?

To me the difference between a Professional Photographer vs. Hobby Photographer is that a professional photographer is someone who makes a living, earning money in that particular profession, whereas a hobby photographer is someone who just enjoys taking pictures with a camera, cell phone, or other electronic device, for their own enjoyment. I guess what I'm trying to say is, unless we personally know the individual member, how can we know that they are a Professional Photographer? I've seen some really incredible photos that family and friends have taken with their mobile phones and it always blows my mind to see how professional their camera pictures look but these family members and friends are not professional photographers.

There can be different levels of Hobby Photography; for instance someone like me who has a camera but knows nothing about any of the settings, etc. (and too old and impatient to take the time to learn and don't even get me started on the smart phones that are too smart for my brain) yet I still enjoy taking pictures; then there are those who have enjoyed and studied the craft and art of photography for a number of years and who've become extremely knowledgeable about all types of cameras, lenses, different settings, lighting, photo composition, etc. ... but photography isn't necessarily their chosen career.

Please note that the incorrect top 3 are currently listed until Dave corrects them. Now fixed to show the correct wining photos!

If you click on the Best in Show link, the top three winners are @sunkissed, @GaNinFl and @dirtdorphins
Congrats to everyone!

Congratulations to everyone for capturing and the sharing such amazing photos!

Congratulations to the winners of each category and for those In Best of Show. I'm humbled and honored to be in this group!

Congratulations to all the winners! Such spectacular captures! What an amazing planet we inhabit. I so enjoy seeing through the eye/lens of others.

Congrats to the winners! What an amazing array of photos! It was a great contest and thanks to Bluestone Perennials for donating the prizes!

Bluestone Perennial's is a stellar company and deserves a huge for sponsoring the photo contest!

You can read other garden.org member recommendations for the company on this page of our Green Pages: Bluestone Perennials

Congratulations to all the winners!

plantladylin said:

I noticed a couple of new to me member names with entries in the contest and I looked at their profile pages and saw that they have indeed participated on forums. Perhaps they are employed and don't have the time to be as active on the site as some of us who are retired or maybe employed part time but they must access the site once in awhile, or how would they have known about the contest?

To me the difference between a Professional Photographer vs. Hobby Photographer is that a professional photographer is someone who makes a living, earning money in that particular profession, whereas a hobby photographer is someone who just enjoys taking pictures with a camera, cell phone, or other electronic device, for their own enjoyment. I guess what I'm trying to say is, unless we personally know the individual member, how can we know that they are a Professional Photographer? I've seen some really incredible photos that family and friends have taken with their mobile phones and it always blows my mind to see how professional their camera pictures look but these family members and friends are not professional photographers.

There can be different levels of Hobby Photography; for instance someone like me who has a camera but knows nothing about any of the settings, etc. (and too old and impatient to take the time to learn and don't even get me started on the smart phones that are too smart for my brain) yet I still enjoy taking pictures; then there are those who have enjoyed and studied the craft and art of photography for a number of years and who've become extremely knowledgeable about all types of cameras, lenses, different settings, lighting, photo composition, etc. ... but photography isn't necessarily their chosen career.

I agree! As an very amateur photographer, I enjoy taking photos of my garden and those of others. My photos are occasionally selected as finalists in local photo contests but I am always delighted to see photos of those with more experience (or time to learn the ins and outs of their cameras), whether they are professionals or advanced hobbyists. By observing the winning photos I can learn more about lighting, composition and the other elements of photography.