Ethereal image of Cosmos flowers wins photo competition

Anne MacIntyre's image Ethereal Cosmos has won the International Garden Photographer of the Year's Black & White photo project.

"After having recently painted my summerhouse white, I decided to capture these delicate Cosmos flowers, creating vivid white tones in this black-and-white composition," she said.

The judges said: "It is easy to turn any colour photograph into black and white - but through clear intent, Anne chose the set-up before photographing to dramatic effect.

"This work uses black and white to add something special, not take something away.

"Both the black and the whites are punchy and incredibly detailed."

Ethereal Cosmos will feature in a book and exhibition at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in 2021.

Here are other winning photos from the contest, with captions by the photographers.

Second place: Long-tailed Tits, by Alan Price, Gwynedd

"This fluffy couple of long-tailed tits were taking a short break from nest building - that's when I photographed them, forever immortalising their moment together."

Third place: Twin Oak Dawn, by Allan Wright, Galloway

"On a misty morning in May, the presence of a pair of iconic oak trees was amplified by backlit sunshine and partly framed by the glistening of cobweb-laden gorse bushes."

Finalist: River of Life, by Carole Drake, Arundel Castle, West Sussex

"The canal, seeming to emerge from a dark, mossy grotto flanked by rough-hewn river gods, is an allegorical representation of the River Arun."

Finalist: The Emperor, by Alan Price, Gwynedd

"I photographed this impressively large Anax imperator (emperor dragonfly) in mid-flight, its wings resembling helicopter blades."

Finalist: Flowering Icicles, by Mary Slingo, the National Trust's Knightshayes, Devon

"Most of these trees were already in leaf - but this particular Stachyurus specimen still had its delicate flowers in isolation. They looked like ornate icicles, hanging from the slender branches."

Finalist: Happy Bunch, by Simon Schollum, private garden shed, New Zealand

"An ornate and timeless still life was captured, using flowers gathered from my garden and only natural light as it poured into my shed."

Highly commended: Plane Winter Skeleton, by Tony Jones, West Sussex

"I captured this image using an infrared converted camera. It was combined with black and white, emphasising the structure (and character) of this defiant tree, bereft of its foliage in winter."

Highly commended: Reflections of the Mallard Pond, by Roy Curtis, Trebah Gardens, Cornwall

"Captured in late December - I positioned myself at the far end of the Mallard Pond, looking back up towards the famous sub-tropical gardens of Trebah."

Highly Commended: Solitary Oak Tree, by Jon Martin, Lake District National Park, Cumbria

"I noticed this bare oak tree, silhouetted against the distant mountain tones."

Highly commended: The Statue, by Dieter Wanjura, Neu-Ulm, Bavaria

"The 'sculpted' curves of this Tulipa specimen reminded me of a classical Greek or Roman statue."

Highly commended: Aspens and Snowy Pines, by Ari Plosker, Flagstaff, Arizona

"This photograph was shot at the base of a mountain in Flagstaff, Arizona, during an early winter storm. The snow level was not quite enough to cover the aspens in the foreground but created a haunting contrast with the pine forest in the background."

Highly commended: Beam Me Up, by Geoff Kell, New Forest National Park, Hampshire

"As beams of light filtered through adjacent trees and hit this twisty tree, its frosty coating evaporated and steam was drawn upwards, as if the tree were being summoned from above."

Highly commended: Lutyen's Bench, by Roy Curtis, The Garden House, Devon

"This thoroughly weathered antique bench had a presence all of its own."

Highly commended: Exploding Allium, by Rachele Z Cecchini, home studio, Austria

"I obtained these shapely Allium from a local nursery. I was immediately attracted to them because of the many flower heads which had burst from their casings."

Highly commended: Icelandic Open Space, by Peter Karry, Stokkness, Iceland

"The curves and textures of these grasses growing out of the black volcanic sand dunes created an intriguing and atmospheric photo."

Highly commended: Exotic Beauty, by Lilianna Sokołowska, Dresden

"This enchanting Pleurothallis teaguei is [a] tropical orchid species originally from Ecuador."

Highly commended: Snail on Top, by Ryan Ostrea, Sydney

"With the light from the setting Sun in the background, I played around with the aperture and settled on this photograph, which managed to capture some brilliant 'sun stars'."

Highly commended: Nun's Cross Farm, by Tim Burgess, Dartmoor National Park, Devon

"In a remote location in the middle of Dartmoor is Nun's Cross Farm, I brought this bleak scene to life by using a high-dynamic-range (HDR) technique and black and white to reveal the full clarity and show every detail."

Highly commended: Raindrops on Lily pond, by Annemarie Farley, the Florida Botanical Gardens, Largo,

"With hurricane Irma due, the rains had already started falling in the gardens, so I retreated under a sheltered canopy. It was there I noticed this waterlily pond and the texture of the surface ripples."

All photographs courtesy the International Garden Photographer of the Year competition.