CREATIVE EYE GROUP MAGAZINE NO. 86 SEPTEMBER 2021
FINDING GOLD & FELLOWSHIP IN THE GARDEN
No. 1
No. 15
DR DAVID TOWNSHEND FRPS
S
ometimes you can’t predict where a little project might take you. During a wet week in June 2019 I created a series of in-camera multiple exposure images of hostas and other plants in pots in my garden. Now, two years later, they have earned me first place in the International Garden Photographer of the Year Portfolio category along with an RPS Gold Medal, and an FRPS Distinction. Here is how it happened. I have been developing my skills in impressionist photography since 2016 when I discovered it through workshops run by Valda Bailey and Doug Chinnery. Their approach is to use creative techniques to interpret rather than represent the world around us. It has provided a whole new impetus to my photography – enabling me, a life-long scientist, to discover my artistic side, indeed to become an artist. 4
My lifelong interest in photographing plants and gardens meant that inevitably that would provide a theme for this new approach. Given their strong shapes and textures, hosta leaves proved a good subject, especially when decorated with raindrops. There is no need to wait for the perfect weather and lighting for impressionist garden photography – you can make much of any conditions. INTERNATIONAL GARDEN PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR I have entered the International Garden Photographer of the Year (IGPOTY) competition in the past, with more representational images, but with no success. With the encouragement of Valda and Doug to enter competitions, I decided to have another go – but I didn’t submit anything until minutes before the final deadline for entries in October 2020.
I submitted my Hosta Patterns panel (FRPS numbers 9, 11, 13, 18, 20, 21) with this description: “There are always images waiting to be created, even early on a wet June morning. Pots of Hosta, Heuchera and Libertia on my patio, each with their own distinctive leaf shapes, textures and colours, were transformed as rain droplets collected on them, with the gloom accentuating their colour. Leaning against the house for shelter, and moving my camera during the sequence of exposures, I captured their transient beauty as unique patterns that are at the same time; bold and intricate.”
When the results were announced in February 2021, with entrants from around the world, I was astonished to discover that I had won the Portfolio category, which is accompanied by an RPS Gold Medal.
