Picture credit: Heather Buckley

Heather Buckley, who is based in Brighton, eclipsed thousands of entries worldwide with a ‘striking image’ of foxgloves in gardens at Great Dixter House in Rye, East Sussex.

It turns out that the winning image was captured by Heather during an Amateur Photographer (AP) Masterclass hosted by landscape photographer Tom Mackie, for five AP readers, last year.

Heather, who describes herself as a ‘street and people photographer’, said the £1,000 win was a ‘great honour’ and that she is thrilled with the chance to show her work to a wider audience.

The photographer explained that she chose to shoot the flower image in her usual ‘street-style’, rather than as a close-up.

‘Using my wideangle lens, in this case a fisheye, I spent most of the afternoon trying to get this shot, taking the usual viewpoint of looking up through the towering pink foxgloves at the bees.’

Chris Young, Editor of The Garden magazine and one of the judges, said: ‘The winning image, which demonstrates a fusion of skilful photography, patience and opportunity is a perfect fit for the RHS Photographic Competition, as it celebrates the essential relationship between plants and wildlife.’

RHS Young Photographer of the Year was named as Mateusz Piesiak, 17, from Poland.