Garden Photographer of the Year exhibition 2008

Selected from 22,000 entries from hundreds of photographers, around 100 finalists have been chosen to take part in a major exhibition at Kew Gardens, London in the summer of 2008. The International Garden Photographer of the Year exhibition runs from 22nd May to October 2008.

Paul's Pinhole Impressions series of images were awarded first place in the the Garden Photogarphers Association portfolio category and second place overall. Another image, a montage entitled City Garden, was selected as a finalist in the Garden View category.

Pinhole Impressions is a series of photographs exploring motion and the effects of wind on trees. The inspiration came from early pigment/platinum prints by Edward Steichen. "Having spent the last seven years or so working with digital, which is usually incredibly sharp and precise, the intention was to produce a set of images that were much softer and less technical in approach."

City Garden is a photograph of Trafalgar Square with a lawn as part of Visit London's campaign to promote green spaces and villages in the city. It is a montage consisting of 291 individual photographs assembled together, creating a scenic view of Trafalgar Square when it was covered in a lawn in the summer of 2007.

"It was a spontaneous decision. Trafalgar Square was so crowded with sightseers, camera crews and people carrying out surveys, that the only possible way to capture the atmosphere was to photograph individual elements to assemble later. I felt it couldn't be done with one single image."