2008: In Praise of Plants and Fungi - Highly Commended
Koos van der Lende (South Africa)
Ancient survivor
'This welwitschia is at least 200 years old. I photographed it in Namibia's Messum Crater, close to the Skeleton Coast. I loved the circle the leaf made on the left, and I used 12 reflector boards to bounce the sunlight back to get the detail.' Two leaves, a stem base and roots. That's all there is to a welwitschia. Yet this simple arrangement means the plant can cope with the driest of environments. It takes root where no other plant would dare try. Its long, curled ribbon leaves, split with age and singed by the hot ground, funnel the morning dew down to the roots. Some individuals could be more than 1,500 years old.
Fuji GX617 panoramic + 90mm lens; 8 secs at f45; Fuji Velvia 50 120mm film; central grey filter to compensate for the one-stop light fall-off to the sides; polarizing filter + four-stop neutral-grey gradual filter; Gitzo heavy-duty tripod; 12 reflector boards.
View other winners in this category
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Adult awards Swamp cypress Cece Fabbro
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Adult awards Celebration lily Fredrik Ehrenstroem
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Adult awards Boletus in the rain Thierry Van Baelinghem
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Adult awards Saffrondrop bonnets Danny Laps
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Adult awards Leaf drop Darran Leal
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Adult awards Bottle in the wind Koos van der Lende
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