Each spring, UBC Botanical Garden comes alive with fresh blooms, vibrant colours and new beginnings. This year’s Spring Photo Contest invited visitors to capture the essence of the season through their own unique lens, celebrating the colours, textures and wildlife that make spring in the garden so special.
Entries were judged on creativity, composition, technical quality and how effectively they captured the spirit of spring. From landscape shots to macro details, the photographs showcased the many ways visitors experienced and connected with the garden during the season.
Winner: Sweet Sipping Swallowtail
As the garden awakes from its winter sleep, fresh blooms invite a diversity of pollinators with their sweet scent. One commonly seen, yet fleeting insect is the tiger swallowtail, which delights visitors with its tiger-like patterns on butter yellow wings.
Photographer Lucia Lam brilliantly captured its beauty while sipping sweet nectar by freezing this moment of time in her composition.
Runner-ups:
Cozy Cactus
UBC Botanical Garden is home to diverse collections from around the world. While many people come visit the garden in spring to admire the vibrant rhododendrons and cherry blossoms, photographer Max Sun paused at the sight of blooming cacti.
The vibrant red blooms of the succulents appear cozy and warm in the spring sunshine. Max’s composition reminded us of the many faces spring takes across each living collection.
Curious House Finch
As an avid birder passionate about photography, Olivia Rodig’s submission showcased the curiosity of wildlife in the garden. Perched on a tree branch illuminated by the sun, this photo tells a springtime story in the perspective of a House Finch. In Olivia’s words:
“I believe the image captures spring with the bright yet warm lighting representing the start of spring. To me, birds represent the beginning of the season.”
Peaceful Spring Pond
One of the first sights visitors see when entering the David C. Lam Asian Garden is a peaceful pond with architecture that makes you stop and reflect. Tony, a Richmond-based tennis player, captured this scene with a telephoto lens. The distant bench facing a tranquil view is an invitation to pause and relax on a warm spring day.
Rhododendrons in Bloom
We’ll let William’s humorous story speak for itself, as it’s something many visitors can relate to admiring the beauty of spring:
“When I was walking with my younger brother on this trail, I found myself consistently looking at the flowers instead of the road. I was attracted so much that I almost fell on the ground. So, I was inspired to take the photo of the flowers by the road, and use the bokeh to blur the road, representing what I saw.”
TreeWalk Adventure
The Greenheart TreeWalk is a great way to spend a spring afternoon with family and friends under the canopy. In this dynamic photo, Lucia depicts the winding movement of the suspension bridge as visitors reach new heights among towering trees dappled with light.
Every photograph tells a different story, and together this year’s winning images celebrate the beauty and biodiversity that make spring at UBC Botanical Garden so memorable.
Congratulations to our winner and runners-up and thank you to everyone who entered the contest. We hope these images inspire you to slow down, look a little closer and experience the Garden through a fresh perspective on your next visit.
Written by:
Maryum Chaudhry
Marketing and Communications Assistant (Worklearn)
