Vickie Howard, from Bristol, beat thousands of competitors to win £1,000 as Royal Horticultural Society Photographer of the Year 2010.

She braved the rain to take the stunning shot of pink tulips in the rain.

“Late evening sun was backlighting the tulips beautifully even as the rain began to fall. My daughter held an umbrella over me while I took the photograph,” she said.

James Arnold, Licensing Manager of RHS Media and one of the competition judges, said the picture illuminated the plants in unusual circumstances.

“This picture really stood out for us. The atmospheric lighting of the rain coming down onto these pink tulips had to make this the winner,” he said.

Bravo! Regular readers of this blog get to view my erratic impressions of nature.

I have enjoyed photography and the work of talented photographers since I was in high school. This photo is stunning.