APOY 2015 – Round 4 Results In Focus

We’re already on Round 4 of APOY 2015. Here are results for the top 50 results for In Focus – Shallow Depth of Field

Mark Cornick from Shepperton, Surrey, is the winner of our In Focus round of APOY 2015 and wins a Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM | A. This lens has set a new standard for Sigma’s Art line. With a large f/1.4 aperture, the Sigma 50mm prime lens is a pro-level performer. A Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) ensures quiet, smooth and accurate autofocusing, and when paired with Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass and Super Multi-Layer coating, the 50mm f/1.4 is a high-performance lens for modern DSLR sensors.

Its high resolution makes it perfect for the high-megapixel era. Resolution is extremely crisp at the area in focus, while both front and rear bokeh are silky smooth. Offering the ultra-high performance that characterises the Art line, this lens inherits the design principles of the line’s first model, the flagship Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM. While maximising resolution at the area in focus, this lens offers a bokeh effect to the front and rear. To achieve exceptionally crisp resolution, Sigma has minimised sagittal coma flare, chromatic aberration, and every other type of optical aberration that affects image quality. The result is minute detail without bleeding or streaking, even at the maximum aperture.

Mark also takes home a Sigma EF-610 DG ST flash that has a guide number (GN) of 61m @ ISO 100 and is designed to work with the latest TTL auto-exposure systems of all popular manufacturers’ digital and film SLRs. The autozoom function automatically sets the optimum illumination angle in accordance with the focal length of the lens, in a range from 24mm to 105mm.

Lastly, Mark wins a Sigma USB Dock that enables photographers to update the lens firmware and customise features of the lens. The adjustment is processed with specially designed software, Sigma Optimization Pro, available as a free download from Sigma’s website.

That’s a total prize value of £1,059.97 for Round Four.

Our congratulations also go to Lee Acaster from Suffolk, who was second, and John Crongeyer from Germany, in third place.

1st Mark Cornick, Surrey 50pts

Canon EOS 6D, 24-70mm, 1/50sec at f/4, ISO 320

For this round we wanted you to show us some of your most beautiful and unique experiments with shallow depth of field. This is perhaps our strongest round so far, which made it a little difficult to select just one winner. However, needs must, and here we have our first-prize image by Mark Cornick. It’s a beautiful interpretation of the brief, and, in Mark’s own words, is his attempt to bring a new lease of life to the classic sunset image. This saw Mark experimenting with a variety of techniques before striking gold with this one.

2nd Lee Acaster, Suffolk 49pts

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 70-200mm, 1/80sec at f/2.8, ISO 100

Lee’s description of his shot is simple: ‘The last remnants of foliage hanging on in a winter woodland’. What’s interesting is that Lee has combined the shallow depth of field with the diffusing qualities of the winter mist. This means that our attention is held firmly on the central subject of this haunting and fairytale-like scene.

3rd John Crongeyer, Germany 48pts

Canon EOS 60D Mark III, 70-200mm, 1/160sec at f/4, ISO 250

Insects and arachnids are such popular subjects that it can often be difficult to find new and interesting ways to photograph them. However, John has really found himself an incredible shot here. The image was taken just outside his bathroom window, and with the angle of the web and the shallow depth of field, John has given us a dynamic and unique shot of a spider.

Here are the Top 50 entries for In Focus – Shallow Depth of Field:

1 Mark Cornick 50pts 2 Lee Acaster 49pts 3 John Crongeyer 48pts 4 Aaron Bennett 47pts 5 Lorraine Heaysman 46pts 6 Chris Evans 45pts 7 Ivan Vukelic 44pts 8 Andrew Fusek Peters 43pts 9 Pawel Pentlinowski 42pts 10 Rory McDonald 41pts 11 Phil Moon 40pts 12 Yehya Belhadad 39pts 13 Penny Halsall 38pts 14 Matt Walkley 37pts 15 Richard Craze 36pts 16 Adrian Clarke 35pts 17 Nick Neuenhaus 34pts 18 Kathryn Truepenny 33pts 19 Bertrand Chombart 32pts 20 Gareth Williams 31pts 21 Ron Tear 30pts 22 Gonçalo De Carvalho 29pts 23 Matt A Revell 28pts 24 Graham Borthwick 27pts 25 Peter Murrell 26pts

26 Steven Robinson 25pts 27 Svetlana Volkova 24pts 28 Andrew Williams 23pts 29 Tomer Eliash 22pts 30 Cristian Agostini 21pts 31 Sam Maynard 20pts 32 Lucie Brooke 19pts 33 Adrian Sadlier 18pts 34 Edward Noble 17pts 35 Derek Robertson 16pts 36 Val Lear 15pts 37 Matthew Carmody 14pts 38 Krys Wakefield 13pts 39 Alessandro Calcioli 12pts 40 Valentina Stoumpou 11pts 41 Alan Martin 10pts 42 Michal Namysl 9pts 43 Peter C Jones 8pts 44 Diogo Ferreira 7pts 45 Tony Cook 6pts 46 Julian Fraser 5pts 47 Luke Wood 4pts 48 Marino Reljica Kostic 3pts 49 Claire Allfrey 2pts 50 Samuel Raybone 1pt

View the winnng images in the APOY 2015 Gallery

The 2015 Leaderboard

Lee Acaster is in first position with Penny Halsall following in second place. Dave Stewart, who last month was in first place, has fallen to third place. Chris Evans has shot up to fourth position with Phil Moon following close behind.

Position	Name	Points
1	Lee Acaster	143pts
2	Penny Halsall	102pts
3	Dave Stewart	96pts
4	Chris Evans	90pts
5	Phil Moon	85pts
6	Mark Cornick	84pts
7	David Queenan	83pts
7	Elisa Bortolotti	83pts
9	Matt Emmett	82pts
10	Adele Spencer	78pts

APOY 2015 Round 4 Results In Focus