APOY 2013 – Round Four – Interior Architecture

Please visit the APOY 2013 home page to find all the rules for entry, terms and conditions, the APOY ENTRY EMAIL ADDRESS, and the disclaimers that must be copied and pasted into an email entry.

Entries must be received by 5pm on 31 May 2013


Round 4 of this year’s Amateur Photographer of the Year competition, sponsored by Panasonic, is Interior Architecture (inside man-made structures). We’re all familiar with images of classic and modern architecture. Walk through any city or town and you’ll soon see why photographers are attracted to the exteriors of these brilliant man-made structures. But what about inside? For this round, we want you to train your lens on the most interesting interiors you can discover. See below for some advice and ideas on what to look out for.


Photo By Alexander Moore

We have thousands of pounds’ worth of fantastic camera equipment up for grabs, as well as the chance to be crowned Amateur Photographer of the Year 2013.. The closing date for round 4 is 31 May 2013. First prize is a Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 with Lumix G Vario 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Asph Mega OIS and Leica DG Summilux 25mm f/1.4 Asph lenses worth a total of £1,347.98. Second prize is a Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 worth £469.99. Third prize is a Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1 worth £119.99. That’s a prize package worth £1,937.96! The top 30 photographs will be published in our 29 June issue, while the scores from the top 50 images will be posted on our website.

How to enter
Please visit the APOY 2013 home page for information explaining how to enter. Please use your full name as the file name and paste
the disclaimer into the body of your email if you are sending your entry to us
electronically. We also need to know where and how you took your image, plus
the camera and lens used with aperture and focal-length details. Remember to
include a telephone number and your postal address so we can contact you if you
win.

What images do
you think of when someone says the word architecture? No doubt your mind
instantly jumps to the grand exterior architecture of a cathedral or the slick
modern designs often found in major cities. But for this round we want you to
try something different. Walk through the doors of a building and take a look
round. Within those walls you can find countless opportunities, from the
graphic shapes of a spiralling staircase to the quiet atmosphere of an
abandoned building. Interior architecture is a genre we perhaps don’t see
enough of, so this is a great opportunity to explore this neglected facet of
photography. Images can be found in the home, public locations, abandoned
buildings (make sure you seek permission and stay safe) and even your own
garden shed. Looking around these places your photographic instinct will kick
in and you’ll soon begin to see that every one of these locations is capable of
delivering some fantastic images. Where you shoot doesn’t matter. You’re also
free to shoot in either colour or black & white. There are no hard-and-fast
rules here. This is your opportunity to show us the most interesting interiors
you can find.

1st prize
The first-prize
winner will receive a Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 with Lumix G Vario 14-42mm
f/3.5-5.6 Asph Mega OIS and Leica DG Summilux 25mm f/1.4 Asph lenses worth £1,347.98
The G5 is a digital single-lens mirrorless camera with a 16.05-million-pixel,
four thirds, Live MOS sensor. It has 6fps high-speed continuous shooting, a
3in, 920,000-dot articulated LCD touchscreen, and a 1.44-million-dot EVF.

Other
features include a Venus 7 HD II engine so noise is well controlled even at
high ISO sensitivities, plus full-area focusing and pinpoint AF for accurate
framing. The Leica DG Summilux 25mm f/1.4 Asph lens has a bright f/1.4 maximum
aperture that provides superb image quality with minimum distortion, plus a
beautiful soft focus.

 




2nd prize
The second-prize
winner will receive a Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 worth £469.99. This high-spec
compact camera has a 10.1-million-pixel High -Sensitivity MOS sensor, f/1.4-2.3
(24-90mm equivalent) Leica Vario-Summilux lens and full manual control. The LX7
also features a built-in 3-stop ND filter, Creative Control with 16 artistic
effects, such as radial defocus and smooth defocus, plus a number of versatile
shooting features, including time-lapse shot.The LX7 can record full HD video
in either AVCHD at 50fps or in MP4 at 25fps.


 




3rd prize
The
third-prize winner will receive a recently launched Panasonic Lumix DMC-XS1 (in
white) worth £119.99. Panasonic claims that the 16.1-million-pixel XS1 has the
world’s slimmest body profile, and it’s certainly skinny with a 14mm-deep body.
Its 5x optical zoom with 24mm ultra-wideangle lens and tiny form make the XS1
the ultimate carry-it-with-you-everywhere camera. Other features include Mega
OIS, HD video, and a host of creative artistic features and functions,
including 180° panorama mode.


 


Here are some
tips and suggestions to help you get started


Why not try…



Photo by Pat Burns

A Sense Of Scale
It should go without saying
that architecture is always made with people in mind. The ways that people
interact and function within a space is of vital importance. When shooting
inside a building, you should treat it much in the same way you would a natural
landscape that features a wildlife subject The same compositional rules apply
and the interaction between a subject and its environment still provides
context. This is particularly important when you begin to shoot people within
your chosen location. Including people in your shot is a great way to
demonstrate the scale of your location. When you feature people within your
shots, you can show just how awe-inspiring some architecture can be, both
classical and modern.



Photo by Ben Ghibaldan

Light And Shape
A
good rule of thumb with most, if not all, photography is that when faced with a
scene you must break it down into its most basic graphic elements. The world is
made up of the most simple geometric shapes and this is particularly true of
man-made objects. Buildings are simply a series of interconnected shapes, and once
you learn to see that you will find the process of taking photographs that much
easier. Learning how the light interacts with these shapes is another crucial
element of developing a photographic eye. Light and architecture can provide a
great number of excellent images. Something as simple as windowlight can be
very beautiful.


Photo by Shanon Moratti 

Colour VS Monochrome
Black
& white’s greatest virtue is that it can help to reduce the distractions
that colour can sometimes bring to an image. Monochrome images reveal a
location’s most graphic nature and allow you to concentrate on the tones and
shapes of a subject. This is particularly crucial with architecture because, as
mentioned above, buildings consist of a basic interaction of shapes. However,
that’s not to say colour has no place within architecture photography – quite
the opposite. Take a walk through any opulent cathedral and the presence of
colour is almost overwhelming. The interaction between colour, light and shape
are a basic tenet of art, so keep your eyes open.







Please visit the APOY 2013 home page to find all the rules for entry, terms and conditions, the APOY ENTRY EMAIL ADDRESS, and the disclaimers that must be copied and pasted into an email entry.

Entries must be received by 5pm on 31 May 2013