APOY 2013 Round Seven – Black & White World
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 30 August 2013
Round 7 of this year’s Amateur Photographer of the Year competition is Black and White World (mono landscapes). Anyone claiming that black & white imagery isn’t as popular as it used to be should take a look at the deluge of monochrome imagery that floods into the AP offices for every round of APOY. Photographers are as much in love with black & white as they were years ago, and in this round we want to see what you monochrome aficionados can achieve. The only caveat is that your image must be of a landscape, either natural or man-made.
We have thousands of pounds’ worth of fantastic Panasonic camera equipment up for grabs, as well as the chance to be crowned Amateur Photographer of the Year 2013.. The closing date for round 7 is 30 August 2013. First prize is a Panasonic Lumix DMC-G6 with Lumix G Vario 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Asph Mega OIS lens, plus Panasonic Lumix G 20mm f/1.7 Asph and Panasonic Lumix G 14mm f/2.5 Asph pancake lenses, worth a total of £1,329.97. Second prize is a Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF6 with Lumix G Vario 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Asph Mega OIS lens, worth £499.99. Third prize is a Panasonic Lumix DMC-LF1 worth £379.99. That’s a prize package worth more than £2,200! The top 30 photographs will be published in our 28 September 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.
Photo by Andrew Paul Watson
For what reason would anyone wish to remove colour from an image? It’s a fair question and one that many photographers find themselves asking. Many would argue that the presence of colour in a photograph can act as a distraction from the emotional impact of an image. When we see a black & white image, we are put into a position where we must focus and consider what we’re seeing. Some photographers feel that colour draws us too close to the reality of the scene. It makes things a little too real. The removal of colour allows us to engage with the scene through shape, texture and light.
This is a particularly interesting way of looking at landscape photography. Black & white images can instil a real sense of atmosphere into a scene – something that many natural landscapes can benefit from, given the right light and weather conditions. But try not to think of landscape photography as simply areas of natural beauty. If you live in a major city or busy town, just take a look through your window. The scene you’re seeing outside your own home can easily be considered a type of landscape. Landscapes have provided image makers with endless inspiration for many years. Get out there and see what the land has to offer.
First Prize
The first-prize winner will receive a Panasonic Lumix DMC-G6 with Lumix G Vario 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Asph Mega OIS lens, plusLumix G 20mm f/1.7 Asph and Lumix G 14mm f/2.5 Asph pancake lenses, worth a total of £1,329.97. The G6 is a digital single-lens mirrorless camera with a 16.05-million-pixel, micro four thirds, Live MOS sensor.
It has 7fps high-speed continuous shooting, a 3in, 1.036-million-dot TFT LCD with Touch monitor, and a 1.44-million-dot OLED EVF. Other features include full HD (1920×1080-pixel) video at 50p (50Hz) in AVCHD Progressive and MP4 format, plus Wi-Fi connectivity with NFC technology. The Lumix G 20mm f/1.7 Asph and Lumix G 14mm f/2.5 Asph are compact and lightweight pancake lenses that are suitable for a wide variety of occasions, with both providing a beautiful soft focus.
Second Prize
The second-prize winner will receive a Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF6 with Lumix G Vario 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Asph Mega OIS lens worth £499.99. The 16-million-pixel GF6 has a Live MOS sensor and Venus Engine featuring an advanced noise-reduction system.
It also boasts quick start-up and Light Speed AF, making it possible to capture fast-moving subjects clearly. Other features include creative panorama and creative control with 19 filter effects, Wi-Fi connectivity with NFC technology and full HD (1920×1080-pixel) video with stereo sound.
Third Prize
The third-prize winner will receive a Panasonic Lumix DMC-LF1 worth £379.99. The pocket-sized LF1 compact has a 1/1.7in, 12.1-million-pixel High Sensitivity MOS sensor and 28mm wideangle Leica DC Vario-Summicron lens with 7.1x optical zoom (35mm equivalent of 28-200mm).
It also boasts a 0.2in EVF with 200,000-dot resolution and 100% field of view, Wi-Fi connectivity with NFC technology and a 3in, 920,000-dot TFT LCD. Other features include an ISO range of 80-12,800, full HD video and 10fps burst mode.
Here are some
tips and suggestions to help you get started
Why not try…
Photo by Paul Whiting
Light and Shape
When entering any unfamiliar scene, the two key elements that a photographer is likely to notice are light and shape, and particularly how those elements can work together. Here we see a great example of that. Paul Whiting’s shot of sand dunes in Mesquite, in the Death Valley National Park, California, took first place in round 7 of APOY 2010. Paul was also the overall winner of APOY 2005, so clearly he’s a photographer who knows what he’s doing. Taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and a 70-200mm lens, Paul has exposed the shot in such a way that he has been able to exploit the beautiful contrasts between shadow and light. The light not only emphasises the natural shape of the dunes but also sculpts some new shapes using shadows. This is a shot to learn from.
Photo by Chris Aldred
Using the Weather
Britain is subject to some pretty crummy weather, but the worst thing you can do as a photographer is put down your camera and decide the day is a write-off. Photography is about finding opportunities and exploiting them. Take a look at this shot from Chris Aldred, who was placed fourth in our Rain and Bad Weather round in APOY 2010. Not only has Chris been able to locate an area of visual interest, but he has also been to shoot it in atmospheric conditions. The bolt of lightning really is the icing on the cake.
Photo by Eleanor Seager
Cityscapes
As we mentioned earlier, it’s important that you don’t go into this round of APOY with your mind closed to the many possible meanings of the term landscape. The term simply refers to the visible features of an area of land. With this in mind, that can of course include images taken in towns, villages and cities. Here we see an example from Eleanor Seager (round 6 APOY 2012) with her shot of Coal Harbour in Vancouver, Canada. It’s a dramatic panorama saturated in atmosphere. Much like Paul Whiting’s shot (Light and shape) Eleanor has exploited a natural element to achieve her image – in this case the reflections in the water, which give the picture balance and interest.
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 30 August 2013
