APOY 2016 Round 6: On the Street

: Olympus OM-D E-M10, 40-150mm, 1/200sec at f/ 4.5, ISO 200. Street photography is an immensely popular genre, and that means every year APOY is flooded with entries, all of which offer diverse and unique interpretations of the brief. That can sometimes make it a little difficult to select a winner, but this month the judges agreed that Jevgenijs’s image of children playing in the street was to take the top spot. It’s a great capture, and one that is full of life and colour. It is also perfectly timed.

: Canon EOS 70D, 10-18mm, 1/640sec at f/7.1, ISO 400. In this shot taken in Dundee, we find a great example of an often-utilised technique – using strong shafts of light to highlight a subject. Graeme underexposed by 5 stops on the evaluative meter reading in order to expose correctly for the woman, and to darken the shadow area.

: Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16-35mm, 1/200sec at f/9, ISO 100. Shots of Paris are a dime a dozen, so it takes a special image to stand out from the crowd. Here we find a multi-layered shot featuring the French capital’s iconic Eiffel Tower. Matt has created an image featuring several visual tiers: the sky, the crowd, the ground and the reflections. All these layers are held in place by the pin of the tower – the key element that keeps out eye fixed on the image. The fact that the picture is black & white serves to simplify the confusion of all these competing elements.

: Pentax K10D, 70mm, 1/8sec at f/8, ISO 100. Stuart handheld his camera for this shot of a food vendor in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The 1/8sec shutter gave him sufficient blur to capture the passing motorbike.

: Canon EOS 450D, 80mm, 1/800sec at f/13, ISO 800. Jennifer has captured a shot that is perfectly composed and framed. She has also waited patiently for just the right group of subjects to cycle their way into view.

: Fujifilm X100S, 23mm, 1/60sec at f/5.6, ISO 640. ‘I saw the curving lines of the railings and then waited for the right person to come along,’ says Justin. ‘This person helped by looking right, into the frame, thereby enabling the light to catch his face’

: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 17-40mm, 1/200sec at f/5, ISO 2,500. As George points out, the conversion to monochrome accentuates the marks and dirt staining the glass.

: Canon EOS 400D, 18-55mm, 1/60sec at f/4.5, ISO 400. This picture was taken in Cork City, Ireland, from Pat’s hotel window. The wheelchair parking sign resembles a figure looking out onto the street at the passers-by.

: Sony Alpha 7, 55mm, 1/160sec at f/1.8, ISO 1,000. Ron has happened across a great scene here that almost looks as if it could have been taken from the pages of a fashion magazine.

: Nikon D800, 24-70mm, 1/250sec at f/8, ISO 400. Chris’s image is a fantastic example of what a patient photographer can achieve with street photography. The dropped ice-cream cone and its placement within the right of the frame is a brilliant element.

: Canon EOS 7D, 50mm, 1/640sec at f/1.8, ISO 100. This bright image is of Dani’s daughter the day before her first birthday.

: Olympus OM-D E-M1, 20mm, 1/3200sec at f/2, ISO 200. Stephen’s futuristic-looking image, with its almost-hidden silhouette of a human figure, carries a feel of urban isolation and melancholy

: Sony Alpha 850, 75-210mm, 1/15sec at f/2.8, ISO 1,000. Hayri’s image shows that not every shot has to be in focus. The image is full of atmosphere.

: Nikon D750, 24-120mm, 1/500sec at f/11, ISO 100. This dynamic shot shows a couple strolling at Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City, with the view of Manhattan in the background.

: Canon EOS 7D, 18-200mm, 1/500sec at f/6.3, ISO 1,250. This shot was taken at a market in Turkey. David has pointed out that much can be read into the gaze and body language of the stall owner. What exactly is she thinking about?

: Canon EOS 6D, 16-35mm, 1/80sec at f/4.5, ISO 200. Andrew’s shot, captured on a trip to Stockholm in Sweden, shows how a keen eye can reveal all manner of photographic opportunities.

: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 24-105mm, 1/20sec at f/5.6, ISO 100. Here we see a pedestrian caught in the reflection of a parked car. It’s a lovely interpretation of the street photography theme.

: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 16-35mm, 1/250sec at f/8, ISO 200. In this intriguing image we find a young boy running away from the smoke at a religious Jewish ceremony.

: Canon EOS 600D, 85mm, 1/800sec at f/2.2, ISO 400. You can almost feel the cold and wet in this rain-drenched image taken in Italy

: Nikon D610, 70-200mm, 1/500sec at f/2.8, ISO 100. Hakan’s image is deceptively simple. There are actually a number of recurring elements throughout the shot, such as the typography and patterns. The frame behind the central subject is also noteworthy.

: Nikon D300, 12-24mm, 1/60sec at f/6.3, ISO 500. Cristian was framing this shot when three perfect figures strolled into the scene.

: Pentax SP1000, 50mm, Ilford FP4, ISO 400. Ian’s shot has the appearance of an image taken by a post-war British photojournalist.

: Nikon D5100, 18-55mm, 1/800sec at f/3.5, ISO 800. George’s shot is a great example of the humour inherent in street photography.

: Nikon D7000, 50mm, 1/800sec at f/2, ISO 400. Steve’s image contains depth and a masterful handling of tonal range.

: Canon EOS 6D, 24-105mm, 1/250sec at f/10, ISO 320. Robert’s image was inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper.

: Nikon D7000, 12-24mm, 1/320sec at f/4.5, ISO 100. This image is so full of life and colour that it’s difficult not to smile.

: Canon EOS 5D, 17-40mm, 1/250sec at f/8, ISO 800. For this shot Ron stood in the freezing wind while commuters battled the elements.

: Nikon D3100, 50mm, 1/125sec at f/8, ISO 100. Here we find a woman in her house in the El-Max region of Alexandria in Egypt.

: Nikon D610, 70-200mm, 1/800sec at f/2.8, ISO 100. David has used the lines of pillars to draw our attention to the subject of the man.

: Olympus OM-D E-M1, 12-40mm, 1/500sec at f/5.6, ISO 200. Using a wideangle lens means Roj captured the scale of the ‘5’ in relation to the man.

APOY Round 6: On the Street, was perhaps our strongest round so far. Here are the results for this round.

Jevgenijs Scolokovs from Latvia is the winner of our On the Street round of APOY 2015. He takes home a Sigma dp2 Quattro compact digital camera and VF-41 viewfinder accessory. For the dp2 Quattro, Sigma rethought and redesigned every aspect of the camera, including the sensor, engine, lens and body. While retaining its famous textural expression, the Foveon direct image sensor produces images that are colourful, rich and deep.

Sigma dp2 Quattroompact digital camera

Unique among image sensors, the Foveon Direct image sensor is similar to traditional colour film in that its multiple layer captures all the information that visible light transmits. Along with Sigma’s proprietary image-processing technology, this sensor produces excellent resolution, precise gradation and gorgeous colour.

Thanks to its optimised design featuring a fixed focal length lens and integrated body, the dp2 Quattro offers both sensor and lens performance at a very high level. The result leaves you with full-bodied image quality.

The dp2 Quattro body offers a balanced shape, layout and weight distribution. Its complete and robust specification allows the photographer to concentrate fully on photography itself and leverage the camera’s potential to produce outstanding images.

The dp2 Quattro has a fast 30mm f/2.8 (45mm equivalent) standard lens. It’s a simple but powerful optic and sensor combination that delivers medium-format-level image quality. The dp2 Quattro also features the newly developed TRUE II image-processing engine.

VF 41 viewfinder accessory

Jevgenijs also receives an external optical viewfinder. The Albada inversed Galilean type VF-41 viewfinder mounts on the hotshoe of the Sigma dp2 Quattro compact digital camera. The viewfinder offers a framing guide for deciding the composition without the colour LCD monitor and accurate framing unaffected by external light conditions. That’s a total prize value of £1,079.98.

Our congratulations also go to Graeme Youngson from Aberdeen, who was second, and Matt Parry from Cheshire, in third place

1st Jevgenijs Scolokovs, Latvia 50pts

1st Jevgenijs Scolokovs, Latvia 50pts

Olympus OM-D E-M10, 40-150mm, 1/200sec at f/ 4.5, ISO 200

Street photography is an immensely popular genre, and that means every year APOY is flooded with entries, all of which offer diverse and unique interpretations of the brief. That can sometimes make it a little difficult to select a winner, but this month the judges agreed that Jevgenijs’s image of children playing in the street was to take the top spot. It’s a great capture, and one that is full of life and colour. It is also perfectly timed.

2nd Graeme Youngson, Aberdeen 49pts

2nd Graeme Youngson, Aberdeen 49pts

Canon EOS 70D, 10-18mm, 1/640sec at f/7.1, ISO 400

In this shot taken in Dundee, we find a great example of an often-utilised technique – using strong shafts of light to highlight a subject. Graeme underexposed by 5 stops on the evaluative meter reading in order to expose correctly for the woman, and to darken the shadow area.

3rd Matt Parry, Cheshire 48pts

3rd Matt Parry, Cheshire 48pts

Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16-35mm, 1/200sec at f/9, ISO 100

Shots of Paris are a dime a dozen, so it takes a special image to stand out from the crowd. Here we find a multi-layered shot featuring the French capital’s iconic Eiffel Tower. Matt has created an image featuring several visual tiers: the sky, the crowd, the ground and the reflections. All these layers are held in place by the pin of the tower – the key element that keeps out eye fixed on the image. The fact that the picture is black & white serves to simplify the confusion of all these competing elements.

Here are the Top 50 entries for On the Street – Street Photography:

1 Jevgenijs Scolokovs 50pts
2 Graeme Youngson 49pts
3 Matt Parry 48pts
4 Stuart Meikle 47pts
5 Jennifer Downing 46pts
6 Justin Cliffe 45pts
7 George Fisk 44pts
8 Pat Burns 43pts
9 Ron See 42pts
10 Chris Evans 41pts
11 Dani Noguera 40pts
12 Stephen Higgins 39pts
13 Hayri Kodal 38pts
14 Javan Ng 37pts
15 David Fletcher 36pts
16 Andrew Fusek Peters 35pts
17 Lorraine Heaysman 34pts
18 Tomer Eliash 33pts
19 Marco Gaia 32pts
20 Hakan Olofsson 31pts
21 Cristian Agostini 30pts
22 Ian Cook 29pts
23 George Griffin 28pts
24 Steve Beckett 27pts
25 Robert Dawkins 26pts

26 Anthony Into 25pts
27 Ron Tear 24pts
28 Yasser Mobarak 23pts
29 David Queenan 22pts
30 Roj Whitelock 21pts
31 Peter Yan Ming Yeung 20pts
32 Partha Pal 19pts
33 Tony Evans 18pts
34 Andrew Howe 17pts
35 Daniel Homewood 16pts
36 Steven Robinson 15pts
37 Matthew Kilner 14pts
38 John Rice 13pts
39 Mark Cornick 12pts
40 Ova Hamer 11pts
41 Barbara Bondarenko 10pts
42 Mike Smith 9pts
43 Alf Bailey 8pts
44 Anna Stark 7pts
45 Anthony Jackson 6pts
46 Richard Craze 5pts
47 Geoff Mates 4pts
48 Claire Wilson 3pts
49 Roger Turley 2pts
50 Irina Spagnolo 1pt

See the winning entries in the APOY 2015 Gallery

The 2015 Leaderboard

Due to an oversight in last month’s competition, Lee Acaster’s entry from that month has been discounted. However, he remains in first place followed by Chris Evans who leaps to second place. David Queenan has also jumped up a few places to third position.

Position	Name	Points
1	Lee Acaster	143pts
2	Chris Evans	131pts
3	David Queennan	116pts
4	Graham Borthwick	114pts
5	Matt Parry	113pts
6	Penny Halsall	102pts
7	Adele Spencer	108pts
8	Graeme Youngson	100pts
8	Tomer Eliash	100pts
10	Aaron Bennett	98pts