APOY 2016 Round 4: Scary Monsters – Wildlife and Pets

It’s another strong month for APOY 2016 as we present the top 30 images from round four of the competition

The wildlife round of our APOY competition is always a tricky one to judge. Wildlife and pets are a constant source of fascination for photographers, with good reason. The myriad behaviours, textures and colours of the animal kingdom are extremely attractive to those looking to create engaging and dynamic images. These subjects also allow the photographer to capture their often interesting environmental contexts, as we’ll see over the following pages.

But, as always, there can only be one winner. The champion of the Wildlife and Pets round of APOY 2016, is Csilla Szucs, from Bath. Csilla will receive a Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM | C lens worth £1,199.99.

The Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM | C delivers the optical and action-capture performance professional photographers require. It is lightweight, with a compact construction for higher usability.

Its optical performance has been enhanced by the incorporation of one FLD and three SLD glass elements, optimisation of the lens power distribution and minimised chromatic aberration of magnification.

In addition, distortion throughout the entire focal range is well compensated. In order to make it a hyper-telephoto zoom lens portable enough for handheld shooting in the field, it is dust and splash-proof, and incorporates a detachable tripod socket for higher usability.

The new zoom-lock switch enables the zoom ring to be locked at any focal length. For example, it can be fixed at the photographer’s desirable focal length, permitting stable shooting whether the lens is positioned upwards or downwards. It also helps during long-exposure photography.

In addition, the lens incorporates a water and oil-repellent coating that allows water to be wiped away easily, and prevents oil and fat from sticking to the surface, even in challenging shooting conditions. At the same time, the maintenance of the lens surface becomes easier.

APOY 2016 Round 4: Scary Monsters – Wildlife and Pets

1st Csilla Szucs, Bath 50pts

Samsung NX30, 60mm, 1/125sec at f/32, ISO 400

‘Sweet Trap’ is a great image from Csilla Szucs, who lives in Bath. ‘I put a mirror on a table and then some syrup on the glass in order to lure the wasps,’ she says. ‘I then prepared myself with my macro lens, getting as close as possible to the table. It was a sunny day, so the blue sky was reflecting on the mirror, which gave a nice background for the wasps eating the syrup.’

2nd David Travis, Staffordshire 49pts

Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 50mm, 1/5,000sec at f/2, ISO 2,000

It was difficult choosing a winner of this round, but we knew right away that this image would be near the top. ‘I spotted some birds flying in and out of a shaft of light,’ says David of this rather excellent image. ‘I prefocused my camera and then waited for one of the birds to enter the light.’

3rd Petr Ritschel, Czech Republic 48pts

Nikon D70, 70-300mm, 1/250sec at f/5.6, ISO 200

This was another shot that really captured the eyes of the judges. There’s a lot of character and narrative present in what is, on the surface, a simple shot. Everything about it has come together – the seating position and the hanging head of the monkey, the drenched fur, the background thrown perfectly out of focus and the streaks of rain that provide us with a lovely context.

Here are the top 50 entries for this APOY 2016 Round 4: Scary Monsters – Wildlife

1 Csilla Szucs 50pts 2 David Travis 49pts 3 Petr Ritschel 48pts 4 Adam Zoltan Nagy 47pts 5 Grant Hyatt 46pts 6 George Digalakis 45pts 7 Steve Thomas 44pts 8 Dominic Beaven 43pts 9 Russ Barnes 42pts 10 Molly Hollman 41pts 11 David Kitson 40pts 12 Adrian Clarke 39pts 13 Anthony Hammond 38pts 14 Ian Webb 37pts 15 Adrian Mills 36pts 16 Alan Warriner 35pts 17 Fearghal Breathnach 34pts 18 Martin Tosh 33pts 19 Adam Stephenson 32pts 20 Bruce Jones 31pts 21 Richard Eyers 30pts 22 Michael Marsh 29pts 23 Sigita Playdon 28pts 24 Lol Cain 27pts 25 Sandy Scott 26pts

26 Iain McConnell 25pts 27 Mike Morley 24pts 28 Ova Hamer 23pts 29 Penny Halsall 22pts 30 Svetlana Volkova 21pts 31 Mick Davis 20pts 32 Andrew Kelsick 19pts 33 Steve Minshull 18pts 34 David Fletcher 17pts 35 Jevgenijs Scolokovs 16pts 36 Sam Potter 15pts 37 Adele Spencer 14pts 38 Anita Nicholson 13pts 39 Herbert Freedom 12pts 40 Alan Novelli 11pts 41 Richard Moore 10pts 42 Steve Ingham 9pts 43 Andrew Small 8pts 44 Craig Goldie 7pts 45 Dylan Nardini 6pts 46 Tom White 5pts 47 Caroline de Kock 4pts 48 Chris Jenkins 3pts 49 Paul Rose 2pts 50 Vlad Georgescu 1pt

The 2016 Leaderboard

In first place we have  Penny Halsall with 106 points, and in second place, with 100 points, is George Digalakis. In third place, with 95 points, is Russ Barnes and in joint fourth sits Bertrand Chombart and David Fletcher, each with 94 points.

Position	Name	Points
1	Penny Halsall	106pts
2	George Diagalakis	100pts
3	Russ Barns	95pts
4	Bertrand Chombart	94pts
4	David Fletcher	94pts
6	Adam Zoltan Nagy	90pts
7	Dominic Beaven	87pts
8	Adrian Mills	86pts
9	Tomer Eliash	84pts
10	Fearghaal Breathnach	78pts

This is only the fourth round of this year’s APOY there are five more to enter and win prizes from Sigma.