Results round 2 results Going Abstract
It’s been another great round for APOY 2015. Here are the results for the top 50 images from round 2 Going Abstract
Paul Cooper from Hereford is the winner of our Going Abstract round of APOY 2015. Paul will receive a Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM | A lens with a Sigma EF-610 DG Super flashgun and a Sigma USB Dock. That’s a total retail value of £1,099.97.
The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM | A is the first zoom lens ever to achieve a maximum aperture of f/1.8 throughout the zoom range. It is a wide-aperture, standard zoom lens for DSLR cameras with APS-C-sized sensors. The lens has a focal range equivalent to 27-52.5mm in 35mm format and can cover the angles of view of multiple fixed-focal-length lenses. The lens integrates four aspherical elements into its construction, as well as five Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass elements to help minimise various aberrations and distortions throughout the zoom range, while also providing greater image sharpness and clarity.
The Sigma EF-610 DG Super flashgun 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, while its multifunctional shoe-mount-type flash will work with digital SLR cameras from most popular manufacturers. Among the diverse features of this flash are the autozoom function, which sets the illumination angle in accordance with the focal length of the lens from 24-105mm; TTL exposure control, which automatically regulates the amount of light; swivel-head functions; and light catch panel, which can create a catchlight in the eyes of the subject when the bounce flash mode is activated.
The Sigma USB Dock enables photographers to update firmware (meaning their lens is never ‘out of date’) and customise features of the lens, such as focus, via Sigma Optimization Pro software, which is available as a free download from Sigma’s website. Users can update using easy-to-operate on-screen controls to suit their preferences.
1st Paul Cooper, Hereford 50pts
1st Paul Cooper, Hereford 50pts
Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 28-300mm, 180secs at f/8, ISO 200, Big Stopper ND filter, tripod
When we featured an abstract round in APOY 2013, we were overwhelmed by the response. With this in mind, we knew we had to include an abstract round for 2015. This winning image from Paul Cooper succeeds in that it takes a mundane outdoor pool scene and renders it unfamiliar. Paul used a Big Stopper ND filter and Color Efex Pro to give the picture a weird abstract quality. What’s particularly nice is the consistency of tone – the background is actually the ocean.
2nd Chris Ducker, Dublin 49pts
2nd Chris Ducker, Dublin 49pts
Nikon D300, 70-200mm, 1/25sec at f/5.6, ISO 200
Chris’s shot of a Yorkshire terrier certainly gave Paul’s winning image a run for its money. It’s a brilliant capture that straddles the border between abstract and portraiture. Chris has taken his shot at the optimum moment – meaning we have the right amount of detail for viewers to register that they are seeing a face.
3rd Steve Beckett, Aylesbury 48pts
3rd Steve Beckett, Bucks 48pts
Nikon D7000, 85mm, 1/160sec at f/8, ISO 200, Speedlight
‘The shot is of some bubbles from washing-up liquid backlit by a single Speedlight,’ says Steve. ‘I took a number of shots, with some taken with the white balance set to tungsten in order to give the image a blue tone. In the case of this image, I took it with the correct white balance, but adjusted it to tungsten in Lightroom to achieve the same effect.’
Top 50 entries for Going Abstract:
| 1 Paul Cooper 50pts 2 Chris Ducker 49pts 3 Steve Beckett 48pts 4 Alexey Samoylenko 47pts 5 Martin Rawle 46pts 6 Penny Halsall 45pts 7 Paul Robertson 44pts 8 Karen Wilkinson 43pts 9 Chris Whitelaw 42pts 10 Aaron Yeoman 41pts 11 Christopher Day 40pts 12 Greg Clucas 39pts 13 Bertrand Chombart 38pts 14 Alan Warriner 37pts 15 Piero Serra 36pts 16 John Phelan 35pts 17 Mark Cornick 34pts 18 Martin Shepherd 33pts 19 Stephen Bolton 32pts 20 Christophe Lemieux 31pts 21 Tom Lowe 30pts 22 Matt Emmett 29pts 23 Diogo Ferreira 28pts 24 Kyle Bonallo 27pts 25 Adrian Wai 26pts |
26 Anna Hally 25pts 27 Steven Reid 24pts 28 Louis Little 23pts 29 Christos Tsitouridis 22pts 30 Theunis Viljoen 21pts 31 Chris Thompson 20pts 32 Dusica Paripovic 19pts 33 Ivor Levy 18pts 34 Ron Tear 17pts 35 Vladimir Barvinek 16pts 36 Steve Brewer 15pts 37 Ray Beauchamp 14pts 38 Alan Johnson 13pts 39 Juliet Evans 12pts 40 Mikhail Golovastikov 11pts 41 Mick Davis 10pts 42 Kenneth Houk 9pts 43 Ben Holland 8pts 44 Laura Hacking 7pts 45 Richard Moore 6pts 46 Simon Anderson 5pts 47 Svetlana Volkova 4pts 48 Roger Evans 3pts 49 Sailesh Patel 2pts 50 Jo Oliver 1pt |
View the winning images in the APOY 2015 Gallery
The 2015 Leaderboard
This early on in the competition offers no hints as to how the contest will progress. Steven Reid and Svetlana Volkova are in joint first place, pushing Dave Stewart into joint third position with Paul Cooper. Chris Ducker is joint fifth with Matt Emmett.
| Position | Name | Points |
| 1 | Steven Reid | 53pts |
| 1 | Svetlana Volkova | 53pts |
| 3 | Dave Stewart | 50pts |
| 3 | Paul Cooper | 50pts |
| 5 | Chris Ducker | 49pts |
| 5 | Matt Emmett | 49pts |
| 7 | Steve Beckett | 48pts |
| 7 | Michael Marsh | 48pts |
| 9 | Alexey Samoylenko | 47pts |
| 9 | Alireza Teimoury | 47pts |
