APOY 2023 Macro round open for entries!

Round Three of Amateur Photographer of the Year 2023 is now open! The theme is Macro. Submit your best close-up and macro photography to our APOY 2023 competition, find out how below

Macro requires a balance of technical and creative ability, while providing an insight into a world that is often impossible to appreciate with the naked eye. If photographing a living creature, take the time to study and understand its behaviour, so you don’t cause it distress. Ethics is crucial. And there’s no need to restrict yourself to plants or creatures. We also want to see impressionistic still-lifes and abstract landscapes. Anything goes, as long as it’s taken in close-up.

Amateur Photographer of the Year 2023 (APOY) – Round Three, Macro

Your guest judge, Tracy Calder

Your guest judge for Round Three, Macro, is Tracy Calder. Tracy has more than 20 years of experience in the photo magazine industry. In 2018 she co-founded Close-up Photographer of the Year, an international competition celebrating close-up, macro and micro photography (www.cupoty.com). She has written numerous photography books, and her work has appeared in more than 20 consumer magazines. Instagram: @cupoty, @tracy_calder_photo

Molly Hollman’s magical multiple-exposure close-up of an anemone won her first prize in last year’s macro round

ENTER AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2023 HERE.

The closing date for this round is 2nd May 2023.

Need some guidance for your Macro APOY 2023 entries? See all of our guides here, or check these out:

Complete guide to Macro Photography – How to create great macro photos

Macro photography lighting tips

Everyday objects as alternative macro subjects

Young Amateur Photographer of the Year 2023

For the third time, we are running an APOY Young Photographer of the Year competition, in order to encourage our up-and-coming snappers. Entrants should be 21 years old or younger by the competition’s final closing date of 13 November 2023. All the categories are the same as for the main competition – simply select the Young APOY option on Photocrowd when you upload your images. This category is free to enter; each category winner receives a £250 voucher, and the overall winner receives a voucher for £500 to spend at MPB.

close-up portrait of emerald damselfly winners young apoy 2023 macro

Gustav Parenmark won the Macro round of APOY 2022 with this close-up of an emerald damselfly

ENTER YOUNG AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2023 – ROUND THREE MACRO

APOY 2023, Camera Club award

Do you belong to a camera club? You can accumulate points for your society when you enter APOY, and after all ten rounds are complete, the one with the most points wins a £500 voucher to spend at MPB, and a Rotolight NEO 3 Pro Imagemaker Kit worth £650. The kit includes one NEO 3 Pro, a custom NPF-770 battery, a pouch, diffuser dome, ballhead and cold shoe. It’s the brightest LED on-camera light ever made, and comes in a compact form factor you can take anywhere.

Plan your APOY 2023 entries

Below is a list of all this year’s rounds, including opening and closing dates:

Round One, Black & White: Opens 8th February. Closes 6th March

Round Two, Travel: Opens 7th March. Closes 3rd April

Now open: Round Three, Macro: Opens 4th April. Closes 2nd May

Round Four, Landscapes: Opens 3rd May. Closes 30th May

Round Five, Portraits: Opens 31st May. Closes 26th June

Round Six, Architecture: Opens 27th June. Closes 24th July

Round Seven, Street: Opens 25th July. Closes 21st August

Round Eight, Wildlife: Opens 22nd August. Closes 18 September

Round Nine, Action: Opens 19 September. Closes 16 October

Round Ten, Low Light: Opens 17 October. Closes 13 November

Amateur Photographer of the Year 2023 – What could you win?

The winner of each round of APOY 2023 receives a £500 voucher to spend on anything at MPB, with vouchers for £100 and £50 going to second and third places respectively. The weather-sealed Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM has hybrid optical image stabilisation, correcting for shake horizontally and vertically. It is capable of 1:1 magnification, and the quiet autofocus is fast and accurate. Ideal for macro work, this lens is available from MPB for £499 in excellent condition.

EF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro USM

For mirrorless users, the weather-resistant Fujifilm XF 80mm f/2.8 R Macro has a 120mm-equivalent view. It has five stops of stabilisation, quiet autofocus, and life-size reproduction is offered at the 25cm minimum focus. Find one at MPB from £594 to £849, depending on condition.

Nikon Z5 with 24-50mm lens

With its 5-axis in-body stabilisation and a silent-shooting mode, the Nikon Z 5 is described by AP as ‘one of the most appealing entry-level full-frame mirrorless cameras available’. It is robust and weather-sealed. Find it at MPB for £934 in like-new condition.

See our pick of the best macro lenses for mirrorless and DSLRs

Check out mpb.com to take your pick from thousands of items of second-hand gear at MPB.