*******NOT FINISHED*******

Due to my recent success in the very prestigious amateur photography competition (APOY) I have chosen to to write my first blog based on my entries and why i submitted them.

Sadly I started the competition 2 months late so missed the first 2 rounds. 

Round 1 : No entry submitted

Round 2 : No entry submitted

Round 3: Portrait 7th Place 44pts

The theme of Round 3 was ‘Soul love’ I submitted the following photo because of the models eyes and some cultures believe the eyes are a window to your soul.

Round 4: Wildlife 8th Place 43pts

The theme of Round 4 was ‘Scary monsters’. The following photo was taken during a ‘big cat’ workshop. At the time the Jaguar was very worked up and was hard to capture a sharp shoot as she was constantly moving around the enclosure. Eventually she settled down in the corner and the lighting here was perfect to capture this very subtle portrait.

Round 5: Macro ‘Little Wonder’ - No points scored

Unfortunately my photo failed to impress the judges on this occasion, this was possibly due to the picture showing lots of noise or to much going on in the background, being very new to the world of macro photography i opted for the cheaper option and used extension tubes with my canon 70-200mm f2.8ii so i could still keep a good distance from the insects without spooking them.

 I actually couldn’t decide on an image to go with so instead of going with my gut instinct i went with the photo the majority favoured.

What i learned from this is next time get a proper macro lens and go with my gut instinct. 

Round 6: Landscape/Cityscape ‘A small plot of land’ 6th Place 45pts

Here is a shot of probably one of my favourite architectural structures in London. I have been to this location in the past and knew the shot i wanted so it was just a case of planning the day so the sun was in the right location and the clouds were just right for a long exposure using my 10 stop filter. 

I arrived in good time and it was simply a case of making sure the coast was clear of security guards and quickly setting up and and taking the shot, i was lucky this day as no security were in sight when i arrived so i was able to take my time and i’m happy it paid off.

Round 7: Street Photography ‘Big brother’ - No points scored

I was actually really happy with this shot especially after the amount of planning i had put into it with regards to the theme,time of day and location so was disappointed when it didn’t impress the judges.

Round 8: Black & White ‘Blackout’ - No points scored

Overall place 6th with 132 points