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Brief
Black & white photography has always proved popular. When we remove colour from the equation, the rules of composition, framing and lighting shift their parameters and require you to see the world in a very different way. Many photographers who work exclusively in black & white maintain that colour is a distraction. Remove it and the viewer is free to focus on the graphic elements, such as angles, shapes, lines and textures. Light is the other key factor here. When black & white and atmospheric lighting combine, the power of an image can seem all-enveloping. You’d do well to look at the work of black & white photography masters, such as André Kertész, Bill Brandt, Michael Kenna and Sebastião Salgado.
Whilst our main focus here is on black & white, please note that we use the word ‘monochrome’ meaning that we’ll also accept images using toning, such as sepia. Bear in mind that not every subject will necessarily work, so give some real thought to what you choose to shoot.
The panel's 1st place photographer will win over £1000 of Sigma products, and the crowd's 1st place will win year-long subscriptions to Amateur Photographer magazine and Photocrowd.
The brief in detail
To qualify for entry into APOY your primary income must not be from photography or photographic services.
Prize details
The judging panel's winner will receive the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM | Art (£749.99) + Sigma EF-610 Super Flashgun (£259.99) (If winner is based outside EU, they will have to pay for any customs charges that may be charged on shipping).
The crowd-vote winner will receive a year-long subscription to Amateur Photographer magazine (worth over £100), as well as a year-long master-level subscription to Photocrowd (worth £120).
The Grand Prize winner of the entire APOY 2017 series will get their hands on over £2000 of Sigma gear: the SIGMA 85mm F1.4 DG HSM Art (£1199.99) + the SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG HSM Art (799.99) + the SIGMA USB Dock (£39.99). Total Grand Prize value: £2,039.97.
How it works
Every photo submitted will be available for the crowd to rate once the submissions period has ended. In this contest, the entries are hidden until the rating period begins.
Some contests on Photocrowd also have a judge. After the submission period closes the judge chooses their favourite images and writes some image reviews. The crowd and judge results will be announced on the same day.
- Entries closed
- 29 April 2017
- Rating
- 29 April 2017 to 12 May 2017
- Winners announced
- 12 May 2017
For a more detailed explanation of how rating works, see our FAQs
Explore other Amateur Photographer of the Year 2017 contests