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Judging panel

All images submitted to APOY 2022 will be reviewed by our panel of photography experts from Amateur Photographer magazine, joined by some special guest judges for individual rounds.

Nigel Atherton

Nigel Atherton

Editor, Amateur Photographer magazine

Nigel studied photography at Plymouth College of Art & Design and the University of Westminster, and was a professional photographer for over 10 years before joining Amateur Photographer magazine in 1994. He was appointed editor of sister title What Digital Camera in 2002, and Editor of Amateur Photographer in 2013.

Matt Barker

Matt Barker

MPB founder

Matt combined his two passions, photography and maths, to create MPB from what started as a student project whilst studying Economics at the University of Warwick.

Since founding MPB in 2011, Matt has scaled MPB through 3 rounds of funding to 200+ employees based out of Brighton in the UK, Berlin in Germany & New York in the US. MPB is now the world's largest online platform for photographers & videographers to buy, sell and trade kit, circulating more than 300,000 items of used kit every year. Matt is on a mission to make photography kit more accessible, more affordable and more sustainable for visual storytellers around the globe.

Amy Davies

Amy Davies

Features Editor, Amateur Photographer magazine

Amy has been working in the photography industry since 2009 working across a variety of photography titles. Currently one of the Features Editors for Amateur Photographer, she also freelances for many other publications, using and reviewing all of the latest photography equipment. She has been a photographer for just over 15 years, and has had her images published in a wide variety of magazines and books, as well as exhibiting her work in a number of exhibitions.

Geoff Harris

Geoff Harris

Deputy Editor, Amateur Photographer magazine

Geoff is the Deputy Editor of AP and a veteran photography journalist with over 20 years magazine experience. He is the former editor of Digital Camera and PhotoPlus magazines, and is also a keen photographer. Geoff reached the finals of the 2016 Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year competition, and also runs a successful wedding and portrait photography business in his spare time.

Ailsa McWhinnie

Ailsa McWhinnie

Project Manager, APOY Awards

Ailsa’s first job in photography magazines was back in 1994. Since then, she has gone on to work on a number of titles, and she edited Black & White Photography magazine for its first seven years. She has also authored and edited a number of books, including bestseller The Complete Photography Manual. Although she still harbours a love of film photography and darkroom printing, she has recently (finally) dipped her toe into digital.

Jessica Miller

Jessica Miller

Deputy Online Editor, Amateur Photographer magazine

Jessica studied Fine Art at Loughborough University, where she specialised in photography. She has continued her photographic practice, which involves street, travel and landscape genres, using both digital and film. She also enjoys multiple exposures and intentional camera movement. In 2020, Jessica also studied MA Museums, Galleries and Contemporary Culture at University of Westminster, where she curated the online photography exhibition Materiality Exposed and graduated with Distinction. She joined Amateur Photographer in 2021.

Jennie Ricketts

Jennie Ricketts

Photography editor

With more than 30 years’ experience, Jennie Ricketts is an independent photography editor, curator, consultant and mentor. For 17 of those years she was a picture researcher and then picture editor at The Observer Magazine, commissioning and editing photography which attracted international recognition and widespread publication. She launched the Jennie Ricketts Gallery in Brighton in 2006 while writing and lecturing, and now operates from County Wicklow, Ireland, as an online space representing international photographers. She is currently a Trustee for Autograph ABP and The Martin Parr Foundation.

Mike Will

Mike Will

Guest judge for Round One, Low Ligh

Your guest judge for Round One, Low Light, is Mike Will, a creative photographer known for his vibrant urban style. Based in London but travelling all over the world to create content and energetic brand campaigns, his portfolio includes night cityscapes, travel, landscapes, music festivals and portraits. Mike has become known for his unique editing style and for creating a global photography community, @world.shooters.

Steve Gosling

Steve Gosling

Guest judge for Round Two, Black & White

Your guest judge for Round Two, Black & White, is Steve Gosling. Steve is a professional photographer who specialises in black & white images. His photographs have been widely published internationally and his fine-art prints have been exhibited in venues in the UK and overseas. His work has also won many awards. He enjoys writing and teaching about photography, and has run a successful workshop programme for over 20 years, encouraging and inspiring photographers from across the world. Steve is an Ambassador for Gitzo and Permajet inkjet papers as well as being a Lee Filters Master. Visit www.stevegoslingphotography.co.uk

Philip Lee Harvey

Philip Lee Harvey

Guest judge for Round Three, Travel

Philip is a London based photographer and director whose work has been published in The Telegraph, Lonely Planet magazine, Vanity Fair, Tatler and GEO. He is also a contributing photographer for Condé Nast Traveler magazine. Philip believes his work should capture the spirit of the people he meets, and the soul of the places he travels. Visit www.philipleeharvey.com

Verity Milligan

Verity Milligan

Guest judge for Round Four, Landscape

Verity is a professional photographer based in Birmingham. She is happiest when outdoors at sunrise, chasing atmospheric conditions. Whenever possible, she loves to explore the natural world, both in the UK and beyond. Professionally, Verity regularly works on commissions for a range of international organisations and she also leads photography tours. Visit www.veritymilliganphotography.com

Peter Dench

Peter Dench

Guest judge for Round Five, Best of British

Your guest judge for Round Five, Best of British, is Peter Dench. A regular contributor to AP, Peter is a UK-based photographer, writer, presenter, educator and curator. His accolades include a World Press Photo award for his reportage, Drinking of England. Solo books include Alcohol & England and The British Abroad. He has also been commissioned to write by the New Yorker, Telegraph magazine and a number of photography journals.

Tracy Calder

Tracy Calder

Guest judge for Round Six, Close-Up

Your guest judge for Round Six, Close-Up, is Tracy Calder. Tracy has more than 20 years of experience in the photo magazine industry, and is a former editor of Outdoor Photography. 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, as well as on the walls of The Photographers’ Gallery and The National Portrait Gallery in London. To find out more visit Instagram: @cupoty, @tracy_calder_photo.

Denise Maxwell

Denise Maxwell

Guest judge for Round Seven, People

Your guest judge for Round Seven, People, is Denise Maxwell. A full-time photographer for more than ten years, Denise left her job in the NHS to specialise in events and portrait photography, but now works in other fields, including sport, fashion, wedding and music. She has photographed the likes of Barack Obama, Usain Bolt and Lewis Hamilton, and has worked for clients including the BBC, Starling Bank and the Commonwealth Games. See more of her work at lensi.co.uk and on Instagram @lensi_photography

Tesni Ward

Tesni Ward

Guest judge for Round Eight, Wildlife

Your guest judge for Round Eight, Wildlife, is Tesni Ward. Tesni is an award-winning professional wildlife photographer and OM SYSTEM ambassador based on the outskirts of the Peak District. While the majority of her work focuses on British wildlife, she also photographs projects across the world and has aspirations to promote conservation and education through her images. See more of her work at tesniward.co.uk and on Instagram @tesniward

Damien Demolder

Damien Demolder

Guest judge for Round Nine, Street

Your guest judge for Round Nine, Street, is Damien Demolder. Damien is a photographer, journalist and photographic equipment expert, speaker, judge and educator. He has worked in the photographic publishing industry since 1997, including 15 years as editor of Amateur Photographer. He’s a fan of products that make good photography more accessible to more people, and although he specialises in street photography, he also shoots portraits, landscapes, architecture, natural macro and occasionally even wildlife and weddings.

Will Cheung

Will Cheung

Guest judge for Round Ten, Action

Your guest judge for Round Ten, Action, is Will Cheung, who is a regular competition judge and exhibition selector. Earlier this year, he selected for the Edinburgh International Print Exhibition and has been a selector for the Trierenberg Super Circuit on several occasions. He is Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and is currently a member of the Travel distinctions panel. See more at www.williamcheung.co.uk
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