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We’re already on Round 4 of APOY 2015. Here are results for the top 50 results for In Focus – Shallow Depth of Field

Mark Cornick from Shepperton, Surrey, is the winner of our In Focus round of APOY 2015 and wins a Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM | A. This lens has set a new standard for Sigma’s Art line. With a large f/1.4 aperture, the Sigma 50mm prime lens is a pro-level performer. A Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) ensures quiet, smooth and accurate autofocusing, and when paired with Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass and Super Multi-Layer coating, the 50mm f/1.4 is a high-performance lens for modern DSLR sensors.

round 4 in focus

Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM | A lens, an EF-610 DG ST electronic flash and USB dock

Its high resolution makes it perfect for the high-megapixel era. Resolution is extremely crisp at the area in focus, while both front and rear bokeh are silky smooth. Offering the ultra-high performance that characterises the Art line, this lens inherits the design principles of the line’s first model, the flagship Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM. While maximising resolution at the area in focus, this lens offers a bokeh effect to the front and rear. To achieve exceptionally crisp resolution, Sigma has minimised sagittal coma flare, chromatic aberration, and every other type of optical aberration that affects image quality. The result is minute detail without bleeding or streaking, even at the maximum aperture.

Mark also takes home a Sigma EF-610 DG ST flash that 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. The autozoom function automatically sets the optimum illumination angle in accordance with the focal length of the lens, in a range from 24mm to 105mm.

Lastly, Mark wins a Sigma USB Dock that enables photographers to update the lens firmware and customise features of the lens. The adjustment is processed with specially designed software, Sigma Optimization Pro, available as a free download from Sigma’s website.

That’s a total prize value of £1,059.97 for Round Four.

Our congratulations also go to Lee Acaster from Suffolk, who was second, and John Crongeyer from Germany, in third place.

APOY 2015 Results In Focus

1st Mark Cornick, Shepperton 50pts

1st Mark Cornick, Surrey 50pts

Canon EOS 6D, 24-70mm, 1/50sec at f/4, ISO 320

For this round we wanted you to show us some of your most beautiful and unique experiments with shallow depth of field. This is perhaps our strongest round so far, which made it a little difficult to select just one winner. However, needs must, and here we have our first-prize image by Mark Cornick. It’s a beautiful interpretation of the brief, and, in Mark’s own words, is his attempt to bring a new lease of life to the classic sunset image. This saw Mark experimenting with a variety of techniques before striking gold with this one.

APOY 2015 In Focus

2nd Lee Acaster, Suffolk 49pts

2nd Lee Acaster, Suffolk 49pts

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 70-200mm, 1/80sec at f/2.8, ISO 100

Lee’s description of his shot is simple: ‘The last remnants of foliage hanging on in a winter woodland’. What’s interesting is that Lee has combined the shallow depth of field with the diffusing qualities of the winter mist. This means that our attention is held firmly on the central subject of this haunting and fairytale-like scene.

APOY 2015 In Focus

3rd John Crongeyer, Germany 48pts

3rd John Crongeyer, Germany 48pts

Canon EOS 60D Mark III, 70-200mm, 1/160sec at f/4, ISO 250

Insects and arachnids are such popular subjects that it can often be difficult to find new and interesting ways to photograph them. However, John has really found himself an incredible shot here. The image was taken just outside his bathroom window, and with the angle of the web and the shallow depth of field, John has given us a dynamic and unique shot of a spider.

Here are the Top 50 entries for In Focus – Shallow Depth of Field:

1 Mark Cornick 50pts
2 Lee Acaster 49pts
3 John Crongeyer 48pts
4 Aaron Bennett 47pts
5 Lorraine Heaysman 46pts
6 Chris Evans 45pts
7 Ivan Vukelic 44pts
8 Andrew Fusek Peters 43pts
9 Pawel Pentlinowski 42pts
10 Rory McDonald 41pts
11 Phil Moon 40pts
12 Yehya Belhadad 39pts
13 Penny Halsall 38pts
14 Matt Walkley 37pts
15 Richard Craze 36pts
16 Adrian Clarke 35pts
17 Nick Neuenhaus 34pts
18 Kathryn Truepenny 33pts
19 Bertrand Chombart 32pts
20 Gareth Williams 31pts
21 Ron Tear 30pts
22 Gonçalo De Carvalho 29pts
23 Matt A Revell 28pts
24 Graham Borthwick 27pts
25 Peter Murrell 26pts
26 Steven Robinson 25pts
27 Svetlana Volkova 24pts
28 Andrew Williams 23pts
29 Tomer Eliash 22pts
30 Cristian Agostini 21pts
31 Sam Maynard 20pts
32 Lucie Brooke 19pts
33 Adrian Sadlier 18pts
34 Edward Noble 17pts
35 Derek Robertson 16pts
36 Val Lear 15pts
37 Matthew Carmody 14pts
38 Krys Wakefield 13pts
39 Alessandro Calcioli 12pts
40 Valentina Stoumpou 11pts
41 Alan Martin 10pts
42 Michal Namysl 9pts
43 Peter C Jones 8pts
44 Diogo Ferreira 7pts
45 Tony Cook 6pts
46 Julian Fraser 5pts
47 Luke Wood 4pts
48 Marino Reljica Kostic 3pts
49 Claire Allfrey 2pts
50 Samuel Raybone 1pt

View the winnng images in the APOY 2015 Gallery

The 2015 Leaderboard

Lee Acaster is in first position with Penny Halsall following in second place. Dave Stewart, who last month was in first place, has fallen to third place. Chris Evans has shot up to fourth position with Phil Moon following close behind.

Position Name Points
1 Lee Acaster  143pts
2 Penny Halsall  102pts
3 Dave Stewart    96pts
4 Chris Evans    90pts
5 Phil Moon    85pts
6 Mark Cornick    84pts
7 David Queenan    83pts
7 Elisa Bortolotti    83pts
9 Matt Emmett    82pts
10 Adele Spencer    78pts
APOY 2015

APOY 2015 Round 4 Results In Focus