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- When we first decided to include a macro round, we had no idea that this would be the kind of shot that would win. Often we associate macro images with standard – yet always beautiful – images of insects, spiders and plants. However, in Aaron’s highly atmospheric image we find that he has given us a shot that in the simplest way communicates, in his own words, ‘the immense power of nature’. The mighty thorns contrast perfectly with the delicate hairs that adorn the branch. It says a lot about the dual faces of nature. There’s a dark and moody atmosphere to the image that guarantees you’ll want to look at it again and again. It’s a great shot and more than deserves to take first place in this round.
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- In second place we have a softly lit and almost otherworldly shot of the fruit and husk from a plant from the Physalis genus, probably from a ground cherry species. Claire’s image was an instant standout for a number of the judges. There’s an ethereal quality to the shot that draws you in and keeps you engaged in an oddly dreamlike way. This picture shows what you can do with the right subject and the right light. The shallow depth of field has, in a very soft way, given the image a three-dimensional feel.
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- Lee Acaster has scored well throughout this year’s APOY. He’s a photographer who has a natural affinity with the outdoors and a keen eye for those details many of us would miss. ‘I was shooting at Shingle Street in Suffolk to capture the sunrise when I noticed the delicate ice crystals on the frozen pebbles below catching the first light,’ says Lee of this shot. So many of us would choose to ignore these pebbles, but here Lee has shown there’s beauty to be found everywhere.
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- There is such an extraordinary depth to this image. The silhouetted tree is a perfect background to this spider spinning a new home
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- With such a shallow depth of field, the light on this hoverfly’s wings is verging on bokeh
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- The pin-sharp focus on the web, the gorgeous bokeh and the delicate light are all wonderful components of this stunning image
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- The monochrome works perfectly to emphasise the extraordinary details of the spider. The out-of-focus webbing provides a gorgeous frame
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- This image of a water lily is a great demonstration of how the bokeh effect can be achieved using shallow focus and a beautiful, clear spread of water
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- The combination of natural environment, feather, raindrops and black & white all add up to a strangely melancholic scene
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- Graham took this shot to demonstrate that there is an incredible variety of insect life to be found in any UK garden
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- As Callan says, the best feature here is the fact that the web is inferred only by the tiny water droplets that cling to the silk
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- Paul’s unusual shot took a more abstract approach to the theme of macro and has paid off beautifully in this monochrome shot of water droplets
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- Paul must have moved slowly and quietly to capture this shot of a skittish fly cleaning itself on a petal. The eyes are in very sharp focus
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- This snail is an excellent subject for macro photography. The angle is dynamic and offers the scene a sense of movement
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- The really extraordinary macro element here is the texture and pattern of the leaf
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- The simple yet endlessly fascinating structure of a snail shell makes a perfect subject
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- By using a shallow depth of focus, Val has isolated this single snowdrop
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- Sarah-Fiona must have lightning reactions and a very keen eye to capture this hoverfly
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- This is such a well-observed scene. The slender (if slimy) body of the snail fits and moves beautifully along the edge of the leaf
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- This fly is expelling a large drop of digestive juices from its mouth parts, possibly as a result of having fed on the adjacent flowers
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- ‘Coupled with the light raking across at an angle, the leaf looks almost like a landscape,’ says Mike
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- Macro can give us insight into the creatures that inhabit nature, as we see here in this specimen photographed in a butterfly garden
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- Here John used CamRanger stacking software. The process took 120 shots to give the extreme depth of field
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- This extraordinary shot revels in the rich yellow of the petals, which serve as a perfect contrast to the deep hues in the centre of the flower
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- Diogo’s image works so well because the tonal range allows us to focus on the flower’s form
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- This little spider’s body adds a tiny splash of colour against the monochrome of the paper
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- ‘The fly landed as I was framing a separate shot,’ says Chris. ‘I thought the back lighting was amazing, so I snapped away.’
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- Here we see that Chris has included plenty of negative space in order to give his main subject abundant breathing space within the overall frame
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- Adele’s image has given us a sense of this insect’s day-to-day life as it busies itself within its environment
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- Neil took this image of a teasel flower by the light of the afternoon sun
Here are results for the top 50 results for APOY 2015 Round 5, Up Close – Macro
Aaron Bennett from Hampshire is the winner of Round Five (macro plants, insects and arachnids) of APOY 2015, and wins a Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM APO Macro lens worth £1,000. The 150mm is a high-performance macro lens designed for full-frame cameras, but it may also be used with smaller APS-C size sensors with a corresponding effective increase in focal length to about 225mm with most cameras.
Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX DG OS
The Sigma 150mm f/2.8 is a large-aperture medium telephoto macro lens that incorporates Sigma’s Optical Stabiliser technology. As the successor to the 150mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM APO Macro, which was introduced in October 2004, the new OS design offers the latest optical technology.
A floating focusing system moves two different lens groups in the optical path to different positions. This system compensates for astigmatic and spherical aberration, and provides extremely high optical performance from infinity to 1:1 macro. The focal length for this lens can be increased due to its compatibility with Sigma APOTele Converters.
Three SLD (Special Low Dispersion) glass elements provide excellent correction of all types of aberrations and the Super Multi-Layer Coating reduces flare and ghosting. The Sigma 150mm f/2.8 has superior peripheral brightness and provides sharp, high-contrast images, even at the maximum apertures. The HSM ensures accurate, quiet, high-speed autofocusing, while the OS compensates for camera shake.
The combination of a long focal length (and thereby good working distance between lens and subject), high sharpness even at full aperture and optical image stabilisation make this lens perfect for catching dragonflies, butterflies and other elusive insects, even when you’re shooting handheld. However, the lens is also excellent for photographing plants or portraits when you want to achieve a soft and pleasant blurry background.
Our congratulations also go to Claire Willans from Durham who was second, and Lee Acaster, Suffolk who took third place.
1st Aaron Bennett, Hampshire 50pts
1st Aaron Bennett, Hampshire 50pts
Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 100mm, 1/640sec at f/4, ISO 640
When we first decided to include a macro round, we had no idea that this would be the kind of shot that would win. Often we associate macro images with standard – yet always beautiful – images of insects, spiders and plants. However, in Aaron’s highly atmospheric image we find that he has given us a shot that in the simplest way communicates, in his own words, ‘the immense power of nature’. The mighty thorns contrast perfectly with the delicate hairs that adorn the branch. It says a lot about the dual faces of nature. There’s a dark and moody atmosphere to the image that guarantees you’ll want to look at it again and again. It’s a great shot and more than deserves to take first place in this round.
2nd Claire Willans, Durham 49pts
2nd Claire Willans, Durham 49pts
Nikon D800, 24-85mm, 0.8sec at f/4.35, ISO 100
In second place we have a softly lit and almost otherworldly shot of the fruit and husk from a plant from the Physalis genus, probably from a ground cherry species. Claire’s image was an instant standout for a number of the judges. There’s an ethereal quality to the shot that draws you in and keeps you engaged in an oddly dreamlike way. This picture shows what you can do with the right subject and the right light. The shallow depth of field has, in a very soft way, given the image a three-dimensional feel.
3rd Lee Acaster, Suffolk, 48pts
3rd Lee Acaster, Suffolk, 48pts
Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 100mm, 1/100secs at f/2.8, ISO 100
Lee Acaster has scored well throughout this year’s APOY. He’s a photographer who has a natural affinity with the outdoors and a keen eye for those details many of us would miss. ‘I was shooting at Shingle Street in Suffolk to capture the sunrise when I noticed the delicate ice crystals on the frozen pebbles below catching the first light,’ says Lee of this shot. So many of us would choose to ignore these pebbles, but here Lee has shown there’s beauty to be found everywhere.
Here are the Top 50 entries for :
| 1 Aaron Bennett 50pts 2 Claire Willans 49pts 3 Lee Acaster 48pts 4 Tellache Meriem 47pts 5 Alison Lythgoe 46pts 6 Jevgenijs scolokovs 45pts 7 Chris Wood 44pts 8 Alexey Samoylenko 43pts 9 Steven Robinson 42pts 10 Graham Borthwick 41pts 11 Callan Stroud 40pts 12 Paul Henni 39pts 13 Paul Foster 38pts 14 Brian Mcdonnell 37pts 15 Mark Hamilton 36pts 16 Nicholas Smith 35pts 17 Val Lear 34pts 18 Sarah Fiona Helme 33pts 19 Sharon Repton 32pts 20 Malcolm Hay 31pts 21 Mike Martin 30pts 22 Csilla Szucs 29pts 23 John Hartshorne 28pts 24 Rory McDonald 27pts 25 Diogo Ferreira 26pts |
26 Penny Halsall 25pts 27 Chris Williams 24pts 28 Chris Sweet 23pts 29 Adele Spencer 22pts 30 Neil Davies 21pts 31 Jo Oliver 20pts 32 Adonis Stevenson 19pts 33 Amanda Hawes 18pts 34 Des Lloyd 17pts 35 Graeme Youngson 16pts 36 Matt Emmett 15pts 37 Sam Gaunt 14pts 38 Andrew Fusek Peters 13pts 39 Ewan Richards 12pts 40 David Queenan 11pts 41 Des Gardner 10pts 42 Roger Evans 9pts 43 Hazel Byatt 8pts 44 Andrew J Ford 7pts 45 Derek Rutherford 6pts 46 AdrianMills 5pts 47 Bagus Wijanarko 4pts 48 David Fairhead 3pts 49 Andrew Williams 2pts 50 David Ball 1pt |
See the winning entries in the APOY 2015 Gallery
The 2015 Leaderboard
Lee Acaster, who took third place in this round, remains in first place on the overall league table for APOY 2015. Graham Borthwick has moved up the board to second place, and in third place we find Penny Halsall who has moved down one position.
| Position | Name | Points |
| 1 | Lee Acaster | 191pts |
| 2 | Graham Borthwick | 114pts |
| 3 | Penny Halsall | 102pts |
| 4 | Adele Spencer | 100pts |
| 5 | Aaron Bennett | 97pts |
| 5 | Matt Emmett | 97pts |
| 7 | Dave Stewart | 96pts |
| 8 | David Queenan | 94pts |
| 9 | Alexey Samoylenko | 90pts |
| 9 | Chris Evans | 90pts |
