Your chance to enter the UK’s most prestigious competition for amateur photographers

How to enter APOY 2011 by email

Welcome to Amateur Photographer of the Year 2011 in association with Canon. Whether you are a regular APOY entrant or have never entered before, now is your chance to submit an image and see if you can win one of Canon?s flagship cameras.

We?re looking for original, imaginative and technically well-executed images that explore the theme in an exciting way. We have included a table outlining the themes for each round, plus the closing dates and the issues in which the results will appear. In the first issue and online every month we will publish a brief explaining the criteria for that round.

Our judges will narrow down the images to a shortlist of 50, and will look again at the images and award points for creativity, technical excellence and how far the image fulfils the brief. The three images with the most points will win the top three prizes for that round. The top 30 highest scoring images will be published in the magazine at the end of the month and the scores from the top 50 finalists will be added to our league table. The names of the top 50 finalists and their points scores will be posted on our website after each round. The person with the most points after the final round will be crowned Amateur Photographer of the Year 2011 and win £5,000 worth of Canon equipment.

Image size

Your image must be at least 2,700 (3,000 maximum) pixels along its longest dimension, to be printed in the magazine. The file name of your image must be your first and surnames, for example Elizabeth Windsor.jpg. The subject line of your email message must state the round name and your name once again ? eg Shooting trees: Elizabeth Windsor. Finally, in the body of your email, include the camera model, lens and exposure details, if known, such as Canon EOS 40D, 18-55mm, 1/45sec at f/4, ISO 200, as well as a sentence describing what the image is. If your email does not meet these requirements, we will unfortunately not be able to enter it into the competition.

  • Entrants should submit only ONE image per round.
  • Only entries sent to the correct email address will be entered into the competition.
  • The image should be at least 2,700 pixels along its longest edge.
  • It must be a JPEG file, preferably sRGB.
  • The file name must be your first name and surname.
  • The subject line of your email must state the round name and your name once again.
  • Include your postal address and daytime telephone number in the body of your email.
  • List your camera model, lens, exposure details and any other information in the body of your email.

    • ****Please note the following and send your email to apoy@ipcmedia.com

    Copy and paste the following into the body of your email and mark “X” in brackets below where applicable –

    I earn no more than 10% of my total annual income or £5,000 annually from photography (tick to confirm) [ ]. This entry has not previously been published in a national UK photography magazine [ ] (tick to confirm). Amateur Photographer, published by IPC Media Ltd (?IPC?), will collect your personal information to process your entry. If you would like to receive emails from Amateur Photographer and IPC containing news, special offers and product and service information and take part in our magazine research via email, please tick here [ ] Amateur Photographer and IPC would like to contact you by post or telephone to promote and ask your opinion on our magazines and services. Please tick here if you prefer not to hear from us. [ ] IPC may occasionally pass your details to carefully selected organisations so they can contact you by telephone or post with regards to promoting and researching their products and services. Please tick here if you prefer not to be contacted [ ] If my entry is not successful, I would like Damien Demolder to critique my image in the Appraisal column[ ]

    Sean Slevin APOY 2010 winner

    this picture won first place in round 6 – Close to you

    Please see below for all the rules for entry, terms and conditions. We only accept entries in the form of prints, slides or emailed digital files ? we cannot accept discs. Remember to include your address, a daytime telephone number and as many details about your image as possible so we can judge it accurately.

    Theme Synopsis Announced Closes      Results  
    Shooting Trees Trees, forests and woodlands 5 Feb 25 Feb closed 26 Mar
    Inside a building Architecture (urban or rural) 5 Mar 25 Mar Closed 30 Apr
    Streets and walkways Street Photography 2 Apr 28 Apr Closed 28 May
    Macro in nature Photographing nature up close 7 May 27 May Closed 25 June
    Creative wildlife UK and foreign wildlife 4 June 24 June Closed 30 July
    People at home Portraiture (posed or unposed) 2 July 29 July Closed 27 Aug
    Away from home Travel Photography 6 Aug 26 Aug Closed> 24 Sept
    Shooting skies Skies during the day or night 3 Sept 30 Sept Closed 29 Oct
    Black and White Monochrome (any subject) 1 Oct 28 Oct Closed 26 Nov
    Shooting at night Night and low-light photography 5 Nov 25 Nov Closed 24 Dec

    RULES

    1. Entrants may submit only one photograph per month, as an SRGB JPEG file that is 2,700-3,000 pixels along its longest dimension, an unmounted print (max size 210x297mm) or slide (no glass mounts please), in colour or black & white.
    2. The entrant?s name, address and daytime phone number must be attached to the slide mount or the back of the print.
    3. You may only submit digital files by email (no cds/dvds). When submitting a digital file, the file name of your image must be your first name and surname, the subject line of your email message must state the round name and your name once again, and the body copy of your email must include your name, address, daytime telephone number, the camera model, lens and exposure details.
    4. Photos submitted must be your own work, must not be copied, must not contain any third-party materials and/or content that you do not have permission to use and must not otherwise be obscene, defamatory or in breach of any applicable legislation or regulations. If IPC has reason to believe your entry is not your own work or otherwise breaches this rule, your photos will NOT be considered.
    5. Photos must not previously have been published in a national UK photography magazine.
    6. Copyright of all entries remains with the photographer, but IPC and Canon (UK) Limited and their associated group companies reserve the right to use, publish and republish entries in connection with the competition, without payment.
    7. By entering this competition you grant permission to IPC and Canon (UK) Limited and their associated group companies to reproduce your photos in electronic format and hard copy including for display at an exhibition, in IPC?s Amateur Photographer magazine and on IPC?s and Canon (UK) Limited?s website should they be selected to promote the competition.
    8. You grant IPC and Canon (UK) Limited the right to use your name and town or city of residence for the sole purpose of identifying you as the author of your photos and/or as a winner or runner-up of the APOY competition.
    9. Each postal entry must be accompanied by the correct entry form with all sections completed. A photocopy of the entry form will be accepted. All submissions must be well packaged in a stiffened envelope (no tubes, please) bearing sufficient postage, and entrants wanting their picture back must include a stiffened SAE stamped of sufficient value for their return.
    10. This competition is open to bona fide Amateur Photographers and students only. That is, entrants should not earn more than 10% of their total annual income or £5,000 annually from photography.
    11. Employees of IPC Media and Canon, and their families, may not enter this competition. Entries are judged by AP and Canon staff.
    12. There is no age limit for entering, and international entries will be accepted.
    13. Prizes are as stated and no cash or other alternative can be offered to the monthly prizes or overall prize.
    14. Prize value correct at time of going to press. Canon has the right to substitute the prize for a similar item of equal or higher value if the stated prize is not available. No money can be added to the overall prize. The overall prize for the APOY 2011 competition will be to win Canon products available on the Canon December 2011 RRP price list up to the value of £5,000 RRP as at the date of notification.
    15. Prizes are subject to Canon (UK) Limited standard terms and conditions for its Canon products. Acceptance of a prize is deemed to be acceptance of those terms and conditions.
    16. Entries on behalf of another person will not be accepted and joint submissions are not allowed.
    17. No responsibility is taken for lost, delayed, misdirected or incomplete entries. Proof of delivery of the entry is not proof of receipt.
    18. No purchase is necessary.
    19. The overall winner must choose his or her prize within six weeks of being notified. In the event of a tied score, the Editor will choose a winner. The Editor?s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
    20. By submitting photos you are accepting these rules.
    21. IPC or Canon (UK) Limited or their associated group companies shall not be liable for any loss, damage or injury of any nature howsoever caused, sustained by any entrant under this promotion. However, nothing in these rules shall have the effect of excluding or restricting liability for personal injury, death, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation caused by the proven negligence of employees or agents of IPC or Canon (UK) Limited or their associated group companies.
    22. Canon (UK) Limited shall not be liable for any failure to supply the prizes where such failure is caused by any supervening circumstances outside its control which amount to force majeure and which without the fault of either party renders performance impossible or incapable of satisfactory execution.
    23. These rules are governed by the laws of England and Wales and any dispute in relation to them shall be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
    24. This competition is owned and run by Amateur Photographer/IPC Media and all competition terms and conditions are bound by Amateur Photographer/IPC Media rules.

    In association with Canon

    Sean Slevin APOY 2010 winner

    this picture won third place in round 4 – Flowers and plants