subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 14 March 2020 25
APOY
4th place
Neil Burnell
Familiar to many
regular readers as last
year’s winner, Neil
demonstrates that you
don’t need to enter
every category to end
in one of the
leaderboard’s top spots. By carefully
targeting categories such as Setting the
Scene (Round Two), Whatever the
Weather (Round Seven) and After Dark
(Round Eight), he played to his
strengths and sailed into the top ten. His
highly atmospheric landscapes continue
to make an impact, and it’s gratifying to
see his work continue to go from
strength to strength.Visit http://www.neilburnell.com
3rd place
Marco Tagliarino
Marco has becomea
regular fi xturein APOY
over the years,with
precise compositions
being his particular
talent, not to mention
making the mostof
gorgeous lighting conditions, whether
shooting indoors or out. Like Tom,his
documentary travel images always
stand out in the judging process,andhe
seems to know intuitively whatangleto
take on a scene – be it from alow
viewpoint or close in with a wideangle.
His processing skills are excellent,too.Visit marcotagliarino.1x.com
You use cameras by two
diff erent manufacturers.
Why is this?
As I mentioned earlier, I have a
Canon EOS-1D X, and mainly
Canon lenses. However, it got to the
point where I really wanted a 50MP
camera, so I bought a Nikon D850,
because I love the fact it means you
can crop in and still have a good-
sized image. Sometimes when you’re
photographing, say, birds that have
a wide wing span in fl ight, and are
using a prime lens, you need a
certain amount of distance from
your subject because within seconds
you can be clipping their wings in
the frame as they fl y towards you.
There are times when it can be a bit
confusing. For instance, their zoom
lenses rotate in opposite directions, so
sometimes I have to stop myself for a
split second and remind myself which
camera I’m using. For a lot of my bird
photography, I use a 200-500mm
lens on the D850, as it gives me a
good deal of fl exibility. In good light
it’s fantastic, and I’ve had a lot of
success with it. However, when you’re
shooting in low light and typically
British weather conditions, you can’t
fail but do well with the EOS-1D X.What are your future plans?
I don’t know if I could go
professional. I’d consider semi-professional, perhaps, but I don’t
want to do photography full time at
this stage. But I still have some
quite big plans for 2020. In
particular, I’d like to raise more
than £5,000 for conservation
causes through my photography,
have a photograph commended in
the Wildlife Photographer of the
Year competition (I had fi ve
shortlisted this year, but didn’t
quite make the cut), and start a
series of talks in schools on
conservation, photography and
mindfulness. Then I plan to launch
a series of Wildlife and Wine
exhibitions, which will focus on my
wildlife photography and feature
wine tasting with our wines grown
on our vineyard in England.
Photography has allowed me to
focus on the detail of something
‘else’, something as raw and
beautiful as wildlife. When you
take pictures, the rest of the world
melts away and falls into
perspective. Life has a lot of ups
and downs, but the downs don’t
prevent the ups from being
beautiful. Photography allows you
to get out on your own without
feeling lonely, and it’s a very
enveloping, positive thing.
Even if I’d come last in APOY, I’d
have learned something from it.
Whatever happens next, I know
I’m a better photographer for
havingentered.Visit http://www.caronsteelephotography.com
Above: Caron took
this ethereal shot
on a trip to Japan
Canon EOS-1D X Mark II,
700mm, 1/3200sec at
f/7.1, ISO 800© NEIL BURNELL