Too good to be true

There are lots of competitions around on social media where you could win the latest high- end cameras, but they always seem as if they are too good to be true. (If it sounds too good to be true... as they say). Photo competitions usually ask you to send in a photograph with the chance of winning valuable equipment.

My theory is this: if you can send in an image worthy of winning such photographic paraphernalia, then surely you must already have the goods to produce such stunning work. Which leaves me to wonder why the likes of someone like me, who owns an entry-level Nikon D3300, should even bother. Or am I just being cynical? I really would like to know what AP’s take is on these competitions. Yes, I would love to own something up-to- date in the camera world, but finances predict what I can or can’t afford. Leonard Gill I can’t speak for other competitions but our own Amateur Photographer of the Year (APOY) contest has a £10,000 prize pot, courtesy of Sigma Imaging. Like every competition that I have been involved with (which is a lot), pictures are judged anonymously without any knowledge of the kit that was used, so it really is just about the image. If you can’t afford to buy the latest and best gear, trying to win it by entering your best photos into a competition seems like a sensible approach. You have nothing to lose – Nigel Atherton, Editor