Amateur Photographer is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 photography

Photography

Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...

 magazine

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

, published weekly by IPC Media

IPC Media

IPC Media , a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Inc., is a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year.- Origins :...

, a Time Warner

Time Warner

Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...

 subsidiary. The magazine provides articles on equipment reviews, photographic technique, and profiles of professional photographers.

About the magazine

Amateur Photographer is the world's oldest consumer weekly photographic magazine, first hitting the newsstands on 10 October 1884; making it over 125 years old.

The Test Reports from past publications can be purchased online from TestReports. There are nearly 9,000 tests available; consisting of reviews of cameras, lenses and other equipment.

Regular features

AP (as it is referred to) is usually based around the following items:

• AP News - Up to date information on the world of film and digital photography; including details of product launches, external competitions and upcoming events (festivals, events, galleries and camera clubs).
• AP Review - A weekly round-up of books, exhibitions and websites.
• Letters - Readers letters concerning recent events, views on photography and feedback on AP articles. Sponsored by Fujifilm
  Fujifilm
  is a multinational photography and imaging company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.Fujifilm's principal activities are the development, production, sale and servicing of color photographic film, digital cameras, photofinishing equipment, color paper, photofinishing chemicals, medical imaging...
  
   UK, film or digital media is provided for all letters published. Also contains "Back Chat", an article introduced by then Editor Garry Coward-Williams, where an essay on a photography related subject from a reader is published.
• Andy Rouse@AP - Thoughts from a wildlife photographer's world.
• Photo Insight - Each week one of four photographers explains the ideas and techniques behind a particular photograph.
• Reader Spotlight - Readers photographs. Readers can submit up to 10 photographs (not needing to be themed) on film or digital media. A selection of these is published each week. The 'Editor's Choice' each week is paid £50.
• The Last Resort - Chris Gatcum explains a software technique.
• AP's Icons of Photography - A camera, photograph, photographer or other notable figure from photographic history.
• Insider Knowledge - An AP reader provides a guide to their favourite location.
• AP Test Bench - AP's world renowned tests of the latest photography equipment. All past tests can be purchased from AP if required.
• Ask AP - Technical help in response to readers letters and emails. Includes a sub section taken from the AP Website Forum.
• AP Appraisal - Reader photo critique by Damien Demolder. Readers can submit up to six images as prints, slides or on CD (with original files). Prizes from sponsor Jessops are supplied alongside Damien's feedback.
• Reader Masterclass - Gemma Padley takes readers on location for a days shooting.
• Vendor Adverts/Classifieds - A wide selection of UK and international equipment vendors (some offering preferential rates to AP readers); and AP's own classified ads for readers to submit.
• The Final Frame - Weekly essay from a figure from the world of photography with regular contributions from Roger Hicks
  Roger Hicks (author)
  Roger Hicks is a British author of more than 30 photography books, plus a biography of HH Dalai Lama, travel books, cook-books and others. Many are written with his wife Frances Schultz. He is a regular contributor to Amateur Photographer Magazine and frequently writes for Shutterbug magazine in...
  
  .
• What the Duck
  What the Duck
  What the Duck is a comic strip by Aaron Johnson. It started as a webcomic, with the first strip posted in July 2006. The strip has appeared as print in numerous photography magazines including Amateur Photographer. It was picked up for syndication in 2008 by Universal Press Syndicate under the name...
  
  - A weekly comic strip by Aaron Johnson

Amateur Photographer of the Year (APOY)

APOY is an annual competition run by Amateur Photographer, and is open to anyone that earns less than 10% of their yearly salary from photography.

The entries are limited to one photograph per reader per month.

Each years competition is run on a monthly basis, with each month having a dedicated "theme" for the images to adhere to. The APOY judges than narrow the entries down to a short list of 50. From there, the final 'Top 30' are awarded points and published in the magazine; with the top three places being awarded prize donated by Canon UK. All 30 point scoring photographers are entered into the league table; which is edited after each round. After all ten rounds, the photographer with the highest score in the league table is crowned the Amateur Photographer Of the Year and wins £5,000 worth of Canon vouchers to be remdeamed against the purchase of personal photographic goods (defined as Canon Consumer Imaging Products).

More information can be found on the APOY page of the AP website.

Current staff

• Editor: Damien Demolder - A former professional photographer, Damien has worked on IPC Media photography titles since 1997. He served three years in the AP Features Department, before working as Technical Editor and Deputy Editor for four years. He was promoted to the position of Editor after the promotion of Garry Coward-Williams elsewhere within IPC Media in February 2007.

• Group Art Editor: Mark Jacobs

• Technical Editor: Angela Nicholson - A former freelance professional photographer, and photography teacher, Angela joined AP in 2004. She is a medium-format, 35mm and digital user.

• News Editor: Chris Cheesman The first port of call for relaying photography related news. Before joining AP in 1999 Chris worked as a news reporter and feature writer on business magazines and has journalistic experience both inside and outside photography. He always carries a camera.

• Production Editor: Lesley Upton

• Technical Writer: Richard Sibley Joined AP as a Technical Writer in July 2007

• Features Writer:

• Features Assistant: Gemma Padley

• Deputy Art Editor: Simon Warren - In his other life, Simon is a competitive cyclist.

• Designer: Antony Green

• Deputy Production Editor: Brendan Maguire

• Sub Editor: Oliver Cotton

• Studio Manager: Alan McFaden

• AP Internet Forum
  Internet forum
  An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
  
   Administrator: TheFatController (AKA: Myk Ripley)

Regular contributors

• Roger Hicks - Born in Cornwall
  Cornwall
  Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
  
  , Roger stumbled into photography in 1966. After various job (law, teaching, accounting) he turned to professional photography in 1975 at a London advertising studio. His first book was published in 1980, and then turned full time to freelance photography, writing and journalism in 1981.
• Ivor Matanle - Photographer, journalist and camera/photography historian, Ivor writes the "AP Icon" camera articles for AP, as well as answering readers questions in "Ask AP" in relation to classic and historical cameras.

Notable ex-members of staff

• Geoffrey Crawley
  Geoffrey Crawley
  Geoffrey Crawley was a photographic expert and journalist, and was the editor in chief of British Journal of Photography for two decades...
  
   - An renowned expert on the science of photographer, as well as the inventor of the Paterson range of developers, Geoffrey was previously the Editor of the "British Journal of Photography" for 21 years. He is also known for exposing the Cottingley Fairies
  Cottingley Fairies
  The Cottingley Fairies appear in a series of five photographs taken by Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, two young cousins who lived in Cottingley, near Bradford in England. In 1917, when the first two photographs were taken, Elsie was 16 years old and Frances was 10...
  
   hoax and advising investigators into the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy
  John F. Kennedy
  John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
  
  . Geoffrey died in 2010.
• Garry Coward-Williams - Editor (from November 1998 up to and including issue dated 3 March 2007). Garry first moved into journalism
  Journalism
  Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
  
   in 1985 after a career as a professional photographer. Before joining AP, he was the editor of Cage and Aviary Birds and, prior to that, the deputy editor of Shooting Times & Country Magazine.
• Bob Carlos Clarke
  Bob Carlos Clarke
  Robert Carlos Clarke was an Irish photographer, known for his highly stylised erotic imagery....
  
   - Irish enfant terrible erotic photographer column in the early 1990s.
• David Bailey (photographer)
• Jeff Meyer. Now (2011) editor of Photography Monthly magazine.