Last week we launched a great competition for budding photographers, in which you could win a top of the range Sony NEX 5 camera and the chance to be Umbro’s official photographer at an England Euro qualifier. All you need to do is submit your photos that capture the ‘Spirit Of South Africa‘. So whether it’s photos of you celebrating the football at home, at work or over in South Africa itself, we want to see how you’ve been getting into the spirit of the occasion.

To help you get an idea of what we’re looking for, we recently spoke to top photographer Stanley Lumax. New York-based Stanley (pictured below) is actually out in South Africa at the moment, taking pictures for us of all the football action he can, but we grabbed him for a quick chat about photos, football and what he’s looking to capture. Here’s what he had to say…

How long have you been into photography?

“Since I was about seven years old, I’ve always had a camera. I was always shooting photos, on school trips, whenever. It’s just something that I’ve always been intrigued by. When I was in university I took a proper photography class, before that it’d just been point and shoot, but then I got a real sense of the fundamentals and started to look at it a bit more scientifically. But I never lost that organic love of just capturing an image. ”

How would you describe your style of photography?

“I learned about photography through the idea of photojournalism, so I’d definitely say I work in that field. I’ve always been about capturing a moment rather than any posed scenes. It’s just everyday life, capturing art in real life.”

What do you think of sites like Flickr, and the advances in camera technology?

“I definitely feel that nowadays everyone is shooting, whether it’s a camera phone, an iPod, whatever, and that you can instantly upload to Flickr or other sites like that, so it’s definitely made a difference – even the news on TV has a section featuring people’s pictures shot like this. For a photographer, to a certain degree it makes it easier and harder at the same time. Everyone can call themselves a photographer now, whereas before you had to invest a lot of time and effort into it. A lot of photographers are looking into video and other areas as well now, so it’s really helped people to evolve into other worlds.”

Where have been your favourite places around the world to shoot pictures?

“Buenos Aires in Argentina was terrific. Ghana was also a great place for personal reasons as my family is originally from there, and I still have a lot of relatives living there. It was one of my first experiences as a photographer overseas, and when I finally got there I was also rediscovering my own family and all the wonderful things that make Ghana the country it is. I was also there for the African Cup Of Nations on my second visit so I got the chance to see what the country was like during a massive event like that. I got to see all the stadiums and just how big soccer is in the country. It gave me a real appreciation and understanding of football.”

Would you say that you’re a football fan?

“My dad named me after Stanley Matthews, so I’ve always had a connection with football! That trip to Ghana really brought it to life for me though. It’s always been a part of who I am, but growing up in the States I developed a love of basketball because that’s what was all around me, but I’ve always felt that there was an organic appreciation for football in me. As a photographer, that’s grown because I can really appreciate the culture around the game as well as the action on the match.”

What will you be looking for in South Africa?

“I just want to tell the story of what the World Cup coming to Africa means to the people there, and how people are celebrating, I want to capture how people are showing their support – whether it’s banners, painting themselves, whatever. To get a clear sense of what this moment in time is doing to South Africa, to Africa as a whole, and all around the world.”

You can see what Stanley has captured by taking a look at our Flickr stream, where you can also submit your photos for our competition. Get snapping!