Photo Of The Week

Today's photo of the week was taken by Don Gasler and is of Soco Falls outside of Cherokee, North Carolina.

You can see more from Don on his website at dongaslerphotography.squarespace.com or on Facebook. 

We Want To Feature Your Work!

Do you have some really amazing photos you have taken recently or some of your past work that you simply love? We want to see! Each Tuesday, we will be featuring a "photo of the week" right here on the Camera Giveaways blog. We are looking for anything from amazing landscape photos, a gorgeous wedding or engagement shot, sports or animal photography, an awesome fashion photo...whatever you want to share, we would love to see!

Email your photos to contact@cameragiveaways.com with the subject "CG Blog Photo Submission" for consideration. In your email be sure to include a description of your photo, your name and company name as well as website and social media links. Please... no watermarks! If this information is not included, your photo will not be included.

Is It Time To Update Your Camera? The Nikon D820 or D900 with 72MP Sensor Is Coming!

Are you a Nikon user and just love your D800 or D810 but are in need of an upgrade? If you are in need of a replacement, but have been waiting for Nikon to release its next camera... and the wait is almost over! According to an article we saw on PhotographyTalk, the new will be coming out soon but the date is still unknown.

In their article, PhotographyTalk said, "The rumor mill is in full swing regarding what Nikon has coming. Something with a 72-megapixel sensor, sure would be nice, though it’s not a guarantee."

The name of the new camera might be the D820, the D850, the D900, or could even be something else totally. But based on the current competition out there today - as well as the past Nikon models that are so popular - this new camera will very likely have outstanding features to go along with it.

Nikon has a pattern of when they have introduced their new camera models in the past and they tend to come out every two year. Based on that, PhotographyTalk assumes that the Nikon D810 replacement will be available for purchase very soon. There has been no official release date announcement from Nikon. 

PhotographyTalk said, "with Canon unveiling the 5DS and 5DSR which both have a 50.6-megapixel sensor and Sony unveiling the A7R II with a 42.4-megapixel sensor, it’s reasonable to assume that Nikon wants to take the megapixel war to the next level. One rumor that seems persistent is that the D820/D850/D900 will have a sensor with an incredible 70-80-megapixels!"

This is all very exciting for anyone who is in the need for a new camera or who has been patiently waiting to upgrade their Nikon D810. For even more detail, check out the original article on PhotographyTalk. 

What are your thoughts on the rumors of Nikon's newest camera? Are you excited for it? Tell us below!

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Winter 2017 Camera Winner Update

We are so excited to tell you all about our most recent winner of our winter 2017 camera giveaway! Anna Brewer was the lucky winner of a Nikon D810! Congrats Anna!

Here is some other great information about Anna and her love of photography. You will also see a few of her photos below as well as one with her new camera. Enjoy!

How did you first get into photography?

"I've had a camera in my hands since I can remember. I used to borrow my parents' camera when I was still a toddler but I distinctly recall my 8th birthday when my present was my very own camera - a Kodak 110mm. A few years later my parents gave me their Minolta SLR 35mm and I saved every penny I had to buy the film and get my pictures developed making albums of all the adventures I went on. When I got out of high school, digital cameras had been a thing for a little while but I was extremely hesitant to leave my old Minolta behind. It wasn't until 2007 when I was able to get a second-hand Nikon D80 that I truly fell in love with digital photography and got to take my first, and sadly only, photography class before starting my family and putting my college hat away for awhile. I never could put my camera away and have been taking pictures every day since."

What is your favorite thing to photograph?

"Since having kids I really love trying to capture all their expressions and just how beautiful my everyday life is. The photographic reminders of those fleeting moments bring me smiles every time."

What type of style would you say fits you best?

"I’ve done some commercial product photography but I think I'm probably classified as a candid photographer.  I’m always trying to preserve the little details that most people might overlook or things that years from now I might forget. Every one of my pictures has a story to tell. One day I hope to get into portrait photography as I love capturing my family as it’s grown."

What is your most favorite shoot you have ever had and why?

"As a teen I was visiting the FiLoLi Gardens outside of San Francisco. There was this little bench I just felt I had to photograph.  I ducked down behind some tulips and snapped a shot before catching back up with my friend. When I developed the images I fell in love with most of my pictures. The way my friends' face was so playful and happy; the way the sun was catching the water; and especially that bench. It was the first time I took a picture that seemed to capture magic even in MY eyes and it was the first picture I took that I blew up to hang in my home. Since then I carry some kind of camera with me every day."

What was your first reaction when you found out you won the camera?

"Complete disbelief followed by extraordinary excitement. I’ve been growing apart from my Nikon D80, not feeling like it was worth the weight when most cell phones these days can take more pixels and the sensor on it has been limiting the low light situations I’ve been trying to capture. I think I finally grew past it’s capabilities and found myself getting stagnant. I saw the contest go around on Facebook and it seemed real enough so I entered and didn’t think much of it. When I won I was sure it was a scam until I heard back from the organizers and my husband looked it up and told me it was a real thing. I’ve never won such a significant prize."  

Are there any other fun or interesting facts about yourself that you would like to share?

"I'm a stay a home mother of 4. I love backpacking and consider my camera “worth the weight” in my bag as my luxury item. My husband and I even went backpacking for our honeymoon in our favorite location south of Yosemite. I can’t wait to take this camera and get some of the shots I’ve been trying to capture for years but haven’t had the equipment for."

What camera did you choose and why?  

"I chose the Nikon D810 because I’m already familiar with the menus and have a couple of lenses I can use. I’ve tried a few other brands but I always find myself coming back to Nikon."

What do you think of the camera now that you have received it?

"It intimidated me for the first couple days. It didn’t have several of the buttons my other cameras did and it had new buttons I didn’t recognize. I spent a little bit of time reading the manual before taking it out to try it and realized it’s just like my other cameras but the settings are faster and easier to change. Getting some pictures of my kids in different settings without having to sit down to change the menu settings was a lot of fun. I can’t wait for a couple sunny days so I can see how I do with it in some of my favorite places.  So far I really love it!"

Congrats again to Anna on winning a Nikon D810! We are so happy for you. You can see more of Anna photos by following her on Instagram @DailyBrewHouse. 

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SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER TO STAY UP-TO-DATE ON THE NEXT GIVEAWAY COMING UP SOON! 

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Photo Of The Week

Today's photo of the week was taken by Robert Buss. He calls it "A Ride Through Yellowstone."

We Want To Feature Your Work!

Do you have some really amazing photos you have taken recently or some of your past work that you simply love? We want to see! Each Tuesday, we will be featuring a "photo of the week" right here on the Camera Giveaways blog. We are looking for anything from amazing landscape photos, a gorgeous wedding or engagement shot, sports or animal photography, an awesome fashion photo...whatever you want to share, we would love to see!

Email your photos to contact@cameragiveaways.com with the subject "CG Blog Photo Submission" for consideration. In your email be sure to include a description of your photo, your name and company name as well as website and social media links. Please... no watermarks! If this information is not included, your photo will not be included.

The Most Iconic Prop From Star Wars Is.... A Camera Flash

Who knew that a camera flash would be the most iconic prop from Star Wars. In the movie, the handles of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader’s lightsabers were both made from vintage camera flash guns. Pretty cool, huh?!? 

Watch this short episode below where DigitalRev In-Focus explains how set decorator Roger Christian is responsible for making the most iconic prop from Star Wars being a camera flash. 

Star Wars had quite a small budget at first, so Christian had to visit antique dealers and thrift shops for prop ideas, and in a tiny photography shop on London’s West End, he found a 1940s Graflex camera with a 3-cell flash gun attached. The flash gun, with only minor modifications, would become Luke’s iconic lightsaber. Watch more in the video below:

It only cost Christian $15 to convert the flash gun to a lightsaber, but one of the two he created was sold to a museum in Seattle for $250,000, making this flash handle one of the most expensive movie weapon props ever sold. In the original article on PetaPixel, they said, "thanks to the prop’s “return” in Episode 7, chances are good that price (and the flash gun’s status) will only go up."

Photo credit: PetaPixel

If you love Star Wars, just like we do, be sure to watch the video above to hear more about this piece of camera equipment and how it became one of the best-known props in movie history. 

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Photo Of The Week

This week's photo of the week was taken by Nick Tolentino with Piranha Studios. 

To see more work from Nick and Piranha Studios visit his website at www.piranhastudios.ca or check them out on Instagram. 

Models: Instagram: @Jessica_and_Erika
Assistant: Instagram: @Lukemendiola

We Want To Feature Your Work!

Do you have some really amazing photos you have taken recently or some of your past work that you simply love? We want to see! Each Tuesday, we will be featuring a "photo of the week" right here on the Camera Giveaways blog. We are looking for anything from amazing landscape photos, a gorgeous wedding or engagement shot, sports or animal photography, an awesome fashion photo...whatever you want to share, we would love to see!

Email your photos to contact@cameragiveaways.com with the subject "CG Blog Photo Submission" for consideration. In your email be sure to include a description of your photo, your name and company name as well as website and social media links. Please... no watermarks! If this information is not included, your photo 

4 Cute Background Ideas For Valentine's Mini Sessions

Valentine's Day is almost here and you may have been trying to come up with some fun ideas for Valentine's Day mini sessions. A unique background is what make the session fun and brings out the love theme that you are looking to get. Today, we are going to share with you 4 cute background ideas for Valentine's mini sessions that we just adore. 

Set up your very own kissing booth background! Perfect for a family session, couples or even children! 

Photo credit: Christina Z Photography

If you have a studio, you most likely already have a white background... dress it up with a few cut-out hearts to spice the photo up a bit! 

Photo credit: Anna Bartell Photography

Use a chalkboard to write a fun message is a fun idea! 

Photo credit: Simply Treasured Photos

You can't have Valentine's Day without some fun candies! This is such an easy background to put together and does not cost much money. 

Photo credit: hulahoopphotography.com 

Be sure to also read our post on 2 tips for planning the perfect mini session. Do you have any fun background ideas that you have used for your own Valentine's or love themed mini sessions? We would love to hear all of your ideas in the comments below! 

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The Best Drone Photography of 2016

Drone photography has really become very popular and we have seen some pretty amazing photographs that were taken by drones. Whether you are using it to photograph a great landscape, an aerial shot of a wedding, sporting event or anything else you can imagine, drones are pretty cool.

Every year, SkyPixel hosts the largest aerial photography contest in the world to showcase the best of the best. This past contest, Conde Nast Traveler partnered with SkyPixel to choose some pretty stunning winners. Today, we want to share 8 of their winning photographs with you. We hope you enjoy some of the best drone photography of 2016! 

Grand Prize. "Fishermen Closing The Net" shot near Yacheng Bay, China. Photo by Ge Zheng. 

First prize in the professional beauty category. "Exploration" is a photo of Bactrian camels making their way through western China's Taklamakan Desert. Photo by 王 汉冰. 

Second place for professional beauty. "Spillway Selfie" taken by dixonltd. 

Third place for professional beauty. "The Earth" features fireworks captured at just the right moment in Tibet. Photo by 李珩. 

First place in the enthusiast beauty category. The Baling Bridge in southern China on a foggy day. Photo by 诚涵.

Silver medal in the enthusiast beauty category. "Green Waves" shot in the countryside of Siena, Italy. Photo by Mauro Pagliai. 

Third place winner in the enthusiast beauty category. Offers a rarely seen bird's-eye-view of a cracking ice river in northern China. Photo by Canloker. 

First prize in enthusiast 'drones in use' category. A long exposure shot of a drone circling a 16th century structure. Photo by Fifa. 

What amazing photos these are! To see all of the winning photos in the SkyPixel drone contest, visit SkyPixel. And here are some other drone photos you may enjoy seeing: 

• Gorgeous Drone Wedding Photography By Helen Havard
• Awesome Coastal Drone Photography Taken By 20-Year Old Photographer

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Photo Of The Week

This week's photo of the week was taken by Dennis Lubach. Here is what he had to say about his photo:

"Taken in the summer of 2016 in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. My grand daughter showed me where the nest was and we looked for an adult close by. And there she sat, a few feet away from the nest. We were awed as we finally got to see her. This photo was taken with a Nikon D300S and a Nikon 28-300mm at 300mm and was edited in Lightroom. There were also 2 young eagles in the nest but unfortunately those photos were a little blurry."

We Want To Feature Your Work!

Do you have some really amazing photos you have taken recently or some of your past work that you simply love? We want to see! Each Tuesday, we will be featuring a "photo of the week" right here on the Camera Giveaways blog. We are looking for anything from amazing landscape photos, a gorgeous wedding or engagement shot, sports or animal photography, an awesome fashion photo...whatever you want to share, we would love to see!

Email your photos to contact@cameragiveaways.com with the subject "CG Blog Photo Submission" for consideration. In your email be sure to include a description of your photo, your name and company name as well as website and social media links. Please... no watermarks! If this information is not included, your photo will not be included.

Winter 2017 Camera Giveaway Announcement

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***UPDATE*** 
It's time to announce our NEW winner! 

Thousands of entries but only one can claim a free camera! And the winner of a new NIKON D810 or CANON 5D MARK III is....

Anna B.

ar*****an@gmail.com

EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T WIN THIS TIME,
HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN STILL DO...

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