lovelifey: [Photography] Announcing Two Tamron Competition Winners

The Winners of our recent Tamron Holiday Competition for a Tamron SP 45mm F/1.8 Di VC USD and a Tamron SP 70-300mm Di VC USD lens are…

Thanks!

A HUGE thank you to everyone who entered our recent competition to win an SP 45mm F/1.8 Di VC USD and an SP 70-300mm Di VC USD lens from our friends at Tamron. Yet again, the response was absolutely AMAZING with over 400 entries! But now…onto the winners!

Drum roll. And the winners are:

First Prize

Winner of the Tamron SP 45mm F/1.8 Di VC USD lens is – Sandeep

Tamron SP 45mm F/1.8 Di VC USD – Value $599
Canon, Nikon or Sony-A mount.
No substitutions.
For canon, Nikon or Sony cameras.

Burk Uzzle has said “Photography is a love affair with life”. My journey with photography has been long, filled with love and labour.

I fumble-started with a twin lens camera borrowed from my uncle about 30 years back, then with a prized EXA (GERMAN film based camera), Olympus C-8080 and since last 4 years a Nikon D5200 (18-105mm VR f3.5). I also own a Yongnuo MK-IV flash, a Sony tripod, a Nikkor 35mm f1.8 prime lens, Hoya ND & CPL filters and a ML-2 remote release given my burgeoning interest to make better photos.

Many years back, I scanned all my family owned b/w photos, to create a treasure trove of memories… I love the life stories that these photos convey – my son’s dimpled smile over gentle glazed skin next to my mother’s weary eyes filled with compassion… my wife’s lingering gracious beauty over the years as she grows older… the children’s audacious poses giving way to awkward conscious stares at the camera… I get mesmerized often, lose myself for hours in these frozen golden moments.

My love for my family takes refuge in the photos I take. I am the de facto family photographer responsible for bringing alive visual expressions of many events. I think, prepare, experiment, analyze and post produce thoughtfully to make them worthy of being seen and relived many times over. “Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.” – famous words from the great Dorothea Lange that are, for me, a constant source of inspiration.

Of late, I have started getting deeper into photography, studied via online training courses, read about great photographers, pored over user manuals and most importantly made a conscious effort to practice long and hard, to make more photos.

Now if I had the choice to pick from the lenses on offer, I would unhesitatingly pick Tamron 45mm (about 68mm with my D5200’s cropped sensor) which suits the family portraiture I so love to indulge in. The various reviews I went through clearly suggests that Tamron 45mm lens is a winner. The Prime lens I own is good but a poor cousin to Tamron by er, a long way. Going by its looks, build quality, the tack sharp photos demonstrated some at low-light (wow!), its colour reproducibility, sharp corners, flexibility of purpose across landscape to macro — I will really look forward and love to have this one in my bag. I suffer from shaky hands so its 3-stop VC should help which my prime lens visibly lacks.

Not sure 2017 will serve surprises for me but I surely will pray. Hope is eternal.”

Congratulations Sandeep! You will also receive a copy of the new Night Photography Course by dPS.

Second Prize

Winner of the Tamron SP 70-300mm Di VC USD lens is – Br Fla

Tamron SP 70-300mm Di VC USD – Value $449
Canon, Nikon or Sony-A mount.
No substitutions.

“As a veteran who has seen my fair share of ugliness in the world, Photography takes me to another place where I can cope with PTSD symptoms by exploring the beautiful world surrounding me.

For my first prime I was looking for a fast lens at the same focal length as human vision for street scenes, portraits, landscapes, and close photography. I wanted a fast, solid built, durable lens with high-end contrast and resolution. The Tamron SP 45mm F/1.8 Di VC USD fits my current needs and allows me to grow as a photographer finding even more beauty in the world.

When shooting with my full frame Nikon D800, a prime 45 mm lens is the just right (Goldilocks) focal length. Any wider you can have distortion, which can be really unflattering for people’s faces or create curved lines that should be strait. Any narrower you will have to stand farther back when you may not have the space and will lose some connection with the subject. You can confidently walk around with this 45mm, because with the human field of vision focal length, the beauty you see is the beauty you get.

The wide open aperture of F1.8 is very fast which will allow for shooting in low light and the circular diaphragm will create beautifully smooth bokeh that no other lens can match.

More importantly, when I can’t sleep I like to go out and shoot in the predawn hours. I would love not only the wide aperture to bring in lots of light but also 3.5 stop vibration compensation so I can capture beauty that exists in low light conditions.

Beauty also exists up close. With such a minimal distance to get sharp focus (only 11.4 inches) I can get closer into a subject without having to purchase expensive macro lenses. With the Vibration Compensation the beautiful details will remain sharp and beautiful.

Beauty can be seen in the contrasts of light. This lens maintains high contrast throughout the frame so you can get more usable images right out of the camera and not have to shoot large just to crop out the edges.

When shooting in some of the harshest conditions (as much as I enjoy the beach and salt air, it is incredibly harsh on photographic equipment) weather sealing is vital to not only durability but also keeping dust/debris out of your camera body and showing up as annoying spots in your images. The fluorine coating will also help keep spots off the front of the lens.

However, despite all the impressive specifications of this lens the true beauty is in the details. In this case the details are tack sharp. I have seen that DXOMark tested this lens to have superior sharpness to all other lenses in the class, even ones that cost significantly more. So when asked how I would use this lens it is simple – I would find beauty in this world and capture it in as sharp detail as the true-life experience provides.

The Tamron SP 70-300mm Di VC USD would be useful zoom lens allowing me to photograph the beautiful wildlife where I live and the Vibration Compensation would greatly help with such long focal lengths.”

Congratulations Br Fla, you will also receive a copy of the new Night Photography Course by dPS.

We were all thrilled with the entries. You tugged at our heartstrings, made us laugh, made us smile, but most importantly, you made us keep wanting to do more of what we are doing; providing you quality information and guidance to become a better photographer. We were so pleased to see that you came from every part of the world, young adults to grandparents, and everyone in between. Thank you all for your entries!

Now, for those of you that didn’t win, Tamron has invited ALL dPS readers download their 2015-2016 eBook Series! You can find those HERE!

The Winners will be emailed with details of how to collect their prize. Please make sure to look for our email. Thanks you again for all the wonderful submissions and to Tamron for sponsoring this competition.

For winners outside the USA, please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery.
Winner responsible for any taxes or tariffs.

Tamron Rebates!

For all of you residing in the USA, when you do purchase your next Tamron Lens, make sure to take advantage of the rebates* up to $200 through March 4, 2017. Find additional information HERE!

*Current rebate offers end March 4, 2017. US RESIDENTS ONLY.