oh my Gosh! I WON!!!

[WaveRider57]

I’m not believing this!

Something has happened. (As the apparition said in 2001…”Something. . .wonderful”)



I made the mistake of stopping by my favorite local camera store and laying hands on the Canon 20D digital SLR. We’re talking 8.2 megapixels of 5-frame-per-second happiness here. As soon as I saw how fast it powered up (instantly) and how fast it focused (instantly) I knew I was in trouble. Keep in mind that the camera body + a wide-to-medium zoom lens is gonna set me back 2 large. Out of reach for me at the moment, but somehow that just didn’t register. I knew after spending 5 minutes with this camera in my hand, and giggling like a little girl, that I HAD to have it.



Since I planned to remain happily married, I was smart enough to realize I couldn’t saunter in with several boxes under my arm and a considerably fatter credit card bill. So I began “Operation Wear Margaret Down”. Ok. That was the code-name. The public name for this would be a more cheerful “Operation Margaret said I could just so I would shut up already about how cool this camera is”. (I might need a shorter name)



Margaret later shows me a clipping in the Sunday paper that the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau wants to make a new city brochure, and to do so they wanted a lot of photos of the city. So….they announce a photo contest. I check into it, and there’s no mention of how many images I can submit, so I ask ‘em. They tell me, “oh, as many as you want”. Hmmmmmm.



Now, I’ve had my trusty Kodak for about a year, and shot a LOT of photos around town. I’m really drawn to skyline/architecture/abstraction imagery and I guess I have 50 or 60 nice shots. Deciding noto to bore them to death…”And here I am standing in Front of the Alamo”…I submit my 30 best shots, with my Riverwalk night-time a certain contender, since it always elicits ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from viewers.



Well, Operation whatever isn’t going so well. Margaret has decided years ago I’m nuts, and me taking photos of her with my hand cupped in the exact position of the 20D at precisely 5 frames-per-second is nothing bothersome to her. She’s not cracking. NOW, every time I mention my betrothal to my 20D, she smiles sweetly and says, “win the contest!”. Um, ok.



Contest ends…the date for judging and/or announcement of winners passes without a word from Bromley Communications, the ad agency coordinating it. Damn.



I tried not to show it, but it was beginning to eat at me. I just had to get used to the idea that I lost. What I could not reconcile, however, was that not ONE of my photos had been chosen at all. While they had a grand prize of $4,000, they also had to populate a brochure, which means a lot of shots. That there was a better photographer in town was sort of a given. That EVERYONE was better than me was a bit troubling.



I’m at work today, and my cell phone rings with a local, unknown number. I answer. It’s Bromley Communications calling to tell me I WON. The GRAND PRIZE! I WON! About halfway through this conversation, I realize with utter dread what day it is. I interrupt him to ask, “Did Margaret pay you to call me as an April fools joke?” “No,” he assures me, while he does know Margaret this is the real deal. I almost drop the phone I’m jumping up and down so much.



It gets better.



He then tells me that three additional photos of mine have been chosen for $200 third-place prizes, for a total gonna-get-my-camera purse of $4,600. I won, and I won again. Not on chance, but on merit. This kinda cool **** just does NOT happen to me. The icing on the cake is that one of the contest judges was very impressed with my work, and wants to get in touch with me to work on an upcoming project!



I win, and went down the next morning and bought my new Canon 20D camera and I may even have a paying gig waiting in the wings!

Oh, and if you want to see the photos that helped me land my camera (all shot with my Kodak DX6490), you can seem on Fotki:



Grand Prize Photo – Emily Morgan
http://************/5lmyu



Third Prize Photos

http://************/6nafp

http://************/6uk6h

http://************/3v4fq


Paul Lara
San Antonio, TX

[monkey_wrench]

im green with envy

[Vita Rara]

Paul,

Congratulations. You should be able to set yourself up with a nice kit. Enjoy it.

Mark

[Maureen Souza]

What a great story!!! Congrats and have a blast with your new toy!

[wolf]

Wow, congratulations thats terrific !

[Mills]

Enjoy!

[tpinchback]

So what are you going to buy with that $4,600?

[pushtoexit]

Congratulations, that is a very inspiring story for all us wanna-have a 20D amature photogs out here.

[Steve Parr]

With that $4,600.00, you'd better hope it doesn't turn into "Operation - Margaret Wants New Carpeting".

Congrats, man, that's fantastic...

Steve

[embdaw]

WOW, Congrats!!

[CousinMadness]

Good for you my dear.

I enjoyed reading your epistle as much as learning that you won something!
The pictures are very nice, especially the coloured candle shot.

... all I ever "win" is speeding tickets rushing down to get that sunset shot of a lifetime! Why youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.

$4600 American dollars is equal to about $40,000 Canadian these days.... best I start entering more contests that are not run by the local Gendarmerie!


CM

[canon2od]

Congrats!!!!!

[cmM]

you sound pretty excited ;)

Congrats on the win, and on the camera!

[Anteros]

Congratulations. That's a wonderful accomplishment.

Enjoy your new 20d.

[Vetteography]

Wow... just wow. Congratulations! That is a fantastic story and the happy ending makes it that much better.

those pictures make me a little homesick. I am a San Antonio boy (Go West campus Cougars!) settled in North Carolina.

[Jon]

Way To Go!
20D and some nice glass?

[BenjaminL]

Awesome.

Enjoy your 20D and post your work often. But didn't this story also tell us that you don't need super-de-duper camera to take award-winning photos?

[lmelendez]

Paul,
Those are great pictures... congratulations!!

Leo.

[dewmuw]

Fantastic news - well done. Now keep your fingers crossed for everyone else (like me) who have submitted photos to local competitions

[MDJAK]

Congrats. That was an excellently written piece. I enjoyed reading it. I too hounded my wife until she said get it. She knew full well I couldn't win a photo contest unless I submitted a photo taken by Ansel Adams.







Awesome.

Enjoy your 20D and post your work often. But didn't this story also tell us that you don't need super-de-duper camera to take award-winning photos?

Ben, I don't know why you say that:) . I have a super-de-duper camera and I still take stinky pictures.:oops:

[rfreschner]

Congrats on winning, I'm sure you can find enough ideas on what to spend the additional money on right here on these pages!!


BTW, welcome to the forum also!

[charlesu]

Congratulations Paul!! Great work and I hope you continue to create and post great work.

Now as to thanking your wife for showing you the clipping in the first place and encouraging you to "win the contest" I do hope you have something special in mind for her.

[Parson]

I don't know, Paul- With $4,600 why not a 1D MkII and a "Margaret I really need this L lens so I can win another contest" program? :) Seriously, congratulations on some really nice shots!

Dave H.

[slin100]

Wow! That's awesome! Congratulations!

Don't forget to set aside some of that winnings for taxes.

[TSEE]

Congrats, that's awesome!

[jukas]

Excellent, glad to hear it! With $4600 to spend you could buy a 20D two nice L lenses and probably still have enough left over for Operation "Buy Margaret diamond earings and earing huge brownie points"

[WaveRider57]

Paul,
Those are great pictures... congratulations!!


Thanks, Leo!
This event was enough of a catalyst to get my boys picking up my former Kodak! I'm almost as thrilled about that as my new acquisition.

[hickory]

Canon 20D ....................$1399.00
Canon 100-400 IS USM L......1399.00
Canon 17-40 L USM.............679.00
LowePro Mini-Trekker AW.....89.00
Night out with the wife........500.00


Feeling for winning this contest = Priceless!

[WaveRider57]

Congrats on winning, I'm sure you can find enough ideas on what to spend the additional money on right here on these pages!!

BTW, welcome to the forum also!

Yeah, there's never a shortage of 'gotta-have' gear, is there?

This is a great community, and now that I'm a card-carrying Canon member, thrilled to be here, Rick!

[cmM]

Yeah, there's never a shortage of 'gotta-have' gear, is there?

This is a great community, and now that I'm a card-carrying Canon member, thrilled to be here, Rick!
now go buy a POTN strap! quickly! :-P ;)

[WaveRider57]

...as to thanking your wife for showing you the clipping in the first place and encouraging you to "win the contest" I do hope you have something special in mind for her.

Absolutely. I repeatedly give her credit for showing me the article, and I'm going to be taking her and Camy on a well-deserved vacation this summer.
Sans kids.

[WaveRider57]

With $4600 to spend you could buy a 20D two nice L lenses and probably still have enough left over for Operation "Buy Margaret diamond earings and earing huge brownie points"

I opted for just the basics this time around:
20D, the awesome 28-135 image-stabilized lens, and the Speedlight 580EX.

Hey, (he says confidently) ...if I can win grand prize with a 4MP consumer camera, there should be more just around the corner! ;)

[MazerRakhm]

Lucky dog! I just visited San Antonio for a day and a half while on Easter (Spring) vacation with family in Harlingen. It's a wonderful town, I want to go back and visit for a little longer!

[jbradc]

Great story, I love happy endings :-)

[Avalonthas]

Congrats. Ive never seen someone win a contest much over 1000 bucks with a 4MP camera.....some damn nice work. keep it up. You will obviously become successful with ur 20D. Spend the extra cash on a nice lens.

[tim]

Congratuations! I like the 2nd and 3rd links best, very cool shots there :)

[WaveRider57]

Thanks, Tim!

[ScottK]

Congratulations! You're an inspiration to all us little guy wanna-bes. ;)

If you're ready to order today, Dell has a 15% off coupon for Canon DSLRs. That gets you the kit for under $1360, or the body only for under $1275. Plus tax and shipping, of course. They also have a 2gb SanDisc Ultra II card for $149 right now (25% off, no coupon), which is a pretty good deal. (Don't forget to factor in all the extras, like a big fast CF card, extra batteries, etc. when figuring your budget. :) )

Details here (http://slickdeals.net/?site=slickdeals#p5941). (It only has links for the 350D, but just copy the coupon code, then go to Dell, add the 20D to your cart, then apply the coupon on your cart page.)

[markubig]

. . . And they lived happily ever afterhttp://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif:)http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif . . . . until he decided that he needed a 400mm/2.8L http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/tongue3.gifhttp://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_wink.gifhttp://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/tongue3.gifhttp://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif

Awesome story and awesome pictures!!!

.

[2goldens]

Great job. :)

[CyberDyneSystems]

Congrats! Thats just great news!

[Fredinpa]

Congratulations and sham on you wife for not supporting your prize winning talent!

[zipart]

i read my husband your story and his comment was: "if he got such good shots with is old camera, why does he need a new one?" he just doesn't understand. but i do. congrats.

[Marvinspu36]

Wow. That is way too cool. Congratulations! And the photo's are definately winners. Very nice work! I love the look and feel of the grand prize photo. It is very awe inspiring.

[RJSorensen]

Way to go . . . your work is good.

[Bruce Hamilton]

With that $4,600.00, you'd better hope it doesn't turn into "Operation - Margaret Wants New Carpeting".

Or "Operation - Margaret Wants Cash from Paul" :D
You come home with all that camera equipment under your arms, you'll never convince her you won it.

[Dubsta]

Dude congrats! I just won a 300D in a Photo contest in a magazine. www.saltscapes.com....so I know the feeling!

[rammy]

Congratulations Paul! Hope you have a great time with your new fancy toy! Good to know that nice things DO happen, now and then!

[Kadath]

Hey that is just awesome! Enjoy the 20d and your vacation!

You know what would be cool? A board or other resource that lists out photo contests open to amateurs.

Sam

[WaveRider57]

Thanks guys!

[WaveRider57]

You know what would be cool? A board or other resource that lists out photo contests open to amateurs.

What a GREAT idea, Sam!
Especially since most of 'em now accept photos burned on CD.
Heck, I'd be willing to enter more, if I knew about 'em!

Paul

[roanjohn]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!

With that money, you can even upgarde to the 1DMKII...........

OOOPPPSSS!!!! I'm just JOKING!!! :-)

Even I was excited for you!!! GReat photos.

Ro1

[roanjohn]

i read my husband your story and his comment was: "if he got such good shots with is old camera, why does he need a new one?" he just doesn't understand. but i do. congrats.

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

We need more people like you.

Ro1

[symes]

Just a great story...welcome to the SLR club...:)

[britt777]

That story was just too cool. I wish I could have bought my 20D under those conditions...lol. Very uplifting story. I have sent off for contest and been disapointed myself, but your story gives me true hope. Thanks and have a blast with your new toy!!

[WaveRider57]

Just a great story...welcome to the SLR club...:)

Thank you! It's more a case of 'welcome back' as I've been a photographer since a wee lad (seriously. Kodak Hawkeye Brownie when I was 6). I have NEVER, however, had a camera of the PRO caliber of this 'making me grin again' 20D. I'm in Luuuuuv. :lol:

[Vega$50]

Very inspiring! Congratulations!

[marie]

I’m not believing this!

Something has happened. (As the apparition said in 2001…”Something. . .wonderful”)



I made the mistake of stopping by my favorite local camera store and laying hands on the Canon 20D digital SLR. We’re talking 8.2 megapixels of 5-frame-per-second happiness here. As soon as I saw how fast it powered up (instantly) and how fast it focused (instantly) I knew I was in trouble. Keep in mind that the camera body + a wide-to-medium zoom lens is gonna set me back 2 large. Out of reach for me at the moment, but somehow that just didn’t register. I knew after spending 5 minutes with this camera in my hand, and giggling like a little girl, that I HAD to have it.



Since I planned to remain happily married, I was smart enough to realize I couldn’t saunter in with several boxes under my arm and a considerably fatter credit card bill. So I began “Operation Wear Margaret Down”. Ok. That was the code-name. The public name for this would be a more cheerful “Operation Margaret said I could just so I would shut up already about how cool this camera is”. (I might need a shorter name)



Margaret later shows me a clipping in the Sunday paper that the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau wants to make a new city brochure, and to do so they wanted a lot of photos of the city. So….they announce a photo contest. I check into it, and there’s no mention of how many images I can submit, so I ask ‘em. They tell me, “oh, as many as you want”. Hmmmmmm.



Now, I’ve had my trusty Kodak for about a year, and shot a LOT of photos around town. I’m really drawn to skyline/architecture/abstraction imagery and I guess I have 50 or 60 nice shots. Deciding noto to bore them to death…”And here I am standing in Front of the Alamo”…I submit my 30 best shots, with my Riverwalk night-time a certain contender, since it always elicits ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from viewers.



Well, Operation whatever isn’t going so well. Margaret has decided years ago I’m nuts, and me taking photos of her with my hand cupped in the exact position of the 20D at precisely 5 frames-per-second is nothing bothersome to her. She’s not cracking. NOW, every time I mention my betrothal to my 20D, she smiles sweetly and says, “win the contest!”. Um, ok.



Contest ends…the date for judging and/or announcement of winners passes without a word from Bromley Communications, the ad agency coordinating it. Damn.



I tried not to show it, but it was beginning to eat at me. I just had to get used to the idea that I lost. What I could not reconcile, however, was that not ONE of my photos had been chosen at all. While they had a grand prize of $4,000, they also had to populate a brochure, which means a lot of shots. That there was a better photographer in town was sort of a given. That EVERYONE was better than me was a bit troubling.



I’m at work today, and my cell phone rings with a local, unknown number. I answer. It’s Bromley Communications calling to tell me I WON. The GRAND PRIZE! I WON! About halfway through this conversation, I realize with utter dread what day it is. I interrupt him to ask, “Did Margaret pay you to call me as an April fools joke?” “No,” he assures me, while he does know Margaret this is the real deal. I almost drop the phone I’m jumping up and down so much.



It gets better.



He then tells me that three additional photos of mine have been chosen for $200 third-place prizes, for a total gonna-get-my-camera purse of $4,600. I won, and I won again. Not on chance, but on merit. This kinda cool **** just does NOT happen to me. The icing on the cake is that one of the contest judges was very impressed with my work, and wants to get in touch with me to work on an upcoming project!



I win, and went down the next morning and bought my new Canon 20D camera and I may even have a paying gig waiting in the wings!

Oh, and if you want to see the photos that helped me land my camera (all shot with my Kodak DX6490), you can seem on Fotki:



Grand Prize Photo – Emily Morgan
http://************/5lmyu



Third Prize Photos

http://************/6nafp

http://************/6uk6h

http://************/3v4fq


Paul Lara
San Antonio, TX


Best congratulations Paul http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif
that is wonderful news


this picture is stunning.
it's a beautiful building
http://************/5Lmyu

[marie]

Dude congrats! I just won a 300D in a Photo contest in a magazine. www.saltscapes.com....so (http://www.saltscapes.com....so) I know the feeling!
http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif
congratulations Dubsta
that's just great news too

by the way, that link does not show up
but no worries
http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif

[Conk]

It's great to hear thatsomebody got dealt such a great hand. I'm very happy for you. Way to go. :D

[mdclaros]

congrats
Nice shots

[am_pitbull_terrier]

:D Thats Awesome

[sixshot]

Congrats. Inspiration to take more photos. The poping into the camera shop 'just' to have look also happened to me and now I am looking forward to purchasing a 20D. Soon hopefully!!