Kelly C. Allen: Tamron Contest Winners Announced

The Winners of the Tamron 16-300mm Di II VC PZD Macro All-In-One Zoom Lens and Tamron 18-200MM F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC All-In-One Zoom Lens are…

A HUGE Thank You to everyone who entered our recent contest to win a 16-300mm Di II VC PZD Macro Lens from our friends at Tamron. Again, this was not actually a photography competition, but so many of you shared your beautiful photographs, we encourage you all to go back and scroll the comments section for some wonderful photos, and links to reader pages and sites.

Yet again, the response was absolutely AMAZING with over 430 entries! But now…onto the winners! Drum roll please, and the winners are:

Grand Prize

Tamron 16-300mm Di II VC PZD Macro:

The grand prize winner is: Donna Read

Tamron 16-300mm Di II VC PZD Macro – Value $629, for canon, Nikon or Sony small-sensor cameras.

Runner-up Prize

Tamron 18-200mm Di II VC:

The runner-up prize goes to: Morgan Ocker

Tamron 18-200mm Di II VC – Value $249, for canon, Nikon or Sony small-sensor cameras.

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!

Here are the posts from the winners of the Tamron 16-300mm Di II VC PCD Macro and 18-200MM F/3.5-6.3 Di II from our December, 2015 Contest:

Donna’s entry (many of you felt she deserved to win):

Last year I was homeless and living in my truck with my 3 cats. This year I’m living with my best friend and her son in the most beautiful place I could ever want. But I have to live on a very small pension of only $275 a month (I had to take it at 60 years old instead of waiting for 65) so what I had to do between then and now was the worst thing a photographer can imagine; I had to sell gear. I sold my main camera and a good bag, a 35mm 1.8 and then when my 17 year old cat was diagnosed with cancer, I sold 18-200mm as well so I could have him put down. I’ve been getting jobs finally but I’m having to shoot them with my old backup camera and an 18-55mm kit lens or my really nice 35-70mm 2.8. A longer lens would be a godsend for what I shoot! I mainly shoot non-traditional sports like kite surfing, skateboarding, rodeo and motocross etc. and I’m good at it.

I’m in a good place now and am ready to get back in full swing and one of these lenses would be a huge help getting fully back on my feet. I’m 61 years old and, in the big picture view, I’m running out of time to accomplish all that I want to. 10-20 years isn’t the ‘long time’ it seems when you’re young!

I hope you could consider me for one of these lenses. Thank you for taking the time to read my story.

Morgan’s entry:

I’m an amateur photographer in Texas and I am a 20 year old college student who has a burning passion for photography. I absolutely love this blog and have read most of the entries. It’s my go to when I have a question about my camera or photoshop or if I just needs a tip for something I’m wanting to shoot. I only have 2 basic lenses and I have really really wanted to get a new one but I just don’t have the money because I’m a college student with bills.

I raise money and go on a medical mission trip to Zambia, Africa every year. The people that live in Zambia that we help don’t have mirrors so when I walk around with my camera, women and children often want me to take their pictures so they can see their beautiful faces. For many, that’s the first time they’ve ever seen their face. I would really really enjoy this new lens so I could capture some more beautiful moments of the people hold my heart, in the place I love almost, if not equally, to Texas, my second home.

Special offer for dPS readers

Tamron Road Trip Image

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 prizes. Please make sure to look for our email. Thanks you again for all the wonderful submissions and to Tamron for sponsoring this competition.

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 $150 off through February 29, 2016. Find additional information HERE!

*Current rebate offers end January 29, 2016. US RESIDENTS ONLY.