This woodpecker and my trusty DSLR won me $300! Our July POTD monthly winners unveiled

It's that time again when we get the honor of unveiling the winners of our Photo of the Day contest, and if you like nature photography you're in for a treat. All three prize-winning photographers for the month of July have brought to us a unique look at the natural world, and beautiful ones at that!

Our First Prize this month goes to one of our contest regulars, Debra S. Dorothy, with a fun and whimsical image of a woodpecker in what appears to be a potential oncoming collision. The bird's eye is in sharp focus and yet at 600mm there is still a fairly shallow depth, even at f/8, and the overall composition makes for a unique and eye-catching image.

Congratulations on another podium winner, Debra!

 

First prize • Brakes...I Said Brakes by Debra S. Dorothy • Canon 7D

[Click on any image for a larger version and more information.]

Also no stranger to our awards podium is photographer Bob Jensen, who won our top prize back in January, also with a Nikon F4. His dragonfly from July intrigued our judges for its technical prowess and excellent composition - a spectacular shot.

Nice work, Bob!

 

Second prize • Big Red Skimmer by Bob Jensen • Nikon F4

And taking third place and the final prize winner of July is another of our longtime contest participants, Frank Somma and a delightful image of a bird in the bush. The contrasting textures are what appealed to the judges above some of the other entries from the month, and we're thrilled to be showcasing this image.

Please keep them coming our way, Frank!

 

Third prize • One in the Bush by Frank Somma • Nikon D3

Our two runners-up from the month of July are both gorgeous black-and-whites from Sirsendu Gayen and Michael Warwick. They balance our top five with a gentle serenity and beauty.

Thanks to both of you for the wonderful images!

 

First runner-up • A Prayer by Sirsendu Gayen • Nikon D80

 

Second runner-up • Santorini Magic by Michael Warwick • Nikon D810

For those of you who regularly follow our contest, you may recall that in June Canon took a clean sweep of the entire top 5. This month, while a Canon body took the First Prize, Nikon made a sweep of the remainaing four slots. Yes folks, the competition between these two esteemed DSLR providers is alive and well, and if you'd like to read more on that please see this news story from last year which takes a closer look at just how tight that competition has been!

Thanks so much to everyone who enters our Photo of the Day contest. The top three prize winning images all receive gift certificates from Adorama of $300, $200 and $100, respectively. [International readers are welcome to enter, but only US and Canada residents are eligible to win prizes due to regulations.] For anyone wanting to know more about our competition please visit this news story which describes our contest and also offers some useful tips to help you succeed. To see camera and exposure information on this month's winners or to visit previous months please visit our POTD winner's gallery.

Ready to submit a photo of your own? Just click here! And to compliment these photographers on their submissions or to offer your own analysis, please use the comments section below.

• Thanks to Adorama for sponsoring our contest! •

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News stories from previous monthly winners:

 

Wild Dolphin by Karen Celella

June 2015 POTD Winners

May 2015 POTD Winners

April 2015 POTD Winners

March 2015 POTD Winners

February 2015 POTD Winners

January 2015 POTD Winners

December 2014 POTD Winners

November 2014 POTD Winners

October 2014 POTD Winners

September 2014 POTD Winners

 

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