Who says old cameras can’t take home the prize money? Our April POTD contest winners unveiled!

posted Saturday, May 28, 2016 at 8:18 AM EDT

We test the latest digital cameras for you along with the lenses that adorn them, but that doesn't mean we aren't nostalgic about some of the better models from yesteryear. For the month of April in our Photo of the Day contest, the winning image and grand prize of $300 in Adorama spending money was captured by our "regular" Terry Cervi and a trusty Canon EOS 10D, a camera that first came to market some 13 years ago!

The 10D was the first Canon DSLR to take the "D" from the front of the model number, as Nikon customarily does, and move it to the back. So at that time the 6MP Canon D60 evolved into the 6MP EOS 10D. It was also the first model to bring the DIGIC processor to their APS-C line of cameras, and marked the beginning of a line that continues to have a very strong presence today.

But enough about cameras already... Let's get to Terry's lighthearted, whimsical and very much off-the-beaten-path grand prize image!

First Prize • $300 gift certificate from Adorama

First Prize • I'll Get Cha! by Terry Cervi • Canon EOS 10D

They say you should try and get the eyes in focus, but we think in this case Terry's breaking the rules with good reason. Lead by the nose? Winner by a nose? You get the picture. Wonder if the bee survives?

(Thank you, Terry!)

Second Prize • $200 gift certificate from Adorama

Taking home our second prize and a $200 gift certificate is another regular who's no stranger to our awards podium. Using a Nikon D800 -- the "baby" among the cameras used for the top 5 slots in April -- Steven Shpall captures a gorgeous, surreal landscape image evoking both nostalgia and a bit of mystery as well.

Second Prize • Into the Woods by Steven Shpall • Nikon D800

(Thanks, Steven!)

See more prize-winning images from Steven Shpall:

Above Mount Ranier • Morning Mist • Under the Milky Way

Third Prize • $100 gift certificate from Adorama

Moving to our third prize and capturing a $100 gift certificate is yet another of our celebrated regulars, Debra S. Dorothy. It's actually rare that our regulars take all three of the prize-winning slots, but this month the stars aligned and here they are. Debra has sent us so many wonderful images through the years, and without doing an actual count, I'd guess she has likely earned more daily winners in our contest than any other contributor, at least in my four years as POTD editor.

Third Prize • Pretty Heron by Debra S. Dorothy • Canon 7D

What a stunning, gorgeous image of a heron, captured with her trusty Canon 7D (hailing from 2009!). We're honored to display yet another prize-winning image from Debra for you here.

(Thank you, Debbie!)

See more prize-winning images from Debra S. Dorothy:

Shadow Play • I Said Breaks! • Nest Building

(Editor's note: As we've mentioned on several occassions but something worth mentioning again here, the five judges for this contest have no idea who the photographers are when voting on the images, except in the rare case that we let an image through with a watermark. We generally discard images with watermarks for reasons explained in this article, but if an image is excellent and the watermark is subtle, we do sometimes make exceptions such as with the grand prize winner this month. But do use caution, as we won't let an obnoxious watermark pass through regardless of the quality of the photograph.)

Additional Honors

Congratulations as well to our two runner-up images this month from Ada Panich and Karen Celella! A wonderful portrait from Ada and a beautiful landscape image from Karen round out our top honors for April, and we're grateful to you both for these inspiring images.

First runner-up • Alessandra by Ada Panich • Nikon D300

(Thank you, Ada!)

Second runner-up • Mountain Range Reflection by Karen Celella

(Thanks, Karen!)

Read an inspiring Reader Story from Karen Celella:

Frozen! The night I tried to capture the evening sky, and instead it captured me

• • •

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, and this story that warns you of the best ways to NOT succeed. To see camera and exposure information for this month's winners or to see winners from previous months please visit our POTD winner's gallery.

[And if you're ready to enter now, just click here!]

On a related note, we've just started a new series of articles called "Reader Stories," where we turn the tables and let you, our readers, do the talking! We're interested in seeing more of the shots you're the most happy with, and in hearing just how you got them, or just hearing about your passions, interests and the gear you love! Intrigued? Please click here!