Our June Photo of the Day contest winners showcase a wealth of talent and five different camera makers!

posted Wednesday, July 20, 2016 at 7:54 AM EDT

It was bound to happen eventually, that five different camera companies would be represented atop the podium in our esteemed Photo of the Day contest for our monthly prize winners. And yet, for anyone who follows our contest on a regular basis, you're likely well aware that most months are a battle between Canon and Nikon for the top prizes. This month that was all turned on its head, with Canon, Pentax, Nikon, Olympus and Sony all enjoying the prize-winning honors.

I know what you're likely thinking.... what about the photographers themselves, eh? Ah yes, even though we are admitted gear-heads here at IR, we do realize that it's the photographers who come first, who produce the images and who make the contest special. And most months it is indeed they and the images that takes the lead story, but because this is a site about camera equipment first and foremost, we didn't think you'd begrudge us the mention of the gear diversity this month, as this is literally a first for that in our contest.

Now... let's move on to the esteemed photographers and their prize-winning images!

First Prize • $300 gift certificate from Adorama

First Prize • Horse Show by Paul Bogdanoff • Canon 40D

Second Prize • $200 gift certificate from Adorama

Second Prize • Waimea Pasture by Charles Wood • Pentax 645Z

Third Prize • $100 gift certificate from Adorama

Third Prize • Great Egret Preening by Morris Bennett Altman • Nikon D300

Additional Honors

First runner-up • Framed by Edwin S. Loyola • Olympus TG-4

Second runner-up • Waterfront Dawn by Paul Keitz • Sony A7R II

We're grateful to the prize-winning photographers and to our runners-up this month, and appreciate everyone who supports our contest with their submissions. Congratulations to the honored photographers this month, and if you'd like to leave praise for any of them please do so in the comments section below this article! (Clicking on any image will take you to a page with more information about the exposure settings used.)

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!