I’ve been a part of a couple of Canon Photomarathon‘s before but their revamped competition guidelines had me rethinking the exercise (as well as a few other earlier engagements during that day). Nonetheless, I was able to visit the event in the afternoon and stayed until the Grand Champion had been announced.
The event was staged at Hall 4 of the SMX Convention Center where Canon shooters were registered and given the competition brief as early as 6AM. This time around, there was no longer a sub category for point and shoot users, it had been an all out competition with two themes… runners up were chosen for both themes and a grand winner who’d proceed to represent the country in the Canon Photomarathon Grand Finals in Japan.
Being a whole day event, there were several lecture/workshops while the competitors were winding down and waiting for the announcements. I’d been able to catch two of them – Andre Hoffman on Professional Travel Photography and Wesley Villarica who spoke on Posing for Fashion Photography. There were plenty of photographic tidbits to be had between these two alone so I’m really glad I was able to listen in.
Within the hall, there were several booths from the event sponsors where some paraphernalia were sold at a discounted price, a free cleaning area for CMP cameras, even a booth for a chance to participate in the fourth season of Photo Face-Off, as well as a product and technology showcase booth for Canon cameras, lenses, and printers.
And among the multiple products up for pre-order and purchase, there were a couple of new ones I’ve never seen before:
The Canon M100, a mirrorless system camera with a 180-degree tilting screen that surprisingly comes with an EF-M 28mm 1:3.5 Macro lens when you first purchase it… an odd choice, but the sales representative told me he was sure that it was the kit lens… this particular lens has macro lights in front of it so you wouldn’t need any more attachments shooting with it. The M100 was preselling for Php 33,494 with different perks depending on where you asked.
And there was the Canon EOS 200D an entry level DSLR outfitted with a 10-18mm Ultra Wide within the display setting… unsure if this is the actual kit but if it is, that’s some fantastic niche marketing move right there.
The event concluded with this photograph from Mr. Ruben Ranin bagging the prestigious grand winner title. In an interview he tells about how he took around 20 shots from a rooftop with a fantastic view and actual birds to come up with the winning entry.
It was a great day of sharing knowledge and everyone’s passion for the act and art of photography. Really looking forward to the next gathering from Canon and what lies ahead for the Global Photomarathon.
#photogoals
#CanonPhotomarathonPH2017
#TeamCanonPH
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