Win a Canon 5d Mark II & a Online Skype Mentorship | *CLOSED*

     

    *EXTENDED TILL TODAY WED JAN 18th DUE TO SITE ERRORS DURING CONTEST*

    Hopefully I dont crash this blog as well lol! But if you are having trouble posting in the other giveaway thread here is an alternate way to enter. I posted all the contest details below so you can be sure to make sure you Welcome, Welcome!! I am SO happy you have come by! In honor of recently making 30,000 fans on my Facebook fan page HERE I am hosting the giveaway of all giveaways!! I have teamed up with Adorama.com (an amazing store that sells camera gear and MANY MANY more amazing things) and have busted open that piggy bank to offer you guys an AMAZING chance to win a Canon 5d Mark II! I have a feeling this giveaway is gonna get kinda crazy so be sure you read ALL the complete rules and guidelines below. I am such a pay it forward kinda gal and always looking for ways to give back and have wanted to do this for SO long so I have been saving like a mad woman to be able to bring this very opportunity before you!!

    First and for most I just want to say Thank you SO much! Thank you for taking time to come by my fan page. I so LOVE to see your photos, read your comments and hear your feed back! Thank you so much for also supporting my humble little shop! For those that aren’t aware I sell photoshop processing tools like Actions, Textures and Presets for Photoshop and Lightroom (by Adobe). You can find my shop HERE. As my way of saying thank you this week you can save big by using the code Happy2012 and nabbing 40% off on all actions, textures and bundles I have available. I also offer online mentorships and you can save 20% off of those. There is more info HERE on what the online mentorships entail.

    I am SO excited to be able to present this giveaway! It has been a long time dream and goal of mine and something I have been planning for almost a year. I am so incredibly happy that this dream has finally come to fruition and it is something I am able to do!!! If you would like to enter I ask that you read and follow the rules VERY carefully so not to get disqualified so I can do this is the easiest way possible for everyone!! I am doing this because I love you all and want to keep this as exciting and as happy an event as possible! I have choose to giveaway a Canon camera because I am a HUGE Canon girl and stand behind the brand and want to share my love for you all!!

    Before we get into the meat and potatoes of the giveaway though I thought a little bit of WHY I was doing this was necessary. You can totally scroll down to the giveaway information but for those that may be interested I thought I would share. I have been looking for a way to really give back for the longest time now. Those on my fan page might hear me often say that I come from humble beginnings. There is a good possibility I may have been putting that lightly. I am a professional photographer and LOVE my job. I love all that I get to do for “work” (Seems like a sin to call it that.) A few years back before I decided to take the plunge and really put my goals into motion. I was incredibly apprehensive because we were at a point where we were struggling and had nothing to spare. My husband worked 70 hours a week in a factory and it was impossible to keep up the demands of all our finances and having four little mouths to feed and I was feeling incredibly guilty and terrified I was failing my family. When the economy tanked they cut off all my husbands over time and the situation went from bad to worse and we were well on our way to being pretty close to homeless. (I have an AMAZING family so we would never end up on the streets but it was a pretty dire situation.) I had weighed going back to work. I knew however with so many small children to take care of that the cost of day care alone would most likely eat whatever little income we had to spare even with me working full time so I decided that the years I had been practicing and the amount of research I had done were finally ready to hopefully pay off. Even if it was just enough to buy groceries or purchase the medications our oldest daughter needed I knew I had to do something… anything. So I took our last 100.00 on a whim, terrified out of my mind and started my business. We are truly blessed because what happened next is something I could never have imagined. My business took off. I was able to not only help my husband but eventually take on most of the bills myself and now my husband is amazingly a stay at home dad and I work from home. If this isn’t proof positive that dreams DO come true I don’t know what is! A lot of people wonder why I sell the photographer resources and such I do on my fan page for so much lower in cost them many others. The reason I do.. Simply because I like to pay it forward. I like to help others access things that they normally wouldn’t be able to. It isn’t that I dont have faith that what I sell isn’t amazing. I stand behind all the Presets, Actions and Textures I release a million percent. But I want photographers to be able to be able to invest in their processing and their business with money to spare for their families. I want to give back as much as I can because so much was given to me and I recognize how blessed I really am. I have been saving up for quite a while now to be able to do this. While I am not going to pretend to be immensely wealthy, somethings are more then worth and investing in and I truly believe this camera could help someone really take their business to the next level. I still remember the joy I felt when I finally was able to purchase one for myself. Something I thought at one time I may possibly never of had access to. And while a camera does not make a photographer, it is amazing to be able to have something as amazing as this camera to really embellish what is already there! I wish you all the luck! May all your dreams come true!!

    Prize:

    A Canon 5d Mark II & a 2 Hour Skype online Mentorship.

    How to enter:

    Comment on this post and let me know you have are a fan on facebook HERE and also for adorama HERE. Good for ONE entry. Please only comment once for this. Also know that it is one comment per household please. If you are already a fan just let me know that as well.

    For one bonus entry: Tweet, Share on Facebook or Post on your favorite forum about the giveaway and come on back and comment and let me know you have done so!!! Be sure to link me up!

    Fun rules and stuff:

    The giveaway will begin Tuesday Jan 10th and run through Tuesday Jan 17th, 2012. The winner will be chosen within a weeks time from the end of the giveaway to give me time to go through all the entries and make sure they are legal and valid!

    ONE entry per household. You may also choose to utilize the additional entry but that is also one per household. I have a way of checking IP addresses and will be cross checking everything so pretty please be honest.

    Comments do need to be moderated so they wont show until I approve them personally a lot of times. Please do not resubmit if you do not initially see your comment.

    The winner will be chosen randomly via random.org.

    This contest is open to everyone in and outside of the United States.

    This prizes holds no cash value and is not interchangeable. You do not have to take the skype mentorship if you do not want it but if you win you have that option. Can not be gifted, sold or traded and also has no cash value.

    Please be nice!! I am largely coming out of pocket for this prize and doing it because I genuinely love to pay it forward and do wonderful things for people. I would LOVE to host another similar giveaway and have some fun things lined up if this goes smoothly so lets all fun and be good sports!!

    Stay tuned because coming up will be giveaways for some wonderful things including actions, props, camera bags, editing software, lenses and more!! So please stay plugged in!! And of course feel free to say hi on the fan page!!! I love to “meet” you all!!

     

     

     

     



    know everything before entering:

    1,512 Lovely Comments  •  Leave a Comment for Sarah

    1,512 Beautiful Souls Commented

    1. Bridget C says:

      I shared the contest on my Facebook page:

      http://www.facebook.com/MyFourHens#!/bridget.calip

      Glad to hear about your grandmother.

    2. Kristen says:

      The extended deadline gave me a change to tweet! https://twitter.com/#!/pootzy

    3. Annie says:

      I love your website and photography captures our life in moments. It’s a beautiful thing.

    4. Megan Vance says:

      Thank you so much for this Sarah! I have been a fan of both for a while, and appreciate everything you do!

    5. Erinn says:

      I’m now a fan of your facebook page and adorama (had no idea they were on facebook). I also took a look at all your lightroom presets. Very cool.

    6. Megan Harley says:

      Just liked both pages to enter! Thanks for the opportunity!

    7. kristen purdy says:

      I am a facebook fan and a photography fanatic!!

    8. Also, I’ve shared this giveaway on my Facebook page! Thanks!

    9. TWEETED =)
      twitter.com/tony9006

    10. Wow. That is about all I can say right now. As I was reading your “the reason why I am doing this” paragraph, I had tears streaming down my face because that is exactly where we are right now. Exactly. We have three little roosters age 4 and under, so I stay home. My husband lost his job a week after rooster number 2 was born and is now working for a wonderful company that doesn’t pay him enough to even make our bills. To bring in extra cash, he parlayed his graphic design degree and photog training into an after hours photography business but the best we can do for a camera is to borrow his mother’s Rebel. He makes that Rebel sing, but the few times he’s had his hands on a true photography tool, his work has been unbelieveable.

      I am so proud of him, and believe so strongly in us, but we simply can’t compete with even less skilled photographers in our area who simply out hardware us. It just breaks my heart to see him working like a dog and us still sinking, sinking, sinking. The take-away quote from our most recent money conversation was, “Well, I’m (the wife) either going to have to get a job or we’re going to have to find housing that’s free.” Can’t get much more real than that.

      I realize that my telling our story has NO bearing on whether we win or not, and with nearly 2,000 entries, our chances are pretty slim. But after I read your “reason”, I couldn’t not share. Thank you for sharing those details, and for the encouragement they bring. Thank you for being a pay it forward kind of girl (that’s very much us too) and for loving people enough to be this transparent and this generous. I can’t wait to follow your work via the blog and FB page and learn new tips and tricks for how we can continue to improve OUR heart inspired art!

      God bless!
      Amanda

    11. Hey! Thanks for extending the deadline by a day, or I would have never found out about it!! =)
      I liked both pages, and am posting to twitter in just a moment.
      Fingers Crossed =)

    12. Phyllis Ketchersid says:

      I posted about the Canon 5d giveaway on Pinterest
      http://pinterest.com/pin/232709505715289190/

      Thanks so much for having the giveaway!
      Phyllis Ketchersid
      Email: aegis49@msn.com

    13. Stephanie mcfarland says:

      I am a fan! Yay!

    14. Love your work! I was already an Adorama customer I really like their custom albums for my clients. Thank you do much for this giveaway! Oh and I posted on both my Page wall and twitter @jennevazquez

      *smiles*

    15. Amy Vanwyk says:

      I am a fan of your Facebook page and that of Adorama as well. I think it is so awesome of you to do this. The 5D Mark II is my dream camera! :o)

    16. Jonathan Denney says:

      I think I may be too late for this, I don’t know. I’m 17 years old and have been doing Wildlife, Landscape, Architecture, and Abstract photography for two years now. Coming from a “non-rich” family, it would be a blessing to win a 5D Mark ii. I currently shoot with a 1000D with a 18-55mm lens, which is a really good camera and lens, but I feel my work could be quite better. Here is a link to my gallery in case you are curious of my work.

      http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/chatterbox/500k-go/t.77230083_1/

      Just scroll down a bit, and click the thumbnails. Would be great to win one of these cameras, but it’s at random, so it would really be a miracle. Haha Liked both Facebook pages. Not only because of the giveaway, but because I really enjoy photography. Photography is meant to be inspiring, and for you, yourself, as a photographer, to be inspired also.

      -Jonathan

    17. Betsy says:

      Sarah,
      thank you so much for this opportunity for so many of us to take our humble photog skills to the next level.

      I cannot even begin to tell you how much I have wanted a Canon camera of this caliber. It truly has been forever and the finances have just not been there to justify it.

      But more importantly, not only is the giveaway itself amazing, but what is more amazing is the inspiring story behind it….your story.

      Win or Lose…your story has inspired me in a profound way. To follow your dreams, passion and take a chance. Just that one step forward can make all the difference.

      Thank you so much for sharing. God Bless! β™₯
      (still praying for your grandma. Like you, my relationship with my own grandma is extraordinarily close – so blessed – so important – so loved. continued prayers for comfort and healing) πŸ˜‰

      (and yes, I am a facebook fan of both you and adorama and am tweeting about it!) πŸ™‚

    18. Catherine A says:

      I’m a facebook and adorama’s page!

      I also shared the link on my facebook! https://www.facebook.com/KittyCatAugustin

    19. Tanya says:

      I shared this on FB! Thanks again, Sarah! This is such an amazing giveaway!
      http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002413776624

    20. Bob Abell says:

      Such a wonderful idea….would love to be considered the new owner of the Canon 5d II….my father is 94 years old and has been taking pictures since he was 10 years old…I have his original camera and wooden tripod…He is still living and enjoys being a part of my photography. He was a street photographer and also did wedding and family portraits. Last winter I posted slides/old photos from his basement and went from 100 friends to 900 in a couple of weeks…The local newspaper created a section in the local paper called “Cotton’s Corner”….they download the photos from my facebook page to publish in the paper….Anyhow…would love for you to consider me to pass on the tradition!!!

    21. Beth Wallace-McNearney says:

      I just started taking pictures when my daughter was born and she is 8 1/2 months old now. I love taking pictures of her smiling face. I love your story. I am now a fan of yours and adorama.

    22. susan says:

      fan of both!!

    23. Dana Pineda says:

      Here’s my bonus entry as I shared it on Facebook! Thanks so much!!

    24. Brenda O says:

      Friends of both! Thanks.

    25. Dana Pineda says:

      I love your website and all your great ideas! I am an aspiring photographer, but most of all right now love shooting my kids! I am a fan of both Facebook and Adorama and will share this! Thanks for all you do!

    26. Tanya Harward says:

      Sarah, you are beyond thoughtful and generous! This is such an amazing prize for anyone to win and could change someone’s life! Thank you south for the chance! Also, thank you for sharing your story … It’s so inspiring to see someone create such a successful business doing something they love! Congratulations on such a great accomplishment! πŸ™‚ I’m already a fan of you on FB as well as Adorama. Thanks again for the chance!

    27. Jamie Bryan says:

      Love your actions and your work!

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