We ran our first-ever Twitter competition throughout December 2010. All you had to do to enter was to simply include the hashtag "#nikonownermag" anywhere in your tweet and to follow @nikonownermag.

One of the entrants was bicycle dealer and amateur photographer, Karen Hall, and on January 4th, it was Karen's Twitter name -- @kphallmarkPhoto -- that was 'pulled out of the hat' as our winner. Here is her winning tweet:


"Thank you so much for the great news on winning. I am over the moon," she said, on being told that she had won.

It turns out that Karen has not only gained her Associateship of the Royal Photographic Society (ARPS) but has also had one of her photos published in Nikon Owner magazine (Issue 21) and is, in fact, a long term Nikon Owner magazine subscriber.

Karen, who lives in Woking, Surrey and works at Cycleman in Ashford, Middlesex, prefers infra red, wildlife and landscape photography. Her photos can be seen on her website: www.kphallmark.com

*A ticket to the workshop costs £245 (but only £185 to Nikon Owner subscribers).

South Coast Group regular, Malcolm Granger, will be bringing along his collection of studio equipment to give everyone a chance to try out some portraiture with backdrops, reflectors, and the like. In addition we're delighted that Helen Atkinson from Snapperstuff will be coming along with the Orbis™ ring flash attachment which converts a standard speedlight into a ring flash.


While the emphasis of the evening will be on portraiture we will also have a table-top studio lighting 'tent' set up for close-up and still-life shooting.

So drive off the post-holiday-new-year blues (except for the 'blues' from some speedlights!) and come along for an enjoyable evening... bring your camera, a speedlight (or two) and try out some studio photography.

Food will be available as usual, but can you post a reply on the Nikon Owner Message Board. If you are planning on coming along so we get an idea of numbers.

Date: Saturday 22nd January, 2011

Time: From 18:00 to about 22:00

Venue

The Duke of Wellington
36 Bugle Street
Southampton
Hampshire
SO14 2AH

Telephone no. +44 (0)23 8033 9222

The Duke of Wellington is situated in the centre of Southampton, about a 20-minute walk from the railway station and located close to ample parking available at the nearby shopping centre. Visit their web site for more details.

We look forward to seeing you on the night.

The contents for this issue include:

• Digital Workflow Pt. IV - Clive Carpenter
  
• Mike Maloney's Worlk: Grace Kelly: The Princess & the Photographer
• A Fistful of Nikons - Tony Hurst: The Interview by Gray Levett
• Life, But Not as We Know it - The Neil Lucas Interview by Gillian Greenwood
• Angel Eyes V by Heather Angel
• Nikon Owner Gallery - Haiti Orphans by Felix Kunze
• AF-S 24mm f/1.4G ED Nikkor Review
• Nikon TC-20E Mark III Review by Simon Stafford
  

About Nikon Owner
Nikon Owner magazine (issued quarterly) and its interactive website, www.nikonownermagazine.com is considered by many to be the world’s number 1 user group for Nikon owners. It was initially founded with the purpose of assisting Nikon users to make full use of the Nikon equipment they own, to give advice on a wide spectrum of photographic queries and problems, and at the same time to offer ideas to bring about an increase in photographic skills.

If you are not already a subscriber to Nikon Owner, you can apply for the standard, silver, or gold subscription to Nikon Owner below, by sending Greenwood an email with your full name, daytime mobile and landline. Alternatively, please call between 12.00 p.m. and 5.30 p.m. Monday to Friday on 020 7828 8971 (or 020 7828 4925 if that line is busy).

Gold subscription - launch price £349 (normal price £450)

• 5-year subscription to Nikon Owner
• 5-year warranty on all new Nikon products from Grays of Westminster
• Gold Priority waiting list for all new Nikon releases (top of the waiting list)
• A half-hour tutorial on the phone or face to face, by appointment
• Special offers to Gold subscribers throughout the period of subscription
• A signed copy of Grays of Westminster - In the Company of Legends, or if you have one already, a Nikon Magic Lantern Guide of your choice
• A Grays of Westminster umbrella
• Nikon Owner magazine, a superb, glossy full-colour 60-page quarterly magazine that is 100% Nikon. Each issue delivers benchmark technical reviews of the very latest Nikon equipment, thought-provoking interviews and articles with world-class images.
• Private user-name and password to subscribers-only website which includes forum, message board, technical equipment reviews, events page and use of a photo gallery
• Gold subscription card
• Simon Stafford’s Technical Helpline
• 18-month warranty on second-hand Nikon from Grays of Westminster
• 10% off Think-Tank bags purchased at Grays of Westminster
• Special trips and events
• Substantial discounts on training sessions organised by Grays of Westminster, including Mike Maloney’s House of Lords Photographic Workshop, Heather Angel’s Wildlife & Natural History Workshops, Simon Stafford’s Definitive Flash, Portraiture and Macro Training Sessions, Michael Eleftheriades’ panoramic and colour-calibration seminars and Chris Weston’s Photographic Courses
• 10% off any training courses run by Nikon UK

Silver Subscription - launch price: £129 (normal price: £179)

• 2-year Subscription to Nikon Owner
• 3-year warranty on all new Nikon products from Grays of Westminster
• A half-hour tutorial on the phone or face to face, by appointment
• Nikon Owner quarterly magazine, a superb, glossy full-colour 60-page quarterly
• magazine as above
• Private user-name and password to subscribers-only website
• Simon Stafford’s Technical Helpline
• 18-month warranty on second-hand Nikon from Grays of Westminster
• 10% off Think-Tank bags purchased at Grays of Westminster
• Special trips and events
• Discounts on training sessions
• 10% off any training courses run by Nikon UK

Standard Annual Subscription - special price: £59

• 1-year Subscription to the Nikon Owner
• 3-year warranty on all new Nikon products from Grays of Westminster
• Nikon Owner quarterly magazine, a superb, glossy full-colour 60-page quarterly
• magazine as above
• Private user-name and password to subscribers-only website
• Simon Stafford’s Technical Helpline
• 18-month warranty on second-hand Nikon from Grays of Westminster
• 10% off Think-Tank bags purchased at Grays of Westminster
• Special trips and events
• Discounts on events and training sessions
• 10% off any training courses run by Nikon UK