Yup, it was just announced yesterday, that the 2013 Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk will be kicking off in October.

And yours truly will be leading the walk to be held here in Portland Maine. I have led this walk before and it has always been a great deal of fun, you get to make new (photography) friends, take some great shots, and fill your lungs with fresh air.

All good things.

The walk does not take place until October 5th, but your can reserve your seat today.

I really hope to see you there.

If you enjoy taking pictures of flowers (and who doesn't?), then the Gardens in Focus Photography Competition could be right up your alley.

One of the cool features about the competition is not only do you have the chance to win money, there is the opportunity (only if you want it) to sell prints of your photograph as well.

Here are a few of the details:

Categories:

* Plants in a Botanic Garden (Amateur)
* Plants in a Botanic Garden (Professional)
* Creatures in a Botanic Garden (Amateur)
* Creatures in a Botanic Garden (Professional)
* Out & About in a Botanic Garden (Amateur)
* Out & About in a Botanic Garden (Professional)
* International Botanic Gardens (Open)
* My Secret Garden (Open)

Prizes:

The photographer of the overall winning image will be awarded the first prize of $2,000 in cash and will have their images displayed with the prestigious International Garden Photographer of the Year competition in the UK and published in the IGPOTY book.

Second prize - $1,000 in cash

Third prize - $500 in cash

Category prizes - $150 each category

People’s choice prize - $300 in cash

Plus all winning and grand finalist photographs are featured printed and framed under glass in an exhibition at the Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney. Selected framed prints from the exhibition will be available for purchase (subject to the agreement of the photographer).

"Pic of the Month" - monthly prize

You can get the rest of the details here.

As a follow-up to our last post, here are a few things I wanted to share regarding one of the cameras we talked about, the Nikon D800 (a camera I own and LOVE).

Did you know that the video quality is so good that there are some TV shows that shoot exclusively with the D800? Check it out.

In my interview with Michael Clark, he said that some of the best video files he sees are coming out of the D800.

As many of you know, I shoot weddings with Stacey Kane, and she has become a huge D800 fan, having moved from the Nikon D3 to the D800 for one reason, image quality.

There is a reason those images look so good, according to organizations like DXO Labs, is that the D800 sensor is the best in the world.

Two very thorough, informative (and glowing) reviews you will want to read:

1. The first is the "Nikon D800 Review" from PhotgraphyLife.com - "I am very impressed... the Nikon D800 will become the camera of choice for my photography needs".

2. Is from Ken Rockwell, here is his review of the Nikon D800. "The D800 is the best DSLR ever made by anyone at any price".

Both of these reviews are phenomenally in-depth.

If you are seriously considering a new camera, you can not do better than the Nikon D800 and you can get it for $2700 with free shipping.

Lastly, if you own (or are expecting to own) this camera you can get an in-depth step-by-step tour of the Nikon D800 with John Greengo over at CreativeLive for just $49.

I recently read three posts comparing the Nikon D4, D800, and D600 that I want to share with you.








The first, "Nikon D4 vs D800 vs D600 full-frame low-light showdown" is from Pocket Lint and does a very nice job comparing noise between the three cameras.

The Second is from my photography man crush Ken Rockwell and his post is "The Nikon D600, D800 and D4 are the same camera inside!" in it he gives you his side by side comparison of all three (along with links to his in-depth reviews of each) and explains why the D600 is the smartest financial move.




Third, is a lively discussion covering "D800 High ISO" with Shun Cheung at Photo.net, lot's of visual evidence, lots of reader input.




Considering price, the Nikon D4 is $5996 (or $4899 refurbished) , the D800 is $2796, and the D600 is $1996 so (unless you are a sports photographer and need high frames per second rate) the choice is rather obvious.