Hi everyone, I’ve got lots to update you all on this month!

Last weekend we launched our new Canon EOS integrated marketing campaign for 2010. As part of this campaign we’ve produced four new EOS TV commercials; all filmed using the EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 7D digital SLR cameras – the first time that a commercial quality EOS TVC has been shot using the Full High Definition video capability of these digital SLRs in Australia. You can check out the four TV commercials on our YouTube channel: Bubble Blower; Rockpool; Milk Doof; Dog.

Today we’ve launched a Canon EOS Festival of Photography page on Facebook – it details everything you need to know about the Festival and its four Canon-sponsored events. Next Monday (June 7), the first of three competitions kicks off on our Facebook page. This first competition themed around the Canon AIPP Australian Professional Photography Awards (APPAs) challenges you to upload an image relating to ‘Science, Environment and Nature’ – one of the APPA categories. The winner, as voted by the public, will receive a Canon EOS 50D digital SLR camera (RRP $2,299)!

The launch of our APPA-themed competition on Facebook coincides with the official Canon AIPP APPA winners being announced next Monday. All you photography enthusiasts in Melbourne have the opportunity to observe the judging of these prestigious photographic awards. I’d encourage anyone with an interest in photography to visit the Canon AIPP APPA judging at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre from this Friday May 4 to Sunday May 6. You can check out the judging schedule on the AIPP website.

If you do head along to the APPAs make sure you check out the Canon stand at the PMA Digital Life Expo which is also being held at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre - we’ll be showcasing our latest products and initiatives!

Our five 2009 EOS Photo5 prize winners also just went on a photography safari with professional photographer Chris Bray and by the sounds of it, had an amazing time!  As winners of the 2009 Photo5 competition they won an EOS 5D Mark II Premium Kit as well as this trip which included return airfares, three night’s accommodation, a full day tour of Cape Tribulation, Mossman Gorge and Daintree Forest, and a 40 minute Helicopter tour of the Great Barrier Reef. Chris and the winners were constantly jumping between one unforgettable photographic experience to the next. I’ve pasted some pics taken by Chris of the trip below. Hope this inspires you to get involved with the 2010 EOS Photo5 competition – watch out for it early September.