Photowall competition

Congratulations to Ali Rusbridge from London who has won a Canon IXUS 265HS in our Photowall competition.

It was a difficult decision as there was some stiff competition. The birds were the most common subject, but we also saw some other interesting entries, including a striking window image, a couple of images capturing the texture and colour in the shells of our visiting giant African snails and one of the carthorse which paid us a short visit on Friday.

Her stunning image of Wiggins the peregrine falcon caught the judges' eye with its interesting composition, sharpness around the eyes and light around the wingtips.

Mini studio set-ups

Sue and Gordon from Allpet brought along their private collection of reptiles and insects to train our cameras on. The giant African snails slithered their way across the macro studio, happy under the lights with a spray or two of water to assist them.

The giant millipede and tarantula stayed put in their tanks but would both have been quite happy to make a new home in the pigeon holes which still feature as part of the 400-year old Dovecote building. And the nameless pet bearded dragon certainly took the day in his stride!

Birds of prey

Parsnip, Pancake, Leo and friends proved to be the most popular attraction of the day, with staff and visitors alike vying for the best spots to photograph these beautiful British birds. Huge thanks to David at Hawkwalk for being part of our birthday event and for his boundless knowledge and enthusiasm.

Birthday cake

The homemade cakes, all made by the EOS ladies, went down a real treat. It turned out to be quite a spread, one that would give The Great British Bake Off a run for its money! One creation that was not made in-house was this fabulous EOS 5D Mark III cake, a fitting showpiece to celebrate our 21st birthday. All the credit goes to Emma from Caked in It for her artistic skill and baking prowess.

Equipment corner

There was a variety of Canon equipment on show, with an opportunity to have a go with a fisheye, wide-angle and L-series zoom lenses. Lots of visitors brought their cameras along too and it was great to see so many fellow Canonites!

EOS advice, printing and more

With the EOS magazine editorial team on-hand we answered your technical queries, printed your panoramas and checked how many times your camera's shutter had fired. Phew - it was a busy two days!