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Press Release

TAMRON LAUNCHES PRO LEARNING CENTER ON www.tamron-usa.com

Solid Information and Tutorials for Enthusiasts and Aspiring Pros

Commack, NY, February 11, 2005 --Tamron, a world-class lens manufacturer with over 60 years experience in optical innovation and excellence is expanding its website to include the PROfessional Learning Center. This dynamic new online resource will feature a wide range of incisive, up-to-date articles and inspiring images by leading pro shooters presented in a graphically exciting, user-friendly format.

The PROfessional Learning Center is designed to help everyone from photo enthusiasts to aspiring pros take better pictures and enhance their creative potential. It will include articles on shooting tips and techniques by specialists in all fields, from formal portraits to wildlife, and everything in between. In the coming months you’ll be able to download mini-courses on lighting, lens selection, filters, Photoshop programs, color management and much, much more. Most important, there will always be plenty of straight-from-the-shoulder advice from top pros to help you get the most out of your digital and traditional equipment.

Tamron will continue to build and expand the PRO Learning Center in response to input from users, making it an essential source of information for all serious photographers. So, if you’re serious about improving your images, log on to www.tamron-usa.com, go to “35mm and digital lenses” and click on Learning Center. We’re sure you’ll keep coming back for more.

To give you a better idea of the photographers whose images and advice will be showcased on the PRO Learning Center, here’s a quick profile of a couple of top pros whose work is currently posted: Stewart Powers of Gainesville, Florida holds an MFA degree, is an ASP Fellow, and a Professional Photographers of America Master Craftsman. One of Florida’s top wedding and portrait photographer for 28 years, he’s consistently won national and regional awards, taught countless workshops and seminars, and prides himself on a straightforward, no-nonsense approach to photography and photographic education. “I rely on a high level of credibility, not smoke and mirrors,” says Powers, “and I tell people exactly how I do what I do in a very direct way to help them take better pictures. The Pro Learning Center is an excellent way for me to extend my educational reach and I think Tamron is definitely ahead of the curve in launching this important resource for serious amateurs and budding pros.”

Terry Livingstone, of Franklin, Tennessee, is a nature photographer who has been practicing his craft for over 28 years. His images have appeared in Audubon, Outside, and The Atlantic Monthly, and also in National Audubon Society Field Guides and Sierra Club Books. His coffee table book, The Warner Parks: Nashville’s National Legacy, was published in 2000.

Livingstone is a popular lecturer, and has led scores of workshops, seminars and nature tours. “Tamron’s PRO Learning Center gives me a unique opportunity to give my workshops online,” says Livingstone. “By combining my words, images, and ideas in a more accessible form, they’ll be able to help greater numbers of photographers become more effective picture-takers. Some of the topics I plan to cover going forward include a guide to composition, how to get the most out of shooting with one lens, and finding great photos close to home—solid, practical stuff based on my own experiences in the field.”

Tamron is a leading manufacturer of lenses for photographic, industrial, laboratory, video, digital and scientific applications. Among its many optical and mechanical innovations since the start of the company in 1950, Tamron's development of mass produced hybrid aspherical elements in 1997 paved the way for high magnification zoom lenses. The company recently announced an “exclusively for digital” high ratio zoom lens, AF18-200mm Di-II that provides the versatile 28-300mm range for Digital SLR cameras.

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