Now, as a healthy 9-year old boy, Egwau enjoys hobbies such as singing—(he is involved in the children’s choir at the village church!), storytelling and any sports that involve a ball—though he especially enjoys soccer. Egwau also is a great contributor to his family, helping his mother and father by washing clothes, caring for the animals, carrying water and gathering firewood.

In Orimai Village, the home to approximately 4,500 residents, typical houses are constructed of mud and have thatch roofs. The regional diet consists of maize, beans, cassava, potatoes and groundnuts. Most adults in Orimai Village are unemployed but some work as subsistence farmers and earn the equivalent of $5 per month.

This village community needs secondary schools and capital for income-generating activities. By our collective sponsorship, we are helping the staff of Otatai Child Development Center to provide Egwau with Bible teaching, sports, hygiene education, health screening, scholastic materials, hand crafts, opportunities to plant trees and life skills training.

I wrote a letter to Egwau today and will update the blog with his response when it arrives .

If you have any questions that you wish me to include in upcoming letters, please feel free to comment or email us at info[at]highkeycamera[dot]com with the subject line of “Egwau Godfrey”.

So, that’s the update! Thanks again for your help in supporting Egwau!

With the custom camera strap services we offer, you can achieve this easier than ever before. It’s almost like wearing your business card on your neck… only it’s a lot less tacky. Actually… it’s really cool.

One of our favorite examples that has come through the custom line thus far was created by Raymond K. of paintballpictures.co.uk. It had a loads of personality, style and truly excellent design. All in all, a stellar example of how to promote yourself with taste—while in the line of fire.

Here is his review on their facebook fan page:

Hello fans,

Its coming towards the end of the season, and paintballpictures in true “just in time” style, have received in the post all the way from So Cal, USA our custom camera strap.  In what we can only call being the first paintball photographer (in the UK at least) to agg up their DSLR in this manner, we went to HighKey Camera straps to make it happen.  We had the vision, they had the tools… destiny.

The strap we received exceeded every expectation we had… we were truly taken back.  The strap will immediately be sent to the front line and be mounted on the EOS 7D which has seen the majority of the 2010 season in the line of fire.  It is a one of one and truly unique.

^photo by paintballpictures.co.uk

Reader’s note: If you’re like me, and are from the US and don’t paintball… you might have to look up “agg” in the urban dictionary. Ha.

Agg is… A paintball term believed to be started by the team/group Hostile Kids (starters of HK army). Refers to being cool, in an unexplainable agg way. Agg isnt cool agg is agg. It is cooler than cool. They way you play can boost your agg status aswell. ex. your stance, composure and the way you shoot.

When this film/dinosaur strap came through our office, I’ll be totally honest… we totally flipped out! We fell in love with it! Kudos to Karen for her design skills! (design © by Karen Playford).

This is just one example of the creative designs that we are seeing… keep up the clever work, fellow photographers!

If you are like me, and find yourself stuck with “designers block” and you need a bit of inspiration, then stop by the Custom HighKey page to view a few photos or browse around on istockphoto.com. There are loads of ideas!

• Maybe you’re a surf photographer? browse around some of these to jog a bit of creativity.
• Maybe you want to spread the message of environmental conservatism? Browse these green graphics…
• Maybe you shoot with film? Browse these film graphics.
• Or… maybe you just have a thing for giraffes?

Announcing the release of the

Woodland Shooter Camo camera strap!

The Woodland Shooter camera strap is stealthy and discreet. The last thing you want while trying to blend into the underbrush of the woodland while trying to capture photos of a dainty Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch is a strap that blows your cover. The goal is to spot the wildlife before it spots you—which is why this camo strap is ideal for any nature photographer.

If nature photography is not your game, then maybe you just like camouflage… either way, go stealth to get the shots you love.

The contest runs through July 15th, so download our template and get creative!  At the end of the contest, we’ll have a poll right here on our blog where everyone can vote on the winner. You design, you vote, we give you free stuff. How could it get any better?

(download the template)

If you win the best designed strap:

• The winner gets their strap made and delivered to them for free.
• The winner’s design will be manufactured and available the public through during a limited edition run.
• Plus, we’ll send you this snazzy 8GB Lexar CF card! ($60 value!) – If your camera takes a different type of memory card, let us know!

To Enter:

• Download our strap template
• Create your design in Photoshop, following the guides on the template
• Save your file(s) as: lastname_firstname_highkey.jpg
• Send your FLATTENED, high-resolution .JPG file – LIMIT 2 ENTRIES PER PERSON – to: contest@highkeycamera.com

Even though you will send us your flattened file, be sure to save your unflattened Photoshop file!  If you win, we’ll contact you and ask for the full .PSD file for production, but please only send us high-resolution JPG’s for the contest.

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Rules:

• Nothing vulgar
• Limit two entries per person
• Contest ends 7.15.10
• By entering the contest, you give HighKey unrestricted permission to use your design for marketing, future straps, etc.
• And finally, have fun!

We’ve seen some TOTALLY rad custom camera strap designs coming through our production line these past few weeks! We’re pretty pumped, to say the least. Some people have mentioned that it would be helpful to see some of the designs people make, so here are some photos of a few straps from last week’s batch. We’ll be posting more photos as more straps are completed … so… if you’ve submitted a design, keep a sharp look out! Yours may show up on our blog

We’ve seen an array of straps, ranging from funky, bright and crazy to straps that advertise your name and company info. However, the common thread we can see in all the straps in PERSONALITY. Your personality totally comes through in your strap design! It’s awesome! It gets us excited because it means photographers are walking around showing THEIR personality for a change (not walking around like camera company billboards!).

You design your strap and you can fly your colors and promote your name while you do what you do best—take photos!

So... keep rockin' the awesome creativity. We're really in awe of the designs coming through! 

-andie & tom

If not, then you should! If you do, then get in on the Mother’s Day Giveaway via RTing!

So…. follow us and RT: “Win HighKey Camera $$: If 50 people RT this within 36 hours, we will draw & give away a $30 e-certificate for your mother!”

Andie Haugen and Tom Baker from Brooks Institute in California have started a custom camera strap business called HighKey Camera Straps. Customers can either choose straps from the inventory or design their own strap with whatever look they’d like. The students thought it would be great to start a business that allows photographers to express themselves and their personalities through their camera straps. I think I might just get myself a custom strap from this company for my camera!

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Ever wish you could have your very own personalized camera strap? We’re proud to announce that now you can, with any design, picture, logo or anything else you’d like on your strap!  You’re able to totally design the look of your own strap, and we’ll create it on the same high-quality camera strap everyone’s come to know and trust—HighKey.

It’s pretty straightforward: just download the template (also found on our website) and design your strap!  When you’re finished, place your order and send us your file.  If you need some help getting your logo, name, picture, design, etc on the strap, check the “Design Layout Service” box when placing your order and we’ll do it for you!

HighKey is the only place you can get a DESIGNED-BY-YOU camera strap…

This bright yellow reflective camera strap is the perfect way to stand out in a crowded city, especially New York City.  What better way to avoid being hit by cabs, bikes or falling pianos with this vibrant piece around your neck.  The strap is made from the same material as reflective tapes, backpacks, etc., and is sure to lift your spirits on any rainy day!

This design exclusive to HighKeyCamera.com.