Somerset-based professional photographers Anita Corbin and John O’Grady have photographed eleven British scientists, and the portraits are now on display in London, for the first time ever. Anita Corbin of Corbin O’Grady Studio in Wellington, explains, “The colour portraits were taken in 1989 for the series ‘Science in Profile’ commissioned by The British Council. The pictures were taken by my partner John O’Grady and me over a three month period. There were 24 in total and the resulting set of portraits was exhibited in the early nineties all over the world but never in Britain. The large colour prints will form part of the photographic archive of significant Britons at The National Portrait Gallery and are currently on display at the Gallery.”  The display, entitled “Science in Focus” runs until 17 January 2010.

Website: National Portrait Gallery

Red Bull Reporter is currently looking for a photographer to report from the Red Bull Manny Mania Final 2009 Skateboarding event this November. Taking place in Ireland, the event will have a jam session format to reflect the way skateboarding happens naturally and also to encourage the best tricks. If you think you’ve got what it takes to take part in this assignment, head to the website below.

Website: Red Bull Manny Mania Final 2009

A giant pigeon “landed” on the grass beside London’s City Hall this morning. The life-like sculpture, which was specially commissioned to mark the UK launch of Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-ZX1 compact camera with an 8x optical zoom, graphically brought to life one of London’s most iconic and hotly debated creatures, Panasonic says. A team of five artists spent two months constructing the 1.52 metre high and 3.2 metre wide fibre glass structure which was lifted into place in Potters Fields, central London at 8am before moving further along the banks of the Thames for a national photo call in front of The Houses of Parliament. The giant pigeon is one of a series of objects which have been magnified and brought to life by Panasonic to illustrate the 8x optical zoom lens of the new, ultra-compact Lumix DMC-ZX1. Users are invited to submit their own photographs which showcase the fun that can be had with perspective for their chance to win a trip to the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games by visiting the website below.

Website: Panasonic 8xLife

Landscape and travel photographer David Noton has announced the next location in his series of inspirational evening events – the ‘Chasing the Light’ Road Shows. The event will take place at the Pennine Lecture Theatre, City Campus, Sheffield Hallam University on Thursday 25th February, with take-off scheduled for 8.00pm. “The Chasing the Light Road Shows will take guests on a global adventure, using the latest high definition projection and satellite navigation to whisk them around the world,” Noton says. “Of course we’ll be talking photography and travel, but the Chasing the Light Road Shows will be much more than that.” Tickets are priced at £16.50. To book your place, visit the website below.

Website: David Noton

The Institute for Contemporary Culture (ICC) at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) continues The Question of Celebrity, a series of events and programmes inspired by the exhibition Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008. The events include an illustrated panel discussion entitled “Facing the Lens, Seeing the Light: Observations on Portrait Photography”, which will explore the photographic portrait, its significance through the history of photography and its enduring fascination; a Sony Family Portrait Weekend on 14-15 November; and a series of film screenings.

Website: Royal Ontario Museum

Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2010, the Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) announces today that registration is now open for WPPI 2010, billed as the largest annual expo and conference in the world for professional photographers. All WPPI 2010 classes, events and trade show will take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV, from March 4-11, 2010. Registrations are accepted via the website below.

Website: WPPI 2010

The Idea Generation Gallery will host a retrospective of photojournalist Nat Finkelstein from 20 January - 14 February 2010. This retrospective brings together Finkelstein’s diverse portfolio of work achieved across five decades: from the Factory scenes, to the civil rights and anti-war protests of mid-60s America, to his continuing exploration of the subcultures of 80s and 90s New York; Nat’s photographs not only depict their subjects and scenes, but also provide a visual record of the life and times of the photographer himself, the organisers say. The exhibition will be open 12-6pm Monday to Friday, and 12-5pm Saturday and Sunday. Entry is free. The Idea Generation Gallery is located at 11 Chance Street, London.

FPS Fest is a film screening event that explores the transition from still photography to motion. Presented by Dripbook, Resource Magazine, and ROOT Capture, FPS Fest will take place pn 17 November in Root Brooklyn, 131 North 14th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211. As the organisers put it, the event “provides information and stimulation about technology, techniques, and strategies to take on the future of a changing industry”. The entry fee is $5.

Website: FPS Fest

In conjunction with his upcoming exhibition at Gagosian Gallery, photographer Roger Ballen will present a free public lecture at the School of Visual Arts on Monday, November 9 at 7pm. Ballen’s black and white series Boarding House, up at Gagosian November 5 - December 23, explores a three-story warehouse hidden among the gold mines in Johannesburg, South Africa and inhabited by disenfranchised, impoverished families and fugitives. Ballen will speak with editor and publisher Darius Himes, who has contributed to Aperture, Blind Spot, Bookforum, BOMB, PDN and American Photo. Click through / read on for the details of this event.

The Annenberg Foundation has announced the third exhibit in the Annenberg Space for Photography, entitled “SPORT: IOOSS & LEIFER”. This exhibit will feature the work of Walter Iooss and Neil Leifer, two of the world’s most preeminent sports photographers. Spanning the careers of both men, over 80 photographic prints will be seen in the exhibit which includes iconic images such as Muhammed Ali’s victory over Sonny Liston (by Neil Leifer, 25 May 1965, see above) and Michael Jordan in full glory. “SPORT: IOOSS & LEIFER” will open to the public on November 12, 2009 and run through March 7, 2010.

Artloco Gallery is looking for amateur and professional photographers resident within the South East of England to submit work for a photography exhibition. Artloco is a new community gallery opening in Ticehurst, East Sussex in December 2009. Their first exhibition will focus on photography by local photographers. If interested, send an email to Sallie Court’s address, (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or visit her website.

Website: Artloco

The winner of the UK’s “Take A View” awards has been named, and the finalists’ works will appear in a free exhibition at London’s National Theatre between 5th December 2009 and 24th January 2010, with over 100 stunning images on public view. Epson has teamed up once again with professional photo lab, Bayeux, to produce the exhibition display panels on Epson Premium Photographic Paper using the Epson Stylus Pro 9900 Large Format Printer. The Take A View – Landscape Photographer of the Year 2009 Exhibition will be open Monday to Saturday, 9.30am to 11pm (except for bank holidays) .

Two new and diverse photography exhibitions opened yesterday at Aperture Gallery, New York. Photographs, depicting subjects from across 12 genres, by the winners and finalists of the 2009 Sony World Photography Awards will be exhibited alongside photos from the Sony Artisans of Imagery programme. The Sony World Photography Awards Global Tour 2009/10 exhibition includes images by U.S. photographers David Zimmerman and Dustin Humphrey. In the Sony Artisans of Imagery exhibition showcases six professional photographers’ collections. Each photographer will display select images exclusively shot with Sony’s A900 digital SLR camera during the last year all over the globe, including England, India, Madagascar, Thailand and the United States. The exhibitions will run until 30 October.

This weekend, Jessops is celebrating the launch of its Kingston store and dedicated Nikon area. The Kingston store builds on the success of Jessops’ newly redesigned stores in London - New Oxford Street and The Strand, Guildford and Cambridge, where live product displays have been introduced to encourage customers to interact and engage with products in advance of purchase, the company says. To kick off the celebratory weekend, Jessops are offering a number of discounts across their range of Nikon products, available in-store from this Friday 23rd October through to Sunday 25th October.