FotoFest organisers are reminding interested photographers that the registration deadline for the FotoFest Meeting Place is Monday, July 13, 2009, meaning there is now less than a month left to register. The FotoFest Biennial is claimed to be the longest running and most acclaimed photography biennial in the United States, and the next one will take place from 12 March- 1 April 2010. The Meeting Place is allegedly the largest, most international programme of its kind in the world for artists, curators and editors. During the course of the 16-day event, over 150 professionals from the U.S. and 20 other countries review the work of 500 artists.

Website: FotoFest Meeting Place Registration Form

Sigma has announced the availability of the Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM in Pentax and Sony mounts. This superzoom lens has been on offer for some time in Canon, Nikon and Sigma fit, but now Pentax and Sony owners can buy it too (though Sony A900 users should take note that the imaging circle of this lens is not big enough to cover the full 24x36mm frame). The Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM incorporates a Hybrid Optical Stabilisation system which allows photographers to use the lens’ OS function even if the camera has a built in anti-shake system. If the photographer chooses to use the lens’ OS function, they must ensure that the camera’s built in stabiliser is switched off. The lens also boasts an inner focusing system that eliminates front-lens rotation.

The new Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM lens now has a suggested retail price in the UK. This new lens will run alongside the current Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM and is expected to be available in the UK in July for Sigma, Canon and Nikon fit, with Sony and Pentax fit arriving in August. This super wide-angle lens has a maximum aperture of f/3.5 throughout the entire zoon range and incorporates two exta low dispersion and four aspherical elements as well as a ‘hyper sonic’ motor that enables quiet and high-speed auto focus as well as full-time manual focusing capability. The suggested retail price will be £649.99 in the UK.

Jessops have announced that the new Olympus Pen E-P1 digital camera will be launched at Jessops New Oxford Street store on Thursday 25th June 2009. To celebrate 50 years since Olympus launched the first Pen camera, Jessops are holding an exclusive launch event at their London New Oxford Street store on the 25th June from 6.00pm onwards. The launch event is open to all customers and Jessops will be giving away a free Cross pen worth £300 to the first 50 pre-orders.

Landscape photographer Tom Mackie explains how to improve your photography by getting back to basics.

Tamron has unveiled the release date of the SP AF60mm F/2 Di II macro lens, which we wrote about a few weeks ago. The Canon version of the lens will be released on 25 June in Japan, with the Nikon and Sony variants coming soon. The main features of the lens include 1:1 magnification, maximum aperture of f2, diagonal angle of view of 26 degreens and 11 minutes and a minimum focusing distance of 23cm. The lens is constructed of 14 elements in 10 groups, has 7 diaphragm blades and a filter diameter of 55mm. Other highlights include an internal focusing system, full-time manual control and a body mass of onnly 390 grams. Note that this lens is not meant to be used on full-frame DSLRs and 35mm film SLRs, because its imaging circle is smaller than that required to cover these formats.

Adobe Systems Incorporated has announced financial results for its second quarter ended May 29, 2009. In the second quarter of fiscal 2009, Adobe achieved revenue of $704.7 million, compared to $886.9 million reported for the second quarter of fiscal 2008 and $786.4 million reported in the first quarter of fiscal 2009. Adobe’s GAAP diluted earnings per share for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 were $0.24, based on 528.0 million weighted average shares. This compares with GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.40 reported in the second quarter of fiscal 2008 based on 542.4 million weighted average shares, and GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.30 reported in the first quarter of fiscal 2009 based on 527.8 million weighted average shares. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 were $0.35. This compares with non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.50 reported in the second quarter of fiscal 2008 and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.45 reported in the first quarter of fiscal 2009.

PocketWizard has announced the development of the ZoneController, which gives the photographer control over three independent zones of light whether working in E-TTL or manual mode. The ZoneController slides into the upper hot-shoe of an on-camera MiniTT1 or FlexTT5 radio and communicates with a FlexTT5 at the flash that has been set for either zone (or group) A, B or C.  The three dials on the ZoneController independently adjust the A-B-C zones and allow for 1/3 f-stop increments of power control with a +/- three f-stop range (six stops total) when used in manual control.  When used for TTL auto flash, the ZoneController adjusts the relative light level of each zone independently. The ZoneController is in development and is planned for delivery late summer.  The retail price has not been set at this time.

Professional photographer Erick Danzer has recently started a blog with a group of fellow photographers. The new site is called Photocrati and is created specifically for professionals, though enthusiasts are also welcome. “Our mission is to foster discussion between photographers working in diverse fields and to share resources that encourage technical, artistic, and professional growth for pros and enthusiasts alike,” Danzer says. They also sponsor the Photocrati Fund, which provides grants to photographers working on important environmental and humanitarian projects.

Website: Photocrati

We've published 10 sample videos taken with the new Olympus E-P1 camera. The E-P1 videos were taken at the highest quality setting of 1080 x 720 pixels at 30 frames per second. We've also included some video clips taken using a few of the art filters, which can be applied to both movies as well as still images on the E-P1.

We've published 41 sample photos taken with the new Olympus E-P1 camera and 17mm and 14-42mm lenses. The photos include a comparison of the ISO range and some of the Art Filter effects, and they're all available in both JPEG and RAW formats. Olympus E-P1 videos to follow later today...

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T900 is a new compact and stylish digital camera with a large 3.5 inch touch-screen LCD and 720p HD movie recording. The 12.1 megapixel Sony T900 features a Carl Zeiss branded 4x optical zoom lens complete with optical image stabiliser. Video is recorded at 1280x720 pixels at 30fps in the MPEG4 format. Available in black, silver, bronze and red for $380 / £369, Gavin Stoker discovers if the Sony Cyber-shot T900 is a triumph of both substance and style.

In a new book entitled ‘Truckers’, seasoned truck-industry trade writer Mary Richardson and her ensemble of photographers pair interviews and narratives with colour and black and white photographs. It’s an artistic, photo-based book that examines the physical, emotional, technological and environmental consequences of the trucking industry by humanizing the men, women and families that keep the engines running. Not many people know that, without these drivers, we wouldn’t have any of the daily utilities we’ve grown so accustomed to. The book includes gritty, candid photography and true tales of the road from the truck drivers themselves. The 128-page book is available now for $32.95.

Photobox.co.uk has unveiled new revenue generating tools for professional photographers.  Photobox, which bills itslef as the UK’s biggest online community for photo printing and personal publishing, now offers a new tool for marketing photobooks whereby photopreneurs can create event or portrait session photo books via photobox’s Pro Gallery service and sell to the public at the price of their choice. What’s more, photopreneurs can create Photobooks in 8 different designs and sell their Photobooks in over 70 print sizes. A PhotoBox Pro Gallery is totally free to set up and fully customisable. PhotoBox charges a 10 % commission for each sale.

Think Tank Photo is to release a new concept in camera bag, called the Multimedia Wired Up Collection, and they have produced a promotional video to show it off. In order to produce this video, Think Tank Photo co-founder and Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist Deanne Fitzmaurice teamed up with Emmy Award winning multimedia producer Dai Sugano. The Multimedia Wired Up Collection is billed as the first integrated bag system specifically designed for those shooting still, audio, and video in the field. The promotional video is available at http://www.thinktankphoto.com/mmvideo

Casio has released EX-F1 Controller 1.000, a new Windows program that allows Casio EX-F1 owners to control their camera from a Windows PC via USB. This software provides the following capabilities:

- Control of your EX-F1 camera from a computer connected to the computer with the USB cable that comes with the camera.
- Computer-control of High Speed Continuous Shutter, High Speed Movie, Interval Recording, and more.

In order to enable computer-control an EX-F1 camera, you must first update the camera with special firmware (Version 2.00) included in the download file. Note that updating the firmware of your camera to Version 2.00 will cause your camera to lose its ability to display messages in Russian.

Website: EX-F1 Controller 1.000 Software Download

The makers of Flip Video have announced the latest version of their on-board FlipShare software that allegedly makes sharing personal video easier than ever before. FlipShare now gives users the ability to publish personal video channels online with Flip Channels, in addition to easy uploading to popular sites like MySpace and YouTube. The new version of FlipShare software will begin shipping as the on-board software for all Flip Video camcorders as of June 16, 2009. The software can also be downloaded for free by visiting http://www.theflip.com.

Shutterfly has announced the launch of Shutterfly Video, which makes it easy to share video privately and safely with friends, family members and groups on Shutterfly Share sites. With Shutterfly Video, users can upload and post up to 10 free video clips to their personalised websites. Users have the option to upgrade to a Premium video account, which gives them unlimited video sharing and storage at an introductory annual subscription fee of $29.99.

Website: Shutterfly Video

Nik Software today announced that its Complete Collection, which bundles all of the company’s digital imaging software tools, is now also available as a Lightroom Edition. The Complete Collection for Photoshop has been updated to include Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 support as well and also includes installers for Adobe Photoshop and Apple Aperture. Current registered owners of the Photoshop versions of Nik Software products can download and install the Lightroom compatible versions free of charge at http://www.niksoftware.com/lightroom. For new users the bundle costs €299-95 incl. German VAT and is available from Nik Software and through specialty camera retailers..

Our regular columnist, acclaimed landscape photographer Charlie Waite, shares his secrets about taking great black and white landscape photographs.