ActiveTrak has developed a new online tool to find stolen cameras and resolve copyright issues related to the unauthorised use of photographs on the Internet. Currently in Beta, GadgetTrak Camera Serial Search is built around the same idea as Matt Burns’ Stolen Camera Finder, namely, that many of the top camera manufacturers embed the camera’s serial number into the image files produced by their cameras. The difference is that the Portland, Oregon-based company has “built out a bot-net style distributed computing network to scour massive amounts of images online,” says Justin Thiele of AcitveTrak, adding: “This service can help locate & recover stolen cameras and we are working with law enforcement agencies to see how it can be used to solve other serious crimes, like child pornography.”

Website: GadgetTrak Camera Serial Search Beta

Photodex has partnered with Zenfolio to offer integrated solutions for creating video slideshows online. Photodex’s ProShow Web service now seamlessly pulls photos from Zenfolio galleries to create customised, HD video slideshows that can be shared online through social media sites like Facebook and YouTube, embedded on a blog or website and downloaded to a computer. Users can complete their shows with over 50 stylish themes, royalty-free music, and the ability to drag and drop a la carte effects onto any photo or video, resulting in a fully customised video. The news comes three months after the announcement of a similar agreement between Photodex and SmugMug.

Picaspot.com was created with the purpose of sharing detailed information about the specific spot where a photo was taken so other people can find it easily and be able to create their own photographs at that location. “The main value offered by our website is information about the exact location where a picture was taken,” said co founder Juan Jose Reyes. “Information, such as exact location, how to get there, map, parking, fees, subway stops, things to avoid,  the best times to get pictures at that location etc, is the main value offered by our website and is what differentiate us from photo websites.” Users can search posted spots either by geographic location, category or keywords.

Photowrap is a brand new series of online workshops on documentary photography. The three-week course begins on 6th June and goes on until the 26th. Participants from around the world can log in on the private Flickr Photowrap group to take part in live discussions, upload their photographs and follow the tasks given every other day. Skype will be used for a series of one-to-one sessions that will regularly take place to tailor the tutoring around the students’ needs and time-schedules. In addition to that, special-guest reviewers will provide feedback on participants’ images. Once the course is finished, the photographers’ photo-essays will be published in the ever-growing Photowrap website, through which they will receive international exposure. The cost of attendance is £500.

Website: Photowrap

ScanCafe has recently launched service for editing and transferring consumer video tape content onto DVD. This is not an automated process, the company says. The tapes are digitised by a technician, using studio quality equipment, and then reviewed and edited in detail, by hand, to address the many issues that plague old tapes: Once the video tape’s contents are digitised and repaired, they are assembled and authored onto an advanced, “Hollywood-quality” DVD, complete with special effects, manual scene selection and manual trimming. The price for each video tape (up to two hours in length) is $14.99. Formats supported include VHS, S-VHS, VHS-C, Betamax, VHS HiFi, Hi 8, Digital 8, and MiniDV.

Alamy launched its German website today. Billed as the world’s largest independent stock photo website, Alamy sees this as “an important milestone in understanding how to roll out its unique blend of a massive digital inventory and strong customer service to other languages and regions”. The company has recruited a German speaking customer service team and is currently inviting applications from candidates with experience in sales.

Website: Alamy.de

Luxipics is an affordable, subscription-based service that allows photographers to present and sell their photos online. No web skills are needed and photographers can be selling their work as digital downloads or prints within minutes of signing up, the company says. The latest version is now available on a monthly subscription model, with the pro service starting at £7.99 per month. Luxipics software even provides a built-in shopping cart allowing customers to buy photos, downloads or even book studio time using all major credit cards securely via PayPal.

Website: Luxipics

Travelshooters is a new UK-based travel photography holiday company offering photo holidays and workshops in India. Ladakh Monks & Mountains (September 2011) is a two-week photo tour which will take shooters to remote Himalayan high places in the Jammu & Kashmir region of India, combining landscapes, social documentary, wildlife and more. Pushkar Camel Fair, Diwali in Rajasthan and the Golden Triangle (October-November 2011, 15 days) centres on the annual Pushkar Camel Fair, and includes shooting from a hot-air balloon. More tours are under preparation right now, in India and in other countries, the company says.

Website Travelshooters

MasteringPhoto.com is a new website offering free content developed from Focal Press’ award-winning books as well as original content from industry contributors. Featuring tips, advice, articles, video tutorials, interviews, and other resources for both hobbyists and professionals, MasteringPhoto.com covers topics ranging from people and landscape to post-production and business practices. Contributors include expert photographers and digital image makers from all areas of photography and graphic art. Focal Press also unveiled a sister site, MasteringFilm.com, which caters to the needs of videographers and cinematographers.

Great British Landscapes is a a website featuring articles and other content related to landscape photography. Run on a Freemium model, the site currently offers 110 articles, out of which 65 can be read free and without registration, and a further 15 are accessible on a free subscription. The remaining 30 are reserved for paying subscribers - these tend to be longer articles, interviews, or videos discussing topics like post processing, composition or a photographer’s pictures. The magazine is published every two weeks and is currently on issue 14.

Website: Great British Landscapes

Razzi is a new photo sharing network that allows photographers to earn ad revenue on their photo views. You can sign up for free, upload your photos (or import them from your Flickr photostream), and enter your Google AdSense Publisher-ID to start earning money. Allowing for unlimited uploads and offering features like drag and drop organisation and access to the original files, Razzi focuses on the social aspects (friend activity stream, notifications, privacy settings etc.) too. The developers of the website have also created an iPhone app for mobile uploads that is currently pending approval in the App Store.

Website: Razzi

The BAPLA Academy is a new online platform created by the British Association of Picture Libraries and Agencies. The academy, which launches in May 2011, enables all members to learn more about the professional side of photography. In addition to advice from picture library professionals about copyright and keeping pictures safe from image thieves, helpful hints and resources, there will also be an opportunity to showcase the best work to the professionals and to sell prints to the public. “It is a unique opportunity,” says Simon Cliffe, BAPLA’s executive director (pictured), “to link into the expertise and resources of the people that sell images on a daily basis.” Academy membership costs £49 a year with discounts for students.

Programmer Matt Burns has written a search engine that lets people find their stolen camera gear by searching EXIF data for their serial number. Users can enter their camera’s serial number or simply drop any photo taken with their stolen camera on stolencamerafinder.com to get a list of web pages that contain images taken with the same camera. The service is free and available now at the website below.

Website: Stolen Camera Finder

LightRocket Media Manager is a new browser-based Digital Asset Management (DAM) system. LightRocket Media Manager works on any platform and handles many kinds of media files including photos, videos, PDFs and audio files.

Oorbi, a new company founded by the GMT Art Group, is looking for young and talented photographers to join its international artists portfolio. In the course of the next six months, Oorbi will open a number of galleries in Europe and Asia, together with a Hong Kong-based online gallery that aims to showcase photographic work intended for global sales. The company says its innovative concept will bring photo artworks to a wider circle of collectors worldwide. Interested photographers can apply online at the website below.

Munich-based Candela Project Gallery nowoffers an online buyer’s option on its new website. The gallery responds to an international trend on the art market, which is reflected in the establishment of online-platforms, -associations and online art fairs. It contrasts the media age’s omnipresent flood of pictures with small editions and a professional selection of trend-setting photographic art. As a special highlight, single works also are available as unique Dyestransfer prints, which are especially appreciated by collectors. Currently, the Candela Project Gallery shows the exhibition EXPIRED, with collages of Polaroids, by the Canadian artist Chad Coombs for the first time in Europe. The exhibition can be visited until the 3rd of July 2011.

Tamron USA has just launched MyPhotoExhibits, an innovative way for photographers looking to showcase their favourite images in a unique, free online venue. Photographers simply set up a user avatar and bio, upload their favourite high-resolution images, and create a personalised exhibit space with a three-dimensional effect. After organising the exhibit and captioning the photographs, users can put the finishing touches on their exhibit space, choosing from a variety of gallery spaces (wall and floor textures and colours), photo frames, furniture, and lighting options.

PhotoHide.com provides a free service to anyone who would like to blur the face of the subject in personal photos. “In a time where privacy becomes increasingly important PhotoHide obscures your face or the faces of people who do not want to appear in photos,” the creators say. Although this is pretty easy to accomplish in any decent photo editor, the service can still be of interest to those who do not use such programs. You can upload a photo of 3MB or less, draw a selection around the part of the face you would like to blur, click ‘Hide’, and download the modified photo to your computer. The PhotoHide team are saying they do not store any of the originals, which are automatically deleted at the end of your session.

Website: PhotoHide

Online backup experts MiMedia have teamed up with DiJiFi to offer customers a combined digitisation-backup service. Those who enlist DiJiFi to scan photos and transfer videos will have the option to automatically pre-populate a MiMedia account. Following a 60 day free trial, they will receive a 30 percent discount. An annual subscription for 100GB of data will be $70, versus the $120 retail value.

Zaplife is a new photo blogging website and iPhone application. Zaplife aims to offer a new simple easy to use format that combines features from photo sharing services and social network applications, creating a unique and versatile photographic experience. It focuses on the “art of photography” that the photo enthusiast or the professional photographer can use on a daily basis to upload and share their photos. The Zaplife iPhone application features almost the same functionality as the web interface and more features are on the way, with an iPad version to be released next month. Zaplife is free of charge.