Kubota Image Tools has launched a new “artist series” of instructional style books and DVDs. The first product in the series is a style book and DVD tutorial from acclaimed children’s photographer Tamara Lackey.  Her step-by-step guide to improving your portrait work through smarter use of Photoshop features before and after comparisons that detail the actions used to create the finished work. In addition to a walk-through of Lackey’s digital workflow, the included tutorial DVD will help photographers with tips on how to manage their youthful subjects. Whether identifying useful poses, inventive tactics to spark a smile or quiet a rowdy child, Lackey’s entire approach to children’s portraiture is on display. “Kubota Artist Series Style Book & DVD Tutorial, Artist: Tamara Lackey” is available through the Kubota Image Tools website at a price of $125.

365 Photography Days tells the story of award-winning, freelance photographer Phil Gould, as he travels the globe in search of adventure. It is also a practical guide to photography techniques with hints and tips from an expert. Each day of the journey includes a photo tip, giving advice about everything from lighting techniques and camera settings, to groupings that work and images that sell. The 488-page hardback is going to be available priced at £25.

Published by Rocky Nook and distributed by O’Reilly, The Wild Side of Photography by Cyrill Harnischmacher is a book geared toward the adventurous photographer. From this book, you will learn build a shift/tilt lens for your DSLR from an old junkyard 120 film camera, try the camera toss, shoot images from a kite, use a peephole door viewer as a fisheye lens, or build your own pinhole camera. Each project is presented with easy to understand instructional text, background information about the author and the project, and beautiful colour images to illustrate what can be accomplished and how you can do it too. The 176-page book is available for $29.95.

“A Day in the Life of the Beatles” is a collection of mostly unpublished photographs - a record of one extraordinary day that photographer Don McCullin spent with the Beatles. In September 1968 McCullin, whom the Beatles admired for his war photojournalism, was personally invited to photograph the band in locations ranging from Paul McCartney’s garden to the banks of the Thames. The photos presented in this collection have been culled from twenty rolls of black-and-white film taken over the course of a single afternoon. “A Day in the Life of the Beatles” will be released in December priced at $24.95.

Previously unseen photographs from Nadav Kander’s journeys along the course of China’s Yangtze River will go on display at Flowers from 14 October 2010 to coincide with the publication of a monograph comprising the complete series. “The river is embedded in the consciousness of the Chinese, even those separated from it by thousands of miles,” the organisers say. “It plays a pivotal role in both the spiritual and physical life of the nation.” The exhibition coincides with the publication of a comprehensive monograph introduced by Kofi A. Annan and published by Hatje Cantz. Kofi A. Annan presented Kander with the 2009 Prix Pictet photographic award in sustainability for a selection of photographs from ‘Yangtze – The Long River’.

Olympus PEN E-PL1 for Dummies is a new guide to using one of the most affordable interchangeable-lens system cameras available today. Topics covered include exploring the on-board controls, shooting in auto mode, working with lenses, dialing in exposure and lighting controls, manipulating focus and colour controls, situational shooting, and more. The book’s author, Julie Adair King, has penned six editions of Digital Photography For Dummies and several digital SLR camera-specific guides in the For Dummies series. Olympus PEN E-PL1 for Dummies is available now priced at $29.99.

Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 3 by Adobe Certified Instructor Steve Laskevitch is now available in the United Kingdom. Released last month in the US, this 291-page handbook is designed to get you working quickly in the latest version of Photoshop and its companions Bridge, Camera Raw, and Lightroom. Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 3 is priced at £30.99 in the United Kingdom and €32 i the euro zone.

Practical HDRI, 2nd Edition, by pro photographer Jack Howard, is a richly illustrated introduction to HDR imaging. HDR imaging can be challenging and frustrating for the uninitiated, as it involves both field and computer expertise. However, Howard explains this complex subject matter in a practical way that will not intimidate the beginner, nor bore the experienced photographer. The emphasis is on the creative process and how to make it work for you—rather than the science behind it. Fully updated for 2010, this new edition covers the HDR process from image capture through post-processing for web and print. The 240-page book is available from O’Reilly for $34.95.

The book “Wildlife Photography - On Safari with Your DSLR: Equipment, Techniques, Workflow” is now available in the UK. Author Uwe Skrzypczak wrote the book with several goals in mind—to teach the technical aspects and the workflow of digital wildlife photography; to show the beauty of East Africa and his beloved Serengeti National Park, and to educate about its habitat; and to provide a guide for the photographer who is planning to go on an African photo safari. Topics covered include equipment and accessories, conditions on the road, composition, light, migrations and mating seasons, habitats and animal behaviour, river crossings and more. The 240-page book, which was launched in the US a month ago, is now available in the UK priced at £30.99.

Hasselblad will present the winning images of the 2009 Hasselblad Masters contest at Photokina 2010. “These images immediately knocked me out in so many ways: through their creative originality, passionate execution and technical perfection”, says Christian Nørgaard, Photographer Relations Manager at Hasselblad. “During the Masters competition, the ten winners prevailed despite a strong challenge from almost 3,000 photographers from all over the world.” The works will be on show in the Visual Gallery in Hall 1 at Photokina. If you like what you see there, you can also buy the book, “Hasselblad Masters Vol. 2 – Emotion”. This 240-page illustrated book published by the renowned teNeues Publishing Group will be unveiled on Tuesday, 21 September.

In the fourth edition of The Photographer’s Guide to Marketing and Self-Promotion, veteran photographer’s rep Maria Piscopo reveals how to build a satisfying and lucrative career by increasing clientele and profits. Thoroughly updated for the new millennium, The Photographer’s Guide to Marketing and Self-Promotion provides the best current marketing and promotional practices including online marketing, new portfolio realities; how to sell in both consumer and commercial photography settings; plus 22 in-depth case studies interviewing top photographers in commercial, editorial, wedding, portrait, event, and fine art photography. The book is currently available from Allworth Press priced at $19.95.

Adobe Photoshop CS5 One-on-One is a new book from O’Reilly Media that gives you step-by-step tutorials, hours of DVD-video demonstrations and more to help you master the new Adobe Photoshop CS5. Adobe Photoshop CS5 One-on-One simulates a classroom environment with one-on-one attention as you proceed from lesson to lesson. Author Deke McClelland’s expert advice is like working with a personal coach—you’ll learn Photoshop faster, more creatively, and more efficiently than you thought possible, the publisher promises. The 544-page handbook is available for $49.99.

Translocation is a book of unique and intriguing photographs by award winning photographer George Logan. The book, which will be officially launched and previewed at a special event held tomorrow from 6.30pm at the Emwood Gallery - 8-9 Carlisle Street, London, W1D 3BP -, contains images that bring together Scotland’s dramatic landscape with the beauty and fragility of Africa’s wildlife and will be sold in aid of International Wildlife Charity, the Born Free Foundation. The collection of photographs were over five years in the making, with Logan traveling extensively throughout Africa to capture wild animals in their natural habitats, covering Botswana, Namibia, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa and even Europe. The landscape shots were closer to home, taking in the photographer’s homeland of Scotland and the wild coastlines of Cornwall. The photographs have received many accolades, including Gold at The Association of Photographers Awards.

Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 3 is a new handbook by Adobe Certified Instructor Steve Laskevitch. Providing a clear and effective workflow for editing photographs in the latest version of Photoshop and its companions Bridge, Camera Raw, and Lightroom; this 291-page handbook is designed to get you working quickly in these applications. Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 3 is available now for $39.95 in the US.

iDubai is a new coffee table book by Joel Sternfeld, which contains dozens of images made exclusively with the iPhone camera. The vast majority of the photos in this book were taken inside Dubai’s malls, with only a few showing the outside world. As Jonathan Crary, who wrote an essay to accompany the pictures, puts it, “what is important and affecting about his images is their disclosure of how human beings inhabit and experience” shopping malls and similar spaces. Published by Steidl, the 160-page hardcover is priced at £24.00 | €28.00 | $38.00.

Photography for the Web by photographer Paul Duncanson is a new book that promises to guide readers through “the processes taught in top-quality digital photography schools at a fraction of the cost”. With a large portion of the book dedicated to composition and lighting, the author “wanted to do something a little different,” says publisher Luke Cuthbertson. “So many people take photos with little knowledge of how to do it properly. This book will teach the fundamentals of using an everyday camera to take great images.” Photography for the Web also includes chapters on editing and sharing photographs in the Web 2.0 era. The 200-page book is available from O’Reilly priced at $34.95.

Wildlife Photography is a new book from Rocky Nook, written by photographer and environmentalist Uwe Skrzypczak. The author wrote the book with several goals in mind—to teach the technical aspects and the workflow of digital wildlife photography; to show the beauty of East Africa and his beloved Serengeti National Park, and to educate about its habitat; and to provide a guide for the photographer who is planning to go on an African photo safari. Topics covered include equipment and accessories, conditions on the road, composition, light, migrations and mating seasons, habitats and animal behaviour, river crossings and more. The 240-page book is available priced at $39.95.

Rizzoli is to publish a monograph of photographer Mika Ninagawa’s work in October 2010. Mika Ninagawa has become a cultural superstar in Japan since her début only a decade ago. Distinguished by gorgeously saturated colours and stylised compositions, her photographs are widely exhibited in Japan and abroad. Her portraits of international personalities including Cameron Diaz, the late Isabella Blow, Dita von Teese, Chiaki Kuriyama and Beyoncé, plus her elaborate, fantasy-infused landscapes and still-lifes illustrate how and why her vibrant aesthetic has been influential in the fashion world. The 352-page hardcover includes 300 of her photographs and sells for $75/?45.

Launching during London Fashion Week, Ten Times Rosie is a high-end fashion photography book featuring the bold and contemporary designs of Paula Thomas, founder and head designer of the luxury label Thomas Wylde, as shot by British photographer Rankin. The publication of this glossy coffee-table book will be accompanied by an exhibition at Rankin’s Annroy Gallery, London, and will launch internationally in Los Angeles and Paris. Shot on location in and around LA in April of this year at the Amboy Salt Flats, Joshua Tree National Park, the Château Marmont and downtown streets, Ten Times Rosie “epitomises the creativity and theatrical flair of Rankin, Paula Thomas and stylist Maryam Malakpour”, the publisher says. The book will be available to purchase from Turnaround, while the exhibition will run from 21st September – 29th October at Annroy Gallery, London.

The Canon Camera Hackers Manual is a new book that targets “geeky” owners of Canon consumer cameras who would like to tweak them to do things way beyond their original specifications. Canon cameras allow the user to temporarily upload so-called add-ons into the camera through the memory card. The next time the camera is powered on, the add-on is active; when the camera is switched off, the camera returns to its original state, so there is no risk of losing the manufacturer’s warranty, the publisher claims. The hacks are based on the Canon Hack Development Kit, free software maintained by a group of enthusiasts. Many scripts are already published on the web, and this book teaches how to use existing scripts and how to write new ones. The Canon Camera Hackers Manual is available now from O’Reilly, priced at $29.95.