Sony and the World Photography Organisation (WPO) have announced that the city of Cannes will once again provide the location for the annual Sony World Photography Awards (SWPA) and World Photography Festival. Welcoming professional and amateur photographers, photography students and the general public, the Awards and Festival is a five day celebration of the craft of photography, running from 22-27 April 2010. At the heart of the week long event is the prestigious Sony World Photography Awards prize ceremony. Taking place on 22 April inside the Grand Lumier Theatre of the Palais des Festivals, it is here that winners of the professional, amateur and student categories receive their trophies and the overall winner of the 2010 L’Iris D’Or for Photographer of the Year will be announced. Tickets to the 2010 Sony World Photography Awards and World Photography Festival are priced from £15 and are available now at the website below.

Website: Sony World Photography Awards

Annabel Williams Contemporary Photographic Training (CPT) invites you to an Open Day held in Staveley, the Lake District on 29 January. Attendees will have an opportunity to see the facilities that are now available to them at the new Annabel Williams CPT Studio as well as join in their free “Get in tune with your photographic destination” sessions. There will be two sessions, one from 9.30am till midday, and another one from 2pm to 4.30pm. Spaces are limited, and advance registration is necessary. To register your interest, drop a line to [email protected] stating your preference for either the morning or afternoon session.

The Worldwide Community of Imaging Associations has created a fun, educational, and interactive experience for attendees of the first Southern California Photo Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center on Saturday, 20 February. The show’s underlying theme, “Discover, Create, Share,” describes the overall essence of what visitors can expect to experience throughout the day. Participation begins with submissions of their own photos to help create an enormous 8-by-16-foot photo mosaic to be displayed at the expo (see illustration above). In addition, U.S. military families will have an opportunity to have family and individual portraits taken and shared with loved ones overseas, free of charge.  Lastly, attendees will be able to learn how to take better photos through educational and inspirational presentations by some of the most respected photographers in the industry and get a hands-on look at the latest camera and imaging software technology. A single ticket for adults will cost $15, family admission for two adults and up to four children is $25, while seniors pay $10. Admission is free for active U.S. soldiers and their families.

I’m a Photographer, Not a Terrorist! (PHNAT) invites all UK-based photographers to a mass photo gathering in defence of street photography. “Following a series of high profile detentions under s[ection ]44 of the terrorism act including 7 armed police detaining an award winning architectural photographer in the City of London, the arrest of a press photographer covering campaigning santas at City Airport and the stop and search of a BBC photographer at St Pauls Cathedral and many others, PHNAT feels now is the time for a mass turnout of Photographers, professional and amateur to defend our rights and stop the abuse of the terror laws,” the campaign group writes on its website. The rally will take place on Saturday, 23 Januyary 2010, on Trafalgar Square. PHNAT expects over a thousand participants.

Website: PHNAT

Internationally renowned landscape and travel photographer David Noton has announced two brand new photographic workshops in the beautiful Languedoc region of south-west France. ‘With our 4x4 vehicles on hand, we can whisk guests off to the very best locations for dawn and dusk shoots as well as for informative tutorials in the field,’ David says. Staying in the 3 star Abbaye Ecole de Soreze, non-photographic partners are positively encouraged to come along too. There’s plenty to do and see - including spa facilities within the hotel itself and hiking, horse riding, golf, mountain biking, water sports, crafts and markets all nearby. The workshops run Friday to Tuesday on 10-14 & 17-21 September. For full details, visit www.davidnoton.com or contact David Noton Photography on 01963 250061.

Recommended Reading: Articles by David Noton on PhotographyBLOG

Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. WPPI is the largest annual expo and conference in the U.S. for professional photographers. Each year more than 11,000 professional photographers gather in Las Vegas, NV, to learn from the best and see the latest and greatest products from the hundreds of exhibitors that participate in the trade show. All WPPI 2010 classes, events and the trade show will take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV, from March 4–11, 2010. Registration for WPPI 2010 is available via its newly redesigned convention and trade show website.

Website: WPPI Online

Travel photographer of the year award winner Lorne Resnick has just announced his 2010 workshop schedule. This includes exotic locations such as Africa, Antarctica and Cuba and also iconic US National Parks such as Yosemite, Arches and Death Valley. Whether you’re a novice or pro, Lorne will not only have you generating more impactful images, but will also give you the structure and understanding to enable you to continue refining your skills once the workshop is over. Also touched on will be vital aspects of photography including: creativity, workflow, processing digital images, manipulating images, backing up your work, etc. Interested readers are encouraged to pay a visit to his website, where they can enter the coupon code CFCCLA in the client code box upon checkout and receive 5% off any workshop.

Website: Lorne Resnick Workshops

CameraBits, makers of Photo Mechanic software, have announced its exclusive sponsorship of the WPOW: Women Photojournalists of Washington travelling photography exhibit, LAUNCH. The exhibit will soon travel to a variety of photojournalism schools across the U.S.A. Over the course of the next six months, LAUNCH will travel to universities specialising in photojournalism, such as Boston University, Temple University and Western Kentucky University, where the participants’ works will be detailed and displayed. As the exclusive sponsor of LAUNCH, Camera Bits has donated funds to the WPOW organisation, as well as several copies of Photo Mechanic. “It is a real pleasure for us to be able to support an exhibit like LAUNCH,” said Dennis Walker. “It’s very important to use the talents of successful female photojournalists and photographers to inspire others, and we’re proud to have been able to contribute to that cause.”

Gavin Bond’s newest exhibition, Music, will be held in the Idea Generation Gallery between 23 February and 21 March 2010. This new exhibition of music photography brings never before seen images to the UK, allowing music fans to get up close and personal with contemporary rock greats. Bond’s distinctive style gets beneath the skin of his subjects to reveal personalities, emotions and moments usually unseen in public. The extensive portfolio brings together ‘behind-the-scenes’ shots of bands on the road, images of live performances at some of the world’s biggest music events, innovative studio shots and intimate personal portraits to create a visual record of the last ten years in music. The Idea Generation Gallery is located at 11 Chance Street, E2 7JB. With a soaring 50 foot wall and over 200 square feet of gallery space, the Idea Generation Gallery is one of Shoreditch’s biggest exhibition spaces.

Organised by The Art Institute of Chicago, Playing with Pictures: The Art of Victorian Photocollage is a new exhibition to be hosted by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. On view from 2 February through 9 May 2010, Playing with Pictures is the first exhibition to comprehensively examine the little-known phenomenon that long before the embrace of collage techniques by avant-garde artists of the early 20th century, aristocratic Victorian women were experimenting with photocollage. Whimsical and fantastical Victorian photocollages, created using a combination of watercolour drawings and cut-and-pasted photographs, reveal the educated minds as well as accomplished hands of their makers.  Featuring approximately 50 works from public and private collections—including many that have rarely or never been exhibited before—Playing with Pictures will provide a fascinating window into the creative possibilities of photography in the 19th century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is located at 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028.

Sample 10 is the third annual group show of theprintspace clients’ work. London’s theprintspace was launched in October 2007 in Shoreditch, and has quickly become a firm favourite with London-based commercial photographers, artists & students. The staff at theprintspace are in a unique position to oversee an extraordinary number of images produced for portfolios and exhibitions all around the UK and they invite you to view a little glimpse of the talent that they see week after week. Presented by Exhibit X, Sample 10 explores artists’ use of creative printing to enhance their work. The exhibition runs from 29 January through 18 February. Click through / read on for a list of exhibitors.

Unseen work by Mali’s most celebrated living photographer Malick Sidibé will be shown at the Lichfield Studios in London from 4 March 2010. Sidibé, who became the first photographer to be awarded the Lion d’Or for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale in 2007, is now internationally respected for his black-and-white photographs that capture the transformation and energy of post-colonial Bamako, Mali’s capital city. Sidibé launched ‘Studio Malick’ in 1962, at this key moment in Mali’s history. His talent and charm won him a fashionable, young clientele, not only for portraiture, but also to see the pictures that he began to take of Bamako’s nightlife. He was one of the first studio photographers in Bamako to take a lighter 35mm camera outside to parties, weddings and picnics. A selection of Sidibés trademark small-format portraits as well as his images of Bamako nightlife, will be shown at Lichfield Studios between 4 March and 1 April 2010.

Update: The dates have changed. The exhibition will run 11 March – 16 April 2010.

Digital photography school Photography Made Simple launches the UK’s first ever mobile phone photography course this month. The courses will take place around the UK, starting with the first mobile phone photography class in London on 16th January. The mobile phone photography class schedule includes practice sessions on composition, making the most of natural light, using the flash, timing and focus. Phil Hibberd, co-founder of Photography Made Simple said, “Kids have a real interest in photography but we find they can’t afford an expensive camera so we thought it would be a good idea to run a photography course focused solely on mobile phone photography as it’s still possible to take good creative photographs even with a mobile phone.” The London event will take place in Crystal Palace, and will be followed by classes in Ashton Court, Bristol and Birmingham Central Library on 5 and 7 February, respectively. Book your place online via the website below.

Website: Photography Made Simple

Kubota Image Tools has announced its Webinar Wednesdays Winter 2010 schedule, open to professional photographers of all levels. “Last year we began the Webinar Wednesday series of free webinars to help professional photographers learn all they can about using software products from Kubota Image Tools to enhance their competitive edge and improve their day-to-day workflow,” said Kevin Kubota, Idea Man of Kubota Image Tools and creator of all Kubota Actions. “These popular 30 minute webinars are great educational experiences for all that attend and we’re happy to be continuing them in 2010.” Each seminar begins at 10:00 am PST, 1:00 pm EST. Upcoming webinars will take place January 27th, February 3rd, 17th and 24th, and March 3rd, 17th and 24th. Webinar Wednesday’s will cover topics such as Kubota DASHBOARD Creative Effects, Advanced DASHBOARD Tips, Using Kubota AutoAlbum V.3 to create a 10-page sample book in record time, and Kubota DASHBOARD image enhancing techniques such as: Black-and-White, Colour Effects and Advanced Tips.

Website: Kubota Image Tools

The world’s most renowned outdoor and adventure photographers will share their art and their passion at Telluride’s inaugural Photography Festival, 20-26 September 2010. The festival will feature field classes and photography workshops, seminars, portfolio reviews, and exhibits. Also the Photography Festival is teaming up with the Ah Haa School for the Arts. The Ah Haa School is a community centre of learning and culture and a Telluride icon for nearly two decades. Ah Haa will help promote the Festival and host a number of Festival events as well as the opening reception and gallery shows at the School’s historic Depot building. “There is just no better place for a Photography Festival than Telluride,” said event founder and organiser Eric Moore. Tucked in a high mountain valley, Telluride, Colorado, is a dream playground for the adventurer and the photographer. Majestic peaks surround the town, once home to silver and gold prospectors. Weathered ruins of old mining operations dot the hillsides. Telluride is also home to a world-class ski resort. The area attracts mountain bikers, hang gliders, kayakers and climbers. Telluride is known worldwide for its summer festivals: the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Mountain Film, Blues and Brews, Wine Festival and an international Film Festival.

Website: Telluride Photography Festival

Photography educators Jayne Whitelock and Mike Browne are offering two-day photography breaks for two in the New Forest National Park. Open to complete beginners and the more experienced, these photography breaks include One-to-One (and One-to-Two) photography training for two days, two nights and two days dinner bed and breakfast for two at four-star Careys Manor Hotel - and use of their award winning £6m Thai Spa to relax in after a long day out shooting pictures. Jane and Mike combine theory with lots of practical hands on photography to help you get to the next level - whatever that may be for you, the couple said in a statement. A Luxury Photography Break for two costs £1295.

Website: Photography Courses

The Bookshop at The Photographers’ Gallery in London is celebrating one of the most iconic products of the twentieth century, the Polaroid, by displaying work by a number of renowned photographers who have taken Polaroid photographs, and also plans to sell a new Polaroid format film starting early 2010.The last instant film manufactured by Polaroid was produced in 2008, with an expiry date of October 2009. To mark its expiration, national newspaper The Observer gave eight leading contemporary photographers Polaroid film and cameras for a day - Harry Borden (USA, b.1965), Nan Goldin (USA, b.1953), Tom Hunter (UK, b.1965), Mary McCartney (UK, b.1969), Martin Parr (UK, b.1952), Rankin (UK, b.1966), Lord Snowdon (UK, b.1930) and Sam Taylor-Wood (UK, b.1967). The resulting images are on display at The Photographers’ Gallery in London, 16 – 18 Ramillies St, W1, until 31 January 2010. Some of these unique one-off prints are available to purchase from Print Sales at The Photographers’ Gallery..Also, the Photographers’ Gallery Bookshop promises to be one of the first places in the world to sell the new Polaroid format instant film developed within the framework of The Impossible Project, from early 2010.

Kubota Image Tools have announced the first-ever Photographers Ignite sessions to take place 9-11am, Thursday, 11 2010 at the WPPI Convention at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV. Ignite is a style of concentrated presentation where participants are given exactly five minutes to speak on a subject accompanied by 20 slides. Each slide is displayed for only 15 seconds before being automatically advanced. Photographers Ignite is focused on photography topics, tips, hints and inspiration. It’s a challenging new way for photographers to share ideas and stories, five minutes at a time. There will be about 15-20 session ideas selected. Proposals for these fast-paced sessions are now being reviewed and accepted. Professional photographers interested in being a presenter should visit the website below.

Website: Photographers Ignite

The Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) has announced the launch of a new trade show, called CP+.  The first exhibition of CP+ is scheduled to be held in “Pacifico Yokohama” of Yokohama-city, Kanagawa, between March 11th and 14th, 2010. The goal of CP+ is to create a new international photographic industry exhibition, something comparable to Photokina in Germany or PMA in the USA, which proves to be an ideal platform for camera equipment manufacturers, component/device suppliers and software developers alike to present their products/technologies on a global scale and to search for untapped business opportunities.  There will also be numerous lectures, seminars, galleries, panel discussions and speeches to facilitate and nurture further development of the photographic society at large.

Website: CP+

London’s theprintspace gallery is to host DayFour’s “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” exhibition. ??The idea for this exhibition was to explore something we in the affluent West have become very used to over the last few years: the ability to have most of our desires satisfied with comparative ease. The contributors were asked to think about wishes, desires, lusts, hopes, expectations. The exhibition will run from Friday the 11th of December until Wednesday the 30th of December (excluding bank holidays) at theprintspace gallery on 74 Kingsland Road.