X-Rite has announced its March webinar schedule. There will be a two-part “Getting Started in Lightroom 3” webinar, with the first part airing on the 3th and the second on the 10th; plus a lecture on using X-Rite’s ColorChecker Passport (pictured), and a “Beyond Monitor Calibration” seminar for those who would like to get prints that match their display. These webinars are offered free of charge, and attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions during the presentations. For the detailed schedule see the announcement below.

The 37th issue of the free PhotographyBB Online Magazine is now available for download. This edition, which marks the 3rd anniversary for the magazine, takes readers to the factory of the Jaguar XJ supercar to show them how to take great photographs with limited lighting gear. Also, their portraiture column continues with their series on shooting weddings. Other topics explored in this issue include creating depth in your photos, post-processing to create beautiful black and white images using Lightroom, and a look at social networking options for photographers. PhotographyBB Online Magazine is available now from the website below.

Website: PhotographyBB Online Magazine

Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) and the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) have announced a new five-year partnership. Under the agreement, the Society will host major annual exhibitions of the awards’ travel photography supported by an ongoing programme of workshops and events. The first free exhibition will run from May 6th to June 10th, 2011. Held in the Society’s modern glassfronted Pavilion at the heart of London’s cultural quarter in Kensington, it will feature winning shots from the 2010 International Travel Photographer of the Year awards.

Mark Wallace has released a new 2-DVD set, Studio Lighting Essentials for Portrait Photography. The DVDs feature more than two hours of step-by-step instructions and more than 20 specific lighting set-ups, all using different types of lights and light modifiers, with clear instruction on what each is and how to use it. Lighting set-ups are shown for simple headshots, fashion, beauty and glamour portraits as well as for high contrast black-and-white images, one-light set-ups for small spaces and even advanced set-ups for large studios. The DVD set is available now for $150 at the website below.

Canon USA announced that its parent company registered a company record of 2,543 new patents in 2010, the highest number of patents the company has ever received in a single year. Many of these have already found their way to commercially available products - for instance, the Canon Pixma MG8120 (pictured) and MG6120 have introduced a new light guidance system and incorporated Canon’s Full HD Movie Print mode. “Each year, Canon invests nearly ten percent of global revenue into research and development so we are able to continually enhance our current products and develop new technologies that keep us on the cutting edge of innovation,” said Seymour Liebman, executive vice president, chief administrative officer and general counsel, Canon USA.

The 36th issue of the free PhotographyBB Online Magazine is now available for download. This edition features a number of articles including a look at Google’s new Chrome OS Notebook, from a photography and social media standpoint. The magazine also has a new column on wedding photography techniques, an in-depth look at the crop tool in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, and a tutorial on learning “to see the impressionist way”. In their Photography Around the World feature they visit Keystone, Colorado, “a destination locale for both cross-country and downhill skiers, snowboarders, and adventure-seekers from all over”. PhotographyBB magazine is available in PDF format for immediate download from the website below.

Website: PhotographyBB

Parallax is a photography magazine designed exclusively for the iPad. Published by Bedouin Ventures, Parallax Magazine was founded “to provide a new, fresh viewpoint on photography that takes advantage of the dynamic nature of the iPad platform”. Taking the form of an Apple iPad app priced at $2.99, Parallax is an ad-free interactive magazine offering slide-shows, movies and hyperlinks. Topics covered in the first issue include building an inexpensive DIY studio, new perspectives on wedding photography, the best places to shoot in Big Sur, and more.

Polaroid has announced the programme for its activities, announcements and appearances that will take place at the Polaroid booth during CES. Today it will unveil its latest product line, Polaroid Grey Label, developed in collaboration with Lady Gaga. The Polaroid booth will also be home to projections showcasing the brand’s past, present and future, and hands-on demonstrations of new products. Photographer Chase Jarvis will host an interactive creative session at the booth on Friday, 7th January at 10:30 a.m. PST, while tech exxpert Katie Linendoll will give an overview of Polaroid’s new product portfolio throughout the show, live on the Polaroid stage.

The 35th issue of the free PhotographyBB Online Magazine is now online. In this issue, PhotographyBB Magazine examines photography techniques specific to the Holiday Season, such as cold-weather shooting considerations and how to capture the magic of Christmastime. In a special feature, this month’s edition showcases the photography of readers from all across the globe who were called upon to send in their photos of “Christmas in Your Town.” Additionally, the magazine explores a quick and easy method for adding digital fill flash in Photoshop. PhotographyBB Online Magazine is available for free download through the PhotographyBB website.

Accroding to net-security.org, ElcomSoft has discovered vulnerability in Canon’s Original Data Security System. The system, which is aimed at guaranteeing authenticity of photos captured with supported Canon cameras, uses secret keys to calculate authentication data. Researchers from ElcomSoft are now claiming they have been able to extract these secret keys and use them “for adding authenticity signatures to a set of manipulated digital images”, Net Security reports. ElcomSoft has alerted Canon to the problem.

Source: Net Security

PhotographyBB has released the 34th edition of the free PhotographyBB Online Magazine. In this issue, PhotographyBB Magazine examines sell sites, techniques involving high speed flash photography and the process of creating a web gallery. Their “Around the World” feature looks at the interesting history and true elegance of the Moscow Metro subway system, including a very interesting story on how the design of the system was believed to have come about. The usual Photoshop tutorial is also there, this time aimed at readers who will be making their own Christmas cards this holiday season. PhotographyBB Online Magazine is available as a free download at the website below (after registration).

Nikon, Sandisk and Sony have announced the joint development of a set of specifications that address the future requirements of professional photography and video markets. The proposed specifications achieve data transfer rates of up to 500 megabytes per second (theoretical maximum interface speed). The increased speeds will enable imaging and video applications that could not be accomplished using the current CompactFlash specification’s PATA interface. For comparison CF6.0, released in November 2010, offers maximum performance of up to 167MB/sec. The new specifications’ faster speeds enable continuous burst shooting of massive RAW images. The enhanced performance also allows users to quickly transfer storage-intensive high-resolution photos and videos from the card to a computer.

A guide to DSLR photography is a new DVD written and presented by Photo-i editor Vincent Oliver. This technical guide covers topics including camera set-up, exposure, white balance, raw file formats, lens choice, shooting techniques, DSLR movie capture and image/movie editing. Published by Photo-i, the DVD is available now to be posted anywhere in the world. The price is £14.99 excluding p+p and shipping.

Epson has announced that Digigraphie, its label of excellence for photographers, artists, print bureaux, galleries and museums, will be launched in the UK in early 2011. Launched in mainland Europe in 2003, Digigraphie has become increasingly recognised in the art world as a mark of quality, Epson says. A range of 26 high-quality fine art/photo media is certified for use with the Digigraphie programme, 10 produced by Epson, seven by Canson and nine by Hahnemühle. Each Digigraphie print is individually authenticated with a serial number, signed by the artist, embossed with the Digigraphie seal and accompanied by a certificate of guarantee. To become a Digigrapher, artists and galleries can equip themselves with the Epson products which comply with the technical terms of Digigraphie from a select number of resellers that will be chosen for their recognised skills and their involvement in the photography and art markets.

InfoTrends has just released the results of its 2010 Social Networks and Photo Sharing Survey.. Over 60% of respondents that had heard of social networking sites identified themselves as regular users of at least one of those sites. According to the company, this is interesting news for the photo industry, as these sites are full of photo-active consumers.Interest in ordering printed photos as well as photo merchandise from photos on these sites were both up this year, although many users are still not aware of the problem that most social networks downsize photos during the uploading process. Alan Bullock, an Associate Director at InfoTrends, commented, “There seems to be a growing opportunity for social networks that can offer high-resolution photo storage or partner with other companies that do, and things will get even more interesting now that Facebook has announced that it will begin storing higher resolution photos.”

The PhotoImaging Manufacturers and Distributors Association (PMDA) is calling for volunteer studio photographers throughout the US to participate in its annual Portraits of Love Project. Offering families of deployed military free portraits for the holiday season, Portraits of Love has been launched through a joint effort between the PMDA and Soldiers’ Angels, a grassroots volunteer organisation serving military families. “Last year we had more than 400 photographers host portrait sessions for military families on bases and in studios throughout the country,” said Joellyn Gray, President of the PMDA and Director of Marketing at Fujifilm. “This year we hope to expand the effort and help deliver a small taste of home to those deployed overseas during the holiday season.”

InVisage, a Silicon Valley-based startup, has today announced QuantumShutter, a new technology that eliminates the “rolling shutter” effect which has plagued videos captured by CMOS sensors. Also known as “wobble” and “jello”, rolling shutter causes verical lines to bend, slant or skew when panning quickly while recording a movie clip with a digital camera. InVisage’s QuantumShutter solves this problem by using a portion of the silicon to store the image “charge” so the entire image is captured at the exact same moment. Initially targeting camera phone applications InVisage Technologies’ QuantumShutter will be available to manufacturers later this year.

Panasonic have teamed up with Channel Five for the advertiser-funded programme commission How To Take Stunning Pictures. Each programme in the six-part series focuses on a different theme; portrait, action, celebration, landscape, holidays and animals. Photography master classes will be provided by Martin Parr, Harry Borden, Tim Flach Emily Quinton, Bob Martin and Charlie Waite. The series will be sponsored by Lumix, Panasonic’s range of photographic cameras and will also be available to view on Panasonic’s IPTV service Vieracast. The programme launches tomorrow at 7.30pm on Channel Five with Episode 1: Portrait.

Website: How to Take Stunning Pictures

PopPhoto has just launched an iPad edition. Popular Photography+ on the iPad features pages that are easy to browse and to read: simple, fluid swiping motions let readers move horizontally through stories, while vertical scrolling allows them to read an article without interruption or distraction. Built on Bonnier’s proprietary Mag+ platform for tablet devices, Popular Photography+ is available now on the App Store for an initial introductory price of $2.99 per issue.

The Irish branch of CameraInsurance (camerainsurance.ie) has announced a special 10% discount for customers who receive quotes and then insure from Photovision 2010. irector Stephen Brack said, “We are very pleased to have arranged this additional 10% discount with Insurers. Our cover is already wide offering a standard €7 million for Public Liability and €150,000 for Professional Indemnity as well as full theft cover for all equipment and this just makes it a little more affordable in these turbulent times.”

Website: CameraInsurance