Macphun Software have announced their 12 Days of Giveaways celebration. The event is a progressive giveaway, which means that the winner for any day wins the specific prize for that day, plus a prize from each of the previous days. The grand prize is a Nikon Df camera (pictured), plus prizes from each of the previous days. Click through / read on for the Macphun giveaways prize list.

Photo Cruises are a new company specialising in educational photographic holidays. There will be expert tuition from a variety of onboard workshops, lectures and seminars, as well as hands-on tuition on location, and photography excursions. Their 2014 cruises will include two 7-night Mediterranean voyages, a week-long Norway cruise, a 7-night Baltic voyage and a 3-night taster cruise to Bruges and Paris from Southampton. These photo cruises are available to book now and if you book a place by the end of January you will get £50 off.

Issue 23 of David Noton’s Chasing the Light eZine is now available. In this month’s edition, David takes us to the Yukon, sharing with us the next installment of his fascinating photo trip to this location. In How it’s Done, David talks us through his approach to and method of selecting focal points for shooting the landscape, and in this month’s installment of Seeing the Light he considers the challenges and rewards of photographing the cityscape at night. For its Guest Feature the magazine rounds up the current Formula 1 season with an article from brilliant F1 photo specialist Peter J Fox, as he introduces readers to a ‘weekend in the life of’ an F1 photographer at the classic Monza racetrack. Do note that the full contents of Chasing the Light online magazine is available to f11 subscribers only.

Issue 34 of Landscape Photography Magazine is now available to download. This edition includes a tutorial on photographing winter landscapes, a review of the book "Colours of the Earth" by David Hay, a free article on women in landscape photography, a guide to starting a photography business, a free advice on the art of concealment, and much more. Do note that the full contents of Landscape Photography Magazine are available to subscribers only.

Datacolor will be hosting a month long holiday giveaway during the month of December. Beginning 1st December, daily prizes will be awarded through the Datacolor website with a new door opening each day to reveal the featured prize. “For the second year in a row, we’re partnering with some of the industry’s most recognisable brands in an effort to make the holiday season for many imaging professionals even brighter,” said David Tobie, global product technology manager for Datacolor. “Not only is this a fun way for us to close out the year, but it provides digital imaging specialists of all skill sets the opportunity to start the New Year with a gear bag full of cool new gadgets.” Photographers are encouraged to enter the Datacolor Happy Holidays Giveaway by visiting the website below.

Fujifilm has launched a free  digital magazine to help X-series users across  the world get more from their cameras, lenses and accessories. Available in six languages, Fujifilm X Magazine can be viewed through web browsers and both iOS and Android devices. Highlights  from  the  launch  issue  include  an  interview  with  fashion photographer  and  X-Pro1  user  Alex  Lambrechts, how to get more from the Fujifilm  Film  Simulation  modes and a gallery of portraits from X-series users around the world. The UK version of the magazine can be viewed at the website below.

Issue 33 of Landscape Photography Magazine is now available to download. This edition includes a guide to photographing Killarney national park, a review of the book "The Art of Adventure," an interview with Erez Marom, a free article on photographing fresh fields, a guide to starting a photography business and more. Do note that the full contents of Landscape Photography Magazine are available to subscribers only.

Issue 22 of David Noton’s Chasing the Light eZine is now available. In this month’s edition, David takes us to the Yukon, reliving the first six days of the special trip he made to this location in September. To tie up this Yukon special, in How it’s Done David talks us through his approach to and method of shooting the stunning Aurora Borealis at Pine Lake. And in for Stepping Back, he whizzes us back to 1984 when he shot the Marines as part of his photography course with stunning results. Do note that the full contents of Chasing the Light eZine is available to f11 subscribers only.

The non-profit Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a major project involving the digitisation of more than 220,000 astronomical plates and films taken over the past 120 years by generations of astronomers. The funds will be used to purchase an OPTEK 413 VSM precision scanning machine and begin digitising the plates. Interested readers are encouraged to visit the project's Kickstarter page and make a contribution.

Legendary 70s and 80s fashion photographer Willie Christie has been announced as the Executive Director of Britain's first reality show for style photography. Christie's portfolio includes award winning advertising campaigns, fashion and portrait work for international icons, notably Cary Grant, Grace Jones, Douglas Fairbanks Jnr, Sir John Mills and Catherine Deneuve; and Rock 'n' Roll album covers and portraits for Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Bryan Ferry and Lou Reed. The 9-episode series developed by Christie and Back to Front TV is a first for Britain and will celebrate the essential relationship between style and photography. Casting for the series will be conducted through a call for contestants later this month when Back to Front TV will invite anyone with a keen interest in photography to submit their best images and describe their motivation for participating in this exclusive series.

The sixteenth issue of Adore Noir Magazine is now available for purchase. Adore Noir is a fine art photography magazine available exclusively in digital format. Featuring artistic female nudes by Anne Sophie Nordrum and Annie Vinogradoff. photographs from the Volt series by Olivier du Tré, unique architectural photography by Kevin Saint Grey, city-, land- and seascapes by Ina Forstinger and Gerald Berghammer, an article about Sally Mann's book Southern Landscape by Timothy B. Anderson and an interview with Adore Noir's editor-in-chief Chris Kovács; ; this edition reinforces the magazine’s commitment to high-quality black-and-white Photography. The latest issue of Adore Noir is available for $2.95 from the website below.

Website: Adore Noir

Back to Front TV has just announced a  new reality show for style photography. The 9-episode series will take the form of a progressive elimination show that will "celebrate the essential relationship between style and photography," Back to Front TV said in a statement. Casting for the series will be conducted through a call for contestants, inviting anyone with a keen interest in photography to submit their best image and describe their motivation for participating in this exclusive first series. The show will break down the process with a mentor briefing and tasks being set for the contestants, who will need to prove their talent on real-life photo shoots. After the photo sessions, there will be a blind-judging process by which the contestant photographer's work is selected or rejected. For more information, contact the company via the address below.

A remotely activated camera set up in a forest in the Russian Far East has photographed a rare instance of a golden eagle capturing a young sika deer. The deer's carcass was found two weeks later, just a few yards from the camera, initially puzzling researchers. "I saw the deer carcass first as I approached the trap on a routine check to switch out memory cards and change batteries, but something felt wrong about it. There were no large carnivore tracks in the snow, and it looked like the deer had been running and then just stopped and died," said Dr. Linda Kerley of the Zoological Society of London, who runs the camera trap project. "It was only after we got back to camp that I checked the images from the camera and pieced everything together. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.”

The New York Institute of Photography (NYIP) has launched a completely revised and updated version of their flagship course, the Complete Course in Professional Photography. The course, which sells for 1,499, offers students all over the world a wide range of photographic training. Starting with the fundamentals of understanding how to use a camera, the course provides students with the knowledge and skills they need to take professional-quality photos and make money with their photography. “The Professional Photography Course needed a major update for the modern, digital world of photography,” said NYIP’s Director of Education Jay Johnson. “And that’s what we did. We completely revised the course for photography students in the 21st century.” For more information on NYIP’s Complete Course in Professional Photography, visit the website below.

Canon today unveiled a new programme designed to help aspiring photographers studying photography or equivalent courses to take their next step with imaging. The Canon Student Network (CSN) rolls out to 11 universities across the UK and Ireland and provides tailored experiences, opportunities and offers to help the students develop as their course progresses. Education including tips, tricks and business advice from noted professional photographers via seminars around the country and online are also available along with unique offers. Access is easy and free for eligible students. Those in first year simply need to be studying photography or equivalent course, within one of the initial 11 roll-out universities and sign up to the free Project 1709 – Canon’s beta online imaging management system. Students in their second year will also be required to own a current Canon DSLR and lens.

Nikon has officially been named a CoolBrand, in an influential annual initiative to identify the UK’s coolest brands. Now in its twelfth year, the CoolBrands list follows a vote by a combination of 3,000 consumers and a panel of 37 designers, style experts, media personalities and prominent figures from the worlds of TV, fashion and music. The results are published every September and a selection of the country’s coolest brands are featured in a luxurious, hardback format book, available from all good bookshops (RRP £55), or which can be ordered by contacting 020 7079 3310 or at the website below.

Issue 20 of David Noton’s Chasing the Light eZine is now available. In this month’s edition, David pays homage to side light and presents Part 2 of his exploration into the creative potential of using super wide-angle lenses. In Stepping Back, we are taken on a photo trip to the fascinating ‘blue’ town of Chefchaouen in the Rif Mountains of northern Morocco. And in this month’s edition of The Bizz, David begins his two-part series entitled Head in the Cloud by considering the various technological pressures with which he has successfully wrangled at Noton HQ this summer. Do note that the full contents of Chasing the Light eZine is available to f11 subscribers only.

PhotoBox has just released the results of a new survey on the holiday photography habits of Europeans. The study has revealed that 55% of Brits share their holiday picture on Facebook, followed by the Swedes with 40%.  France is the least social media savvy, as only 4% of French said they share on Facebook. Instagram and Twitter were hardly chosen, apart from Sweden where 24.1% of respondents declared sharing their holiday pics on Instagram. Along with the Swedes, Brits are the most "selfie-obsessed" as 27% of them admit to taking self-portraits on holiday. The Spanish aren’t far behind with 22%. Photographing holiday meals is popular with 35% of Swedes, 30% of Germans and 27% of Britons. In addition, 30% of the British respondents said they used props in their holiday photos to make them look better just like celebs such as Rihanna, Kelly Brook, Cara Delavigne and Justin Bieber.

Issue 31 of Landscape Photography Magazine is now available to download. This edition includes a guide to infrared photography, a review of the book Scotland's Fifty Finest Mountains, an essay on image sharpness by David Hay, an interview with Hans Strand, a test report on the Pentax K5 IIs digital SLR camera, an article on photographing Yellowstone National Park, and much more. Do note that the full contents of Landscape Photography Magazine are available to subscribers only.

Epson has announced the winning concept for its “Finish Strong” advertising campaign photography contest. The Finish Strong ad campaign contest invited photographers to submit 200 words or less describing their idea for Epson’s next Finish Strong print ad. At a vantage point 800 feet high atop the antenna on the Prudential Tower overlooking the Boston city skyline, Joe McNally and his photography crew recently shot the winning photo envisioned by a participant from the competition. Josh Lohmeyer from Pylesville, Maryland had the winning entry with the concept of a photographer on top of a tall, distinctive building with a large city skyline as the backdrop. “When we read Josh Lohmeyer’s entry, we were struck by the challenge of such a shoot, and yet could also visualise it – what a magnificent undertaking it would be with such a rewarding result," said Richard Day, group product manager, Professional Imaging, Epson America. "Joe McNally and his team brought Josh’s vision to life with a breathtaking finish.”