To celebrate National Photography Month, Digital-Tutors today announced a photo manipulation challemge. To enter the contest, contestants need to use their photo editing and manipulation skills to turn features from 2-5 separate images into a single, final image. The original images must also be uploaded with each entry. The submission deadline is 24 May 2015. Click through / read on for more information.

To celebrate Earth Day 2015, Triggertrap brought together photographers from five continents to create EarthLapse: a spectacular timelapse window on our world from many perspectives. In a follow-up to last year’s highly successful LapseLondon, when 40 photographers timelapsed a day in the life of London, EarthLapse drew on the vision and enthusiasm of photographers across the globe to highlight how breathtaking every far corner of the world can be. The beautiful outcome illustrates why days of global appreciation such as Earth Day remain important to preserving our planet’s environment.

Macphun today announced an update to FX Photo Studio. In addition to a number of feature improvements to the app, the new update adds a new collection of 3D effects filters including Black and White 3D, CMYK, Bokeh, Cinema, Red and Green, and 3D Glitche; plus 8 new stickers. The app is available for €2.99 (€0.99 from 1-3 May) on the iTunes App Store.

Lomography has announced the Lomo LC-A MINITAR-1 Art lens for M-mount rangefinder cameras. This pancake type interchangeable lens has a focal length of 32mm, a minimum focus distance of 0.8m and a maximum aperture of f/2.8. The optical construction features 5 elements in 4 groups and a 4-step zone focusing system. "The signature vignetting, sharp contrast and gloriously rich character of the LC-A legacy can now be achieved on a wide array of both digital and analogue cameras," the company says. Interested photographers can pre-order the lens for £249. Delivery is currently planned for July 2015.

Want to see exactly what the new Leica M Monochrom (Typ 246) camera looks like in the flesh?

Check out our hands-on gallery of photos of the Leica M Monochrom (Typ 246) camera.

The Leica M Monochrom (Typ 246) is a new black and white rangefinder camera. The Leica M Monochrom (Typ 246) features a newly developed 24 megapixel full-frame black-and-white CMOS sensor, ISO range of 320-2500, high-performance Leica Maestro image processor, 2Gb buffer, Live View function with focus peaking, 1080p HD video recording, 3-inch 921K-dot LCD with a Sapphire Crystal screen, and compatibility with almost all lenses of the Leica R series.

The Leica M Monochrom (Typ 246) will be available in early May for £5750 / €7200.

In the UK, JP Distribution will be running a PocketWizard end-user cash back promotion. Starting tomorrow, customers purchasing any of a number of PocketWizard products - including the PocketWizard PlusX Twin Set, PocketWizard Plus lll Twin Set and the PocketWizard Mini & Flex Kit for Canon or Nikon (1 x MiniTT1, 2 x FlexTT5 & 1 x AC3 ZoneController) - from authorised UK and Republic of Ireland resellers, will be entitled to claim up to £50/€60 cash back by redemption of a voucher and valid proof of purchase. THe promotion ends on Tuesday 30th June.

This weekend, five local Canon dealers across the US will host “Canon Experience Days” featuring well-known local photographers who will teach new parents how to get the most out of their DSLRs as well as their best tips and tricks on how to capture great family photos. Participating retailers include CameraLand in Old Bethpage, Christian Photo in Urbandale, RockBrook Camera in Omaha, Tempe Camera in Tempe and Kenmore Camera in Kenmore. Click through / scroll down for the exact times and dates.

Zeiss have posted several high-resolution sample images taken with their new Batis 2/25 and Batis 1.8/85 lenses mounted to a variety of bodies including a mysterious new Sony camera. The pictures can be downloaded from Carl Zeiss Lenses' Flickr photostream and one of them is an 56-megapixel portrait taken with the Batis 1.8/85 telephoto prime. The pixel size is 8910x6300, with the aspect ratio being 1.41:1, suggesting that the photograph has been cropped to this size from an even higher-resolution original.

GoPro has announced an agreement to acquire Kolor, a leader in virtual reality and spherical media solutions. All Kolor employees will join GoPro and will maintain operations at their headquarters in Savoie. “We are excited to welcome Kolor to GoPro,” said Nicholas Woodman, GoPro’s founder and CEO. “GoPro’s capture devices and Kolor’s software will combine to deliver exciting and highly accessible solutions for capturing, creating and sharing spherical content.” Spherical media enables a range of immersive viewing experiences and is an essential building block of virtual reality technologies. “Kolor’s mission is to enable the ultimate visual experience - to transport an audience to another time and space. Joining GoPro makes this possible,” said Alexandre Jenny, CEO of Kolor. “When the best spherical media software is combined with the world’s most versatile capture devices, our imagination become our only limitation. We’re excited to see what the world captures and shares with GoPro and Kolor.”

The Wapping Project Bankside has announced its participation in Photo London, a unique photography event that will feature a major international photography fair for up to 70 of the world’s leading photography galleries. Showing works by Elina Brotherus, Lydia Goldblatt, Alexander Gronsky, Jacqueline Hassink, Abbas Kowsari, Juul Kraijer, Edgar Martins, Stephen J Morgan, Jeffrey Stockbridge, Mitra Tabrizian, and Thomas Zanon-Larcher, The Wapping Project Bankside wishes to make evident the interesting dialogue that can be achieved when seemingly disparate works are brought together. Photo London will take place from 21 – 24 May 2015.

TomTom today launched the all-new TomTom Bandit action camera, which makes editing and sharing videos quick and easy. Billed as the first-ever camera to come with a built-in media server, the TomTom Bandit action camera works with a companion app (iOS only for the time being), making it possible to create and share videos in a matter of minutes. In editing mode, a simple shake of the smartphone instantly creates an exciting movie. Users can then easily make changes, add music and add overlays of favourite metrics. In addition to capturing HD, Full HD, 2.7K and 4K movies, the TomTom Bandit can also shoot 16-megapixel stills using a CCD sensor and an UWA lens. Connectivity options inlcude Bluetooth, Wi-fi and USB 3.0. The TomTom Bandit action camera will be available in May priced at £299.99.

LG has announced its latest smartphone, which features a 16-megapixel camera module with an external white balance sensor and an f/1.8 lens. The LG G4 has a 1/2.6-type image sensor capable of recording raw images, and offers a wide range of manual adjustments including shutter speed, focus and ISO sensitivity, as well as optical image stabilisation, laser auto focus and a live histogram. Other photography-related features include a Gesture Shutter function, 4K movie recording, an 8-megapixel front-facing camera and a 5.5” IPS Quantum display.

MindShift Gear has launched a new range of GoPro camera cases and bundles. The series includes carrying cases for single or multiple cameras and provides easy organisation for all the mounts, screws and accessories. “MindShift’s action camera cases are built for flexibility and accessibility,” said MindShift Gear’s CEO and lead designer Doug Murdoch. “We’ve designed the different cases and bundles with single camera or multi-camera users in mind. With MindShift’s action camera cases they can craft the GoPro kit that matches their own vision.” Prices start at $16.50. Click through / scroll down for the details.

April 23rd marked the 2015 Sony World Photography Awards, with a glamorous ceremony held at the Park Lane Hilton, London.

Now in its eighth year, this free-to-enter competition showcases the best contemporary photography across a range of genres and is open to photographers of all abilities.

We take a look back at the winners...

The Royal Photographic Society (RPS) and The Open University are launching a unique online digital photography course. Digital Photography: Creating and Sharing Better Images is a 10-week course designed to help people new to digital photography and those looking to improve existing skills – and to see the world in a new way. It will develop participants’ technical and visual skills through weekly practical assignments. The 10-week course will cost £200, and all students who successfully complete the course will be entitled to an RPS Certificate in Photography.