TeoreX, the company famed for its BatchInpaint, FolderIco, Inpaint, iResizer and PhotoSticher applications, has just released PhotoScissors, a simple background removal tool for Windows and MacOS. Targeting users who don’t want to learn secrets of retouching, PhotoScissors is really easy to use: the user marks foreground and background zones in the image and immediately sees the results, which can then be fine-tuned with a few mouse gestures. The price for a single licence of PhotoScissors is $19.99.

Jon Baines Tours have announced a new photo tour for nature and wildlife photographers. Inspired by Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913), one of the greatest and most fascinating intellectuals and naturalists of the nineteenth century, who developed the theory of evolution through natural selection in the Malay Archipelago, independently of Charles Darwin, the tour takes participants through the spectacular landscapes of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The cost of the tour "In Wallace's Footsteps in the Malay Archipelago," including flights from London to Kuching and from Bali to London is £4,278. Led by naturalists George and Jan Beccaloni, world-renowned authorities on Wallace, the tour is taking place from 2nd to 18th September.

Nikon has posted a firmware update for its Nikon 1 AW1 compact system camera. Version A 1.01 fixes an issue that prevented updating of the camera’s A-GPS file with the latest A-GPS file. The firmware upgrade can be downloaded from the website below.

Website: Nikon 1 AW1 Firmware Update A 1.01, B1.00

Canon: A Year in Fashion is a documentary film highlighting the relationship between images and fashion. Presented by Andy Torres, the blogger from StyleScrapbook.com, the film tells a story about the symbiosis of photography and fashion as seen by those working behind the scenes. Featured photographers include Clive Booth, Tony Wellington and a number of student photographers who shot catwalk shows from the photographers’ pit for the first time in 2013. Click through / scroll down to view the film.

ExpoImaging has just introduced its new Ray Flash 2 universal ring flash adapter in the USA. This model has a new adjustable mount, which attaches quickly and securely to different size speedlights by means of a new spring-loaded clamp design. Available in two different sizes, Ray Flash 2 can be yours for $139.95.

Read This If You Want to Take Great Photographs by Henry Carroll is a new title from Laurence King Publishing. Promising to provide "anyone with a digital camera" with the know-how and confidence to replace amateur techniques with professional ones, this guide focuses on five key areas: composition, exposure, light, lenses, and seeing. Illustrated with images from such giants as Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Dorothea Lange, Sebastiao Salgado, and Joel Sternfeld; the book will go on sale in March, priced at $17.95.

The DAM Book Guide to Organizing Your Photos with Lightroom 5 by Peter Krogh is a follow-up to The DAM Book, Digital Asset Management for Photographers. Integrating text, screenshots, animated flowcharts and workflow videos, this ebook presents a universal method for photo organisation in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5. The 208-page publication, which includes seven hours of embedded video, is available for $34.95 from the website below.

York-based Dominic Wright Photography has been named The Societies’ Fashion Photographer of the Year. The winning image (above) was originally an idea created by both Dominic Wright Photography and Christine Wright from Horticouture, created for the TV programme A Great British Christmas at Rise Hall at Sarah Beenys House, which aired on Channel 4 on the 2nd December 2013. Dominic Wright Photography is run by Dominic and his wife Zoe. Upon receiving the honour, Dominic said: "I didn't think we had a chance against such strong competition so we were shocked when we won. we’re over the moon.” 

Syrp have appointed JP Distribution as the exclusive distributor for their products in the United Kingdom. The first product to hit the shelves is the Syrp Genie, a simple, affordable and easy-to-use motion controller for time-lapse photography. Paul Roper, Sales and Marketing Director of JP Distribution commented, “JP Distribution is delighted to have secured the rights to distribute the highly anticipated Syrp Genie within the UK and Ireland. We are excited that we have the opportunity to work with a brand that is innovative in this new world of Time Lapse Photography. The brand perfectly complements our existing portfolio of high quality products for the videographer and photographer and the Syrp Genie will be available to our customers through our established dealer network.”

Japanese optics manufacturer Kowa has unveiled three new 'Prominar' lenses for the Micro Four Thirds system. The Kowa Prominar 8.5mm f/2.8 MFT is a 17mm equivalent rectilinear lens with a surprisingly low amount of geometric distortion (0.12% barrelling). The Kowa Prominar 12mm f/1.8 MFT is a fast 24mm equivalent wide-angle lens, whilst the Kowa Prominar 25mm f/1.8 MFT is a 50mm equivalent "normal" prime. All three lenses have proper distance scales and aperture rings. Availability is slated for Summer 2014.

The Leica Store Mayfair is celebrating 100 years of Leica photography with a number of special consumer offers running until 31 March 2014. During the promotional period any new D-Lux 6 camera purchase comes  with a complimentary handgrip (valued at £70) and soft leather pouch (worth £60). Customers who buy a new Leica X Vario large-sensor compact camera (pictured) may choose from two complimentary accessory sets. Option 1 includes a tan leather protector (SRP £90), tan leather wrist strap (£60), spare battery (£80) and Neoprene case (£50). Option 2 includes black handgrip (£100) and black handgrip finger loop – small or medium or large (£90), spare battery (£80) and Neoprene case (£50).

Young Photographers Alliance has announced the signing of Vanguard USA to a two year sponsorship deal. “We believe that the future of great photography rests in the hands of students,” said Doug Feldner, Director of Sales and Marketing for Vanguard USA, “and fully support YPA in their efforts to prepare young photographers to continue the legacy of our industry’s top shooters.” Bob Hendriks, YPA President, adds, “YPA could not be more thrilled with this new partnership. We graciously accept and look forward to collaborating with Vanguard in the future.”

The Texas Beef Council has announced a a ‘Table for Two’ photo competition. Beef lovers aged 18 and older from around the USA are asked to participate in the contest by posting pictures of their favourite dishes and explaining who they are sharing their meal with on the Beef Loving Texans Facebook Page. Judges from sponsor, Texas Beef Council, will individually evaluate and score all eligible entries received and select one grand prize winner, who will receive four 16oz T-Bone steaks valued at $99. The competition runs until the end of this month, and the winner will be contacted on 10 March 2014.

The jury of the 57th annual World Press Photo competition has selected a picture by American photographer John Stanmeyer of the VII Photo Agency as the World Press Photo of the Year 2013. The image shows African migrants on the shore of Djibouti city at night, raising their phones in an attempt to capture an inexpensive signal from neighbouring Somalia in order to get in touch with relatives abroad. The picture also won 1st Prize in the Contemporary Issues category, and was shot for National Geographic using a Canon EOS 5D Mark III camera with a Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L USM lens. The image was taken at an aperture f/1.4 and 1/40th second exposure and ISO 10,000. Canon, the competition's worldwide sponsor, congratulated Stanmeyer on winning the contest.

Cool Photo Effects for Windows 8 is a new application that allows you to apply 300 different effects to photos. The range of effects/filters includes black and white, bi-colour, cinema, cross processing, old film, and much more. Cool Photo Effects for Windows 8 is available for $2.99.

Data Protection for Photographers by Patrick H. Corrigan is a new title from Rocky Nook. Explaining current data protection and storage technologies in everyday terms, this book offers critical information about the best hardware, software, procedures, and practices for storing and preserving images and other data. The 176-page volume is available for $32.95. 

The winners of the third annual Mobile Photography Awards have been announced. Photographers from nearly 75 countries submitted over 7,000 images, the highest in the three year history of the awards. The $3,000 Grand Prize has been awarded to Cedric Blanchon (France) for the image above. The MPA/DIPTICAPP Photo Essay 1st Place winner is Cesar Rodriguez-Becerra of Mexico.

G-Technology is now shipping its new G-Drive with Thunderbolt and G-Drive mobile with Thunderbolt external hard drives. Both of these 7,200-RPM drives come with a sleek, durable aluminium enclosure; and are plug-and-play on Mac but can be easily reformatted for Windows. The new 4TB G-Drive with Thunderbolt ($399.95) delivers up to 165 MB/s sustained data transfer rates. It also features an integrated heat-sink that enables a cool and quiet operation, making it an ideal solution for storage-intensive applications like audio/video editing or digital photography. Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 cables are included. The bus-powered G-Drive mobile with Thunderbolt ($219.95, pictured) offers up to 1TB capacity and delivers up to 136 MB/s sustained data transfer rates using Thunderbolt or USB 3.0.

Cosina is set to release an updated version of the Voigtländer Nokton 25mm f/0l95 Micro Four Thirds lens. This revised edition benefits from a new aperture control mechanism which allows the user to switch between "clicked" and stepless operation as required, just like the Voigtländer Nokton 42.5mm f/0.95 and Nokton 17.5mm f/0.95. Otherwise unchanged from the previous version, the Voigtländer Nokton 25mm f0.95 II is a manual-focus lens with an optical formula comprising 11 elements in 8 groups and a 10-bladed iris diaphragm. The new lens will go on sale in March 2014, priced at 105,000 yen.