Nik Software has released its webinar schedule for the first quarter of the year. The schedule includes more than 50 online trainings in English and German, which cover the whole range of the software developer’s plug-ins, such as HDR Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, Viveza, Sharpener Pro and Dfine. Each webinar has space for up to 500 participants, who do not need more than one hour of their time and a computer with a stable Internet connection and audio function to follow the training and ask their questions. The webinars are usually held on weekdays at 6pm and 8pm (CET) and participation is completely free.

Aurora Expeditions are reminding interested photographers that there are limited places left on their specialist photography expedition to Antarctica. Accompanied by two professional photographers, David Burren and Martin Bailey. this 25-day trip begins on 20th March in Ushuaia at the Southern tip of Argentina and cruises south over the Drake Passage to spend a week on the Antarctic Peninsula. Prices start from $9350 USD and include ship accommodation, all meals on board, all shore excursions, lectures, medical services, port charges and taxes.

Kingston has announced its first SDHC memory cards that meet the SD Association standards for the UHS-I speed class. Featuring read speeds of up to 60MB/s and write speeds of up to 35MB/s, the Kingston UltimateXX memory cards are significantly faster than the more widespread Class 10 cards. The UltimateXX product line will offer capacities of 8GB (£81), 16GB (£163) and 32GB (£327).

SanDisk has launched its first SDHC memory card that conforms to the UHS-I specifications. The SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC UHS-I card features Ultra High Speed technology and achieves up to 45MB/s read and write performance, based on SadDisk’s internal testing. The card is shipping to major retailers worldwide and is available immediately at SanDisk.com. The card comes in 8GB to 32GB capacities carrying suggested retail prices ranging from $109.99 to $349.99 in the US (£49.99 to £189.99 in the UK).

The Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2011 competition is now open for entries. The competition offers photographers a chance to win a share of the £24,500 prize fund. The adult winner is awarded £10,000, while special award winners receive £1,000 and category winners £500 each. The overall winner of the Veolia Environnement Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year title receives £500 and a day’s masterclass with a leading light from the photographic world, while category winners receive £250. Interested photographers have until 18th March to enter their work. (Shown above is the winning entry from the 2010 competition, A marvel of ants by Bence Máté.)

Epson’s fine art papers, previously only available in cut sheet sizes, are now also available in roll form. The range of papers - linen and acid-free, and made of 100% cotton – are available in warm white and bright white, with either a smooth or textured finishes. The papers are fully compatible with Epson’s recently-launched large format fine-art printers, the 24inch Epson Stylus Pro 7890 and 44inch Epson Stylus Pro 9890 (pictured). The 50-foot rolls are priced from £88.15 to £258.52 + VAT depending on width.

PicStop has announced a photography contest with the theme, “Winter”. You have until 30th March to submit your best winter photos to the competition. A judging panel will decide on the winners. The first prize is a Canon EOS 550D camera complete with a 18-55mm IS kit lens, a Hama Rexton 150 camera bag and two 8GB Hama High Speed Gold SDHC memory cards. As always, we recommend that you read the rules before entering your work.

Website: PicStop Winter Photo Contest

On 19 January, Mick Rock will be hosting a live portrait master class at the Idea Generation Gallery in London. Celebrated as ‘The Man Who Shot the 70s’, Mick Rock launched his career in 1972 with his portrait of an unknown David Bowie and spent the next four decades capturing the most fascinating and exciting characters in rock music. His portrait master class will start at 6.30pm, with Rock showing attendees the tricks of the trade while shooting the portrait of one lucky winner (if you’d like to be the model, email your name to [email protected] for a chance to win). After the portrait shoot, a live auction will allow the highest bidder to get hold of a unique piece of Mick memorabilia as Mick auctions off 10 of his favourite prints. The Idea Generation Gallery is located at 11 Chance Street, London.

Axtremex Technology has launched a high-performance 128GB 600x CompactFlash card. Available now, the Axtremex UDMA 128GB memory card supports up to 90 megabytes per second read speed and up to 60 megabytes per second write speed. A 64GB variant is also available, and both cards are built using premium memory chips. Initially these cards are available from nanoFlash.net for $499.99 apiece.

True NightVision 1.5 is an iPhone app that brings advanced real-time low light-video enhancement to the Apple iPhone 4 and 3GS. When it’s way too dark for the iPhone camera, True NightVision can enhance the image using advanced light amplification technology so you can see what is out there. It works best in low light, such as a night with a full moon, but it will not work in very dark conditions. TrueNightVision is available now priced at $0.99.

Cameras Underwater has launched the SeaLife SL980 LED photo light in the UK. The new, powerful, 500 lumen SeaLife SL980 can be easily and quickly connected to your camera with its universal base and it has a flexible arm allowing for effortless aiming. Depth rated to 100m, the SeaLife SL980 is available now for £299.99.

Cameras Underwater has launched the new Aqua LED 800 video and focus light in the UK. The compact yet sturdy underwater light has four different power settings; 20, 180, 360 and 800 lumens offering the ideal light for many different shooting situations. Powered by two easily replaceable and rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries; the Aqua LED 800 will run for two continuous days on its low power setting. Depth rated to 90m, the Aqua LED 800 is equipped with a soft flood type reflector that provides 90 degrees of beam coverage through its 12 Watts LED light source.

Blurb is attending FORMAT 11, the UK’s top international contemporary photography festival ,and is looking for 20 contemporary photography Blurb books to exhibit at the event. If you want to be considered, email [email protected] with a link to your Blurb book. The deadline for submissions is January 31st 2011.

Photodex has released ProShow StylePack - Weddings, the latest addition to its StylePack line for ProShow. This StylePack features 25 elegant effect combinations for use in both ProShow Web and ProShow Producer. Each combination is designed around a specific look or style. ProShow StylePack - Weddings is available now for $19.95. Requires ProShow Producer 4.x or ProShow Web.

Boinx Software has announced You Gotta See This! 1.2, the company’s popular panography photo app for the iPhone. Designed originally for iPhone 4 technology, You Gotta See This! gives users the ability to choose between the two built-in cameras, hit record, point, and capture their surroundings in an arbitrary, 3D fashion for eye-catching results. Version 1.2 features increased speed and enhanced rendering capabilities. Rendering can now be cancelled mid-process and you can return to camera mode to capture a better shot. You Gotta See This! is available now at a promotional sale price of $0.99.

Greece: Images of an Enchanted Land is the first UK exhibition of photographer Robert McCabe, who captured Greece in black and white during his travels in the 1950s and 1960s.  His images -  made with a Rolleiflex and Plus-X film - go beyond the documentary to create a series of highly memorable, iconic images of a “a once exotic Greece”. The exhibition will be held from 7-16th February in The Hellenic Centre, 16-18 Paddington Street , London.

The Sony CLM-V55 portable video monitor, first shown at CES 2011, has just been officially announced. Featuring a high-resolution WVGA (800 x 480) (5”) LCD panel, the Sony CLM-V55 attaches to a wide range of interchangeable-lens digital cameras from Sony and other manufacturers that support HD video shooting. Signal connection from camera to monitor is via the supplied HDMI cable, while power can be supplied using a battery pack or AC adapter (both optional). The clip-on screen tilts and swivels to any angle for comfortable framing in any position. A magnified view is available for accurate manual focussing, and is complemented by a colour peaking function that highlights the edges of accurately focussed areas of the video image. The Sony CLM-V55 will be available from March.

Leading UK awarding body, OCR, and Adobe has announced at BETT 2011 that the Adobe Certified Associate (ACA) qualification in Adobe Dreamweaver, Flash and Photoshop is now available as part of OCR’s new ITQ qualification. This means students with skills in Adobe’s creative software can now achieve a second nationally-recognised IT qualification from OCR. John Deacon, OCR Business Manager, said: “This is an excellent development which enhances our vocational IT qualification range and our ITQ qualification in particular.