Wildlife Photography is a new book from Rocky Nook, written by photographer and environmentalist Uwe Skrzypczak. The author wrote the book with several goals in mind—to teach the technical aspects and the workflow of digital wildlife photography; to show the beauty of East Africa and his beloved Serengeti National Park, and to educate about its habitat; and to provide a guide for the photographer who is planning to go on an African photo safari. Topics covered include equipment and accessories, conditions on the road, composition, light, migrations and mating seasons, habitats and animal behaviour, river crossings and more. The 240-page book is available priced at $39.95.

“According to a leading scholar of 19th-century American photography, many works in a landmark retrospective of Eadweard Muybridge at the Corcoran Gallery of Art may not be by Muybridge at all.” So begins a letter we have received from Alexis Anderson of ArtInfo, a premier art news portal. A large body of Muybridge’s work, along with pieces of equipment he used to create his pictures with, have been accumulated in the exhibition; which will travel to the Tate Britain in September and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in February. It turns out that Weston Naef, a former J. Paul Getty Museum curator, thinks many of the photographs on display were actually taken by Muybridge’s friend Carleton Watkins, and sold to him for publication. Tyler Green of Modern Art Notes (MAN) has just started a week-long series on the emerging debate, with the first part being a Q&A with Naef himself. Interested readers should follow the link below to check out his introduction to the three-part interview.

Website: The newest Eadweard Muybridge mystery on MAN

DxO Labs today unveiled DxOMark 2010, the new version of its website, which adds raw-based lens performance measurements to its existing database of camera sensor measurements. Initially covering about 540 cameras-lens combinations, with dozens to follow each month, the DxOMark database is based on measurements performed on raw images. To complement the lens and camera sensor measurement database, DxOMark also proposes fifteen Scores to help users to quickly assess and compare the intrinsic raw performance of lenses and cameras. These Scores are based either on photographic use cases such as Travel, Portrait, Landscape etc., or key optical metrics such as resolution or distortion.

Website: DxOMark

Rizzoli is to publish a monograph of photographer Mika Ninagawa’s work in October 2010. Mika Ninagawa has become a cultural superstar in Japan since her début only a decade ago. Distinguished by gorgeously saturated colours and stylised compositions, her photographs are widely exhibited in Japan and abroad. Her portraits of international personalities including Cameron Diaz, the late Isabella Blow, Dita von Teese, Chiaki Kuriyama and Beyoncé, plus her elaborate, fantasy-infused landscapes and still-lifes illustrate how and why her vibrant aesthetic has been influential in the fashion world. The 352-page hardcover includes 300 of her photographs and sells for $75/?45.

Toshiba is collaborating with Trek 2000 to promote the former’s new SDHC memory card, which features wireless capabilities. The two companies have established an industry forum called the “Standard Promotion Forum for Memory Cards Embedding Wireless LAN”. Toshiba’s new, Wi-Fi enabled 8GB memory card can recognise and communicate with the same type of card in another camera, and allows users to upload and download photographs to and from a server without any need for a cable connection or a card reader. Supporting raw data transfer and the IEEE 802.11b/g wireless LAN standard, Toshiba’s new product looks set to become a major competitor to Eye-Fi’s well-established line-up of Wi-Fi enabled memory cards.

The Master Photographers Association (MPA) has announced the winners in the first round judging of the 2010 Kodak/MPA Wedding and Portrait Awards. The prizes in the wedding category go to Stephen Yates (who won three awards), Steven Taylor and Scott Hogg. In the portrait section the winners are Nicholas Frost, Gary Patterson with two awards, Lindsey Brooker and Tony Marsh. They now go forward to the final judging in September 2010.

The See-View 3D Image Browser for for the iPhone/iPod Touch lets users feel their way through their image collections. Instead of relying on keywords, the complex algorithms sort the photos by colour, shape and content. Users can rotate, zoom, spin and select their photos in real time on a 3D-like display to find what they are looking for. Developed by UK-based See-Fish Technology, See-View has been launched worldwide on the App Store and is currently being adapted for use on the iPad.

Website: See-View

Photojojo has teamed up with The Impossible Project to offer a limited number of vintage Rainbow SX-70 OneStep Polaroid cameras bundled with two packs of PX 100 instant film. There are only 50 kits available, so those interested in the deal may want to act quickly. The camera-film bundles go on sale on Thursday the 24th and will be available exclusively through the Photojojo Store.

Website: Photojojo Store

Gary Fong today released an addition to its line-up of Puffer Pop-Up Flash Diffusers with the introduction of the Sony and Konica Minolta Puffer. Now available for all Sony and Konica Minolta cameras equipped with a pop-up flash, the Puffer softens the harsh light of an on-camera flash to eliminate shadows and create professional-style diffused lighting. Affixing directly to the camera’s hot-shoe, the variable-position Puffer is adjustable for centre positioning on all Sony or Konica Minolta cameras, regardless of size. The Puffer does not interfere with flash operation and ensures that all camera modes remain functional. When not in use, the Puffer stores flat and stows easily in a camera bag or even a photographer’s pocket. The Konica Minolta and Sony Puffer Pop-Up Flash Diffuser is available for $19.95.

Website: Gary Fong

PackshotCreator has recently introduced its first workstation for creating in-house product pictures and 360° animations. The new product, PackshotOffice, brings together touch technologies and visual creation: it features a Surface Acoustic Wave touch screen, a ligthbox to place the products in, and a user-friendly interface that allows an easy control of the image capture and management process. Featuring a continuous uniform light with a colour temperature of 6,500 °K, the PackshotOffice measures 24"x24"x28” and comes complete with a digital camera and a 17” or 19” touchscreen.

Website: PackshotCreator

Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) has just announced its second annual WPPI Road Trip. Taking the fun and excitement of its annual convention and trade show in Las Vegas, NV, and bringing it on the road to 10 major U.S. cities this coming August and September, the 2010 WPPI Road Trip features a full day of educational classes conducted by the hottest most sought-after speakers in professional photography today. The classes cover important topics such as Business and Marketing, Lighting, Posing, Wedding and Portrait photography, Photoshop and Postproduction workflows. The Road Trip will take place in the following 10 U.S. cities: Irvine, CA, Sacramento, CA, Seattle, WA, Dallas, TX, Washington, D.C., Chicago, IL, Atlanta, GA, Orlando, FL, New Brunswick, NJ and Detroit, MI. If booked before 30 July, the early bird registration rate is $135 for a full day of education, lunch, and mini trade show. The Road Trip rate also includes free registration to WPPI 2011 in Las Vegas, NV. After July 30th, the registration price is $149.

Website: WPPI Road Trip

Panasonic has issued a firmware update for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10 (DMC-ZS7) travelzoom camera. Version 1.1 improves stability on start-up and optimises the light output of INON external underwater strobes, including the following models: S-2000 / D-2000 / Z-240.

Website: Panasonic TZ10 Firmware

International Garden Photographer of the Year has announced the winner of its ‘Spring into Life’ contest, which was organised as part of its ‘4- Seasons’ photography competition series. The overall winner is Colin Varndell, who will receive a £500 cash prize and a copy of ‘International Garden Photographer of the Year Collection 03’ published by David and Charles. The other finalsists are awarded a copy of the book, plus points that will be taken through to the judging of the main competition, deadline 30th November 2010.

Website: Winners’ Gallery

Annabel Williams Contemporary Training has launched a brand new intensive 4-day seminar designed to inspire wedding photographers. The first A to Z of Weddings seminar runs from 31st August to 3rd September at the purpose built Annabel Williams training studio in the stunning Lake District. The seminar, which is hosted by key trainers Catherine Connor, Jane Breakell and pro wedding photographer Stuart Cooper has lessons on topics such as marketing your business, pre wedding and wedding shoots and digital workflow, album design, sales and aftercare.

Website: Annabel Williams

Fujifilm has just launched the Fujifilm GF670 medium-format folding rangefinder camera in the United Kingdom. The Fujifilm GF670 - which is sold as the Voigtländer Bessa III in the rest of Europe - offers 6” x 6” and 6” x 7” format shooting, selectable via a simple switch, with 120 and 220 roll film. Featuring a Fujinon EBC 80 mm lens and coupled rangefinder, the GF670 has manual shutter speed control and offers a setting for aperture priority automation. There is both a hot shoe flash mount and a PC sync connection socket, and the camera boasts a “whisper quiet” shutter. Finished in silver, the Fujifilm GF670 is available now from leading camera retailers priced at around £1,700.

VSO Image Resizer 4 is a stand-alone application which will compress, convert, create copies, import, edit or organise a single picture or a whole batch. VSO Image Resizer 4 offers an improved stand-alone usage and a quick access to profiles from the Windows shell extension. The file selection has been revamped, allowing images and folders to be added together to the same project. With the live preview, a major new feature in VSO Image Resizer 4, users can see what the result will look like before actually resizing or converting images. The output can be sent directly by email or be compressed to a zip folder. Finally, the watermark function has been improved with html-like text formatting features.

Website: VSO Software

VSO Software has released PhotoDVD version 4, which includes a new output format, new transitions as well as an innovative live preview player. PhotoDVD allows users to create a customised video of pictures, with music, text, transitions and a DVD-like menu with chapters. With version 4, the outcome is no longer limited to burning to DVD, as the new output to mpeg4 now allows videos to be transferred to Youtube or Dailymotion in High Definition format. The full version of PhotoDVD 4 costs $29.99.

Website: VSO

One Day on Earth is a documentary and new media project about the “amazing diversity, conflict, tragedy, and triumph that occurs in one 24-hour period on Earth”. On 10th October 2010, thousands of people from every nation around the world will film their perspective and contribute their voice to what the organisers describe as one of the largest participatory media events in history. The event will result in a 120-minute feature documentary and online video archive. The people behind the project have released a pretty amazing trailer that describes the idea in more detail - it’s certainly worth watching. To register for the event, follow the link below.

Website: Sign Up for One Day on Earth