Photobucket and Ontela have announced an agreement under which the two companies will merge their operations. The new company will be called Photobucket Corporation. News Corporation, which acquired Photobucket in 2007, will hold a significant equity stake in the combined company and will be represented on the company’s board of directors. The Photobucket management team will continue to operate the business, while Ontela’s investors will make an additional capital commitment as part of the merger and will hold significant equity positions in the combined company.

Zoner Software has released the new version of its Zoner Photo Studio photo management, editing and sharing application for Windows. The latest version introduces new and more efficient ways to manage, edit and especially share photos. The module for RAW files has seen a complete overhaul.  Settings for processing each file in queue can be fine-tuned until the moment the queue is processed. For easier work with large photo archives, the new version introduces a Catalog view — virtual folders that automatically organize pictures by timeline, no matter where they are on disk. Zoner Photo Studio 12 Home is handy for point-and-shoot photographers looking for one-click editing features, and flexibility for creatively sharing photos, as well as creating calendars, panoramas and other presentation formats. Zoner Photo Studio 12 Professional offers advanced photographers and avid hobbyists a wide selection of features designed with their workflows in mind, covering everything from organising and editing, to publishing.

Website: Zoner

IDimager Systems have announced the latest release of their image management solution, IDimager V5. “IDimager has always been ahead of the competition by offering state-of-the-art technology, an innovative feature set, and customer support that’s second to none, ” said Hertwig van Zwietering, president at IDimager Systems, Inc. “Now, with the release of IDimager V5, we’ve extended that lead in many areas and have set the bar high for the future of digital image management”.  New to Version 5 is support for Windows 7, voice labelling, face labelling, a new label assignment panel, a feature-rich download tool, non-destructive editing and enhanced geotagging support. The professional edition of IDimager V5 is priced at $139, while the personal edition is available at $69.

Website: IDimager

The 2009 international Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) awards have, for the first time, been won by a Bangladeshi photographer. G.M.B. Akash’s vibrant yet poignant images of rail travel in his home country and his portfolio depicting the ship-breaking industry in Pakistan all showed how imagery can tell a story, and won unanimous praise from the judges. As well as being awarded the title of Travel Photographer of the Year 2009, Akash wins Adobe CS4 Web Premium software, an Apple MacBook Pro 13” with Aperture 2 software, a Mountain Paradise trip to the Tatra Mountains, an ILFORD Lightjet 40” x 30” silver gelatin print of one of his images, a 16GB Lexar CompactFlash & Lexar Professional card reader, a Plastic Sandwich leather portfolio book and a Wacom Intuos4 S pen tablet. The winning images from TPOTY 2009 can be viewed online in the Winners’ Gallery at www.tpoty.com and will be published in the new Travel Photographer of the Year book Journey Three. Click through / read on for a complete list of category winners.

Photo Gallery at photo-gallery-website.co.uk now features improved search optimisation, faster loading and smooth transition between images. Designed for anyone who wants photographs, products or graphics to be the main focus of their website (as opposed to text and navigation), Photo Gallery is eCommerce enabled allowing publishers to sell photographs or products. Developed by website design agency Rubber Dragon, Photo Gallery includes a content management system allowing publishers to easily update their website.

Website: Photo Gallery

The National Park Foundation has issued a reminder that there are just a few weeks left to enter the 2009 Olympus Share the Experience photo contest, which is seeking this year’s best photo of the 392 national parks or other federal recreation lands in the US. The 2009 Share the Experience Photo Contest closes at 11:59 pm ET on 31 December 2009, and showcases the more than 500 million acres of Federal Lands, drawing entries from all across the United States.  The grand prize winning photo will be featured on next year’s Federal Recreation Lands Pass and the photographer will receive an Olympus E-3 Digital Camera. The 2008 winning photo (above) was taken by Mark Cromwell in Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.

Website: Share the Experience

Hasselblad have released version 2.0 of their image processing software, Hasselblad Phocus. Phocus 2.0 boasts a range of new features, such as an improved user interface that drastically reduces the learning curve for high-end imaging. Among the highlights of the new version you will find an advanced Highlights Recovery, Shadow Fill and Clarity tool, the ability to use floating tools, a loupe function, a Scene Calibration tool for equalizing intensity and removing cast, lens optimisation for all Carl Zeiss lenses, advanced histogram controls and extended preview controls during tethered capture.

Website: Hasselblad Phocus 2.0

The Kodak Pic Flick iPhone app, which enables consumers to print pictures wirelessly on the KODAK ESP 5250 All-in-One WiFi-enabled printer, can now be downloaded free of charge from the iPhone App Store in the UK. Announced at the beginning of last month, the Pic Flick app lets you print photographs directly from your Apple iPhone or iPod Touch, in sizes ranging from 3x7.5cm to 21.5x28cm. All you need to do is ensure that the printer is connected to the same LAN/WiFi connection as your iPhone or iPod Touch. The KODAK ESP 5250 AiO printer, available since September 2009, is the latest in Kodak’s range of AiO consumer printers, claimed to produce lab-quality, long-lasting photos and documents.

Webaite: Kodak Pic Flick

Kubota Image Tools have announced the first-ever Photographers Ignite sessions to take place 9-11am, Thursday, 11 2010 at the WPPI Convention at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV. Ignite is a style of concentrated presentation where participants are given exactly five minutes to speak on a subject accompanied by 20 slides. Each slide is displayed for only 15 seconds before being automatically advanced. Photographers Ignite is focused on photography topics, tips, hints and inspiration. It’s a challenging new way for photographers to share ideas and stories, five minutes at a time. There will be about 15-20 session ideas selected. Proposals for these fast-paced sessions are now being reviewed and accepted. Professional photographers interested in being a presenter should visit the website below.

Website: Photographers Ignite

LaCie has introduced the LaCie Rikiki, billed as the smallest 2.5” metal hard drive on the market. Encased in brushed, sturdy aluminium, the LaCie Rikiki, which means “tiny” in French, offers plug-and-play simplicity via its USB 2.0 interface. Rikiki also comes with a simplified software suite – for quick setup and easy-to-use backup management – enabling complete configuration in just a few clicks. The LaCie Rikiki will be available in 250GB, 500GB, and 640GB capacities through the LaCie Online Store, LaCie Reseller+, and LaCie Corner, starting at the suggested retail price of $74.99 (excluding VAT).

Website: LaCie

Practical Digital Photomicrography is a new book about digital photography through the microscope. Readers will learn about the three camera types used in photomicrography and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Detailed discussions on microscope illuminators and lighting systems are also included. Practical Digital Photomicrography costs $69.95.

Pentax have opened an online store in the UK with a wider range of cameras and accessories. “The online store will ensure that a broader portfolio of products, particularly accessories, is available than our partners have the capacity to carry. This in turn will make PENTAX cameras a more attractive proposition to customers and should drive increased sales through traditional retail channels.” commented general manager Jonathan Martin.  All Pentax cameras and accessories will be sold through the site at retail prices.

ADP has announced the launch of its second photography competition, Architecture Naturally. The competition focuses on an important relationship - that which exists between architecture, and the natural world and is open to UK students over the age of 16 studying photography, a photography-related course, architecture or an architecture-related course. The winner will be awarded a one thousand pound commission to photograph one of ADP’s completed buildings, plus 750 pounds worth camera equipment vouchers and a year subscription to Digital Photographer magazine.

Website: ADP Architects

Carl Zeiss has today launched an annual worldwide photo contest with the theme “digital culture”. Anyone can participate, provided the pictures are shot with a Carl Zeiss lens. Pictures can be taken with any type of camera, from an SLR reflex camera to the camera of a mobile phone. First prize is a ZEISS SLR-lens, which the winner can select. The second prize is a set of Cinemizer plus video glasses, including an iPod touch 8GB. Third prize is a Nokia N86 mobile telephone. The jury will select 10 winners after January 15th 2010.

Win tickets to a play at The Old Vic theatre in London and a limited edition book by David Bailey or Helmut Newton with Olympus. Simply find out what Kevin Spacey thinks about his Olympus E-P1 camera by finding the hidden content in one of Olympus’ new TV adverts for the Pen EP-1 camera. The closing date is December 24th 2009.

Epson have released the free and easy-to-use iPrint photo printing app for iPhone and iPod touch. Now available on the App Store, iPrint lets users print wirelessly on Epson network capable printers including the Artisan 810,  Artisan 710 and WorkForce 610. “With the holidays quickly approaching, many special moments will be captured on an iPhone and Epson is providing users with an easy way to print high-quality photos of these special memories onto Epson printers using the Epson iPrint App,” said Epson’s Steve Semos.

Casio’s new “Animate and Share” website showcases their unique Dynamic Photo camera function. Using Dynamic Photo, moving subjects can be dynamically “cut out” and pasted into a different still shot that forms the background. The new virtual camera site allows visitors to create eGreetings and share them vie email or social networks like Facebook. Visit http://www.animateandshare.com to experience Casio’s Dynamic Photo for yourself.

Symantec has just launched the newest version of its consumer online backup service, Norton Online Backup, along with a launch campaign contest. To enter, simply submit stories, photos or videos of how you have lost valuable computer files in the past (i.e. dropped laptop off the balcony, spilled coffee on your computer, hard drive caught on fire, etc.) at http://www.nortonsavedmybacon.com. All entrants will receive a free trial subscription for 5GB of online storage through Norton Online Backup and a random drawing will award a year’s supply of gourmet bacon (and a few other bacon-themed goodies) to 12 lucky winners.