Adobe has just announced the call for entries for the tenth annual Adobe Design Achievement Awards (ADAA). This premier competition honors the best student graphic designers, photographers, illustrators, animators, digital filmmakers, developers and computer artists from accredited higher education institutions worldwide. As demand increases for talented designers and developers in the interactive design and development fields, the Adobe Design Achievement Awards spotlight the talented work of students in three categories: Interactive Media, Motion Media, and Traditional Media. Photography falls into the Traditional Media category. For more information regarding the 2010 Adobe Design Achievement Awards, visit the website below.

Website: ADAA

JP Distribution has announced a new RF flash trigger from Lastolite. With a range of 10 metres, the new battery operated (2 x AAA) RF flash trigger can be used with battery operated flashguns and studio flash systems. Simply attach the transmitter to the hotshoe on the camera, and then attach the receiver unit to the flashgun (via PC or X-sync cord) or to the studio flash head (via the sync socket). The trigger operates at 433 MHZ. The Lastolite flash trigger is available for £49.99, additional receiver units are priced at £29.99 apiece.

Website: Lastolite

Canon U.S.A. will be hosting a Canon Live Learning seminar in the Seattle area in early December. Canon Live Learning is a new education programme targeted towards photographers who are interested in Canon’s popular line of EOS photographic products. Canon Live Learning seminars offer high-quality classes and workshops conducted by a number of the industry’s leading professional photographers, Canon’s Explorers of Light. CLL attendees will learn how to get the most out of their gear while also having the opportunity to try out Canon’s latest line of EOS products. Guests can register at: www.usa.canon.com/canonlivelearning. Click through / read on for the programme schedule.

Online photo printer FotoInsight has announced the start of its Danish and Swedish services FotoInsight Nordic. The Cambridge company, which was established in 2003, started a German operation in June 2005, Italian in October 2005 and Spanish in February 2006 and French in April 2007, apart from its original English language services. Each of the international web-services is covered by a web- and customer service team with native speakers. Quality and a speedy delivery all over Europe are achieved by the use of six strategically located production sites, the company says. FotoInsight caters for all major operating systems, including Linux, Mac OS and Windows as well as Firefox and Chrome browser users with special upload facilities with no need for additional software.

Website: FotoInsight

iFotoGuide has released the first iPhone app & digital guide to on-location nature photography. “iFotoGuide: Arches” is the first in a series of digital guides for the iPhone providing nature photographers with a comprehensive resource for planning every aspect of a photography trip. It goes beyond the ordinary photo guidebook by providing three innovative ways for iPhone users to find a dynamic location for photography. An interactive park map allows users to zoom, pan and select photography locations by name. Images in the photo gallery serve to inspire and are also interactive – one touch provides detailed instructions for getting to and photographing each location. “iFotoGuide: Arches” even allows users to search for locations to photograph at sunrise, sunset or in mid-day light. It is available from the Apple App Store priced at $4.99.

Website: iFotoGuide

Amazon has reduced the price of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 from nearly $300 to less than $170. The offer is valid on U.S. orders only, as the retailer explicitly states that this “item can be shipped only within the U.S.”. There is no information provided as to how long the deal will last.

Website: Amazon

Via John Nack and 1001 Noisy Cameras

Ed Nash, a young and promising entrepreneur from the UK, has created an iPhone application for measuring the attractiveness of one’s face - or at least a photo thereof. The ‘Fit or Fugly’ application uses the golden ratio - also called the golden mean or the golden section -, to “scientifically calculate” how attractive a photo of a human face is. Research has shown that the golden ratio - which pops up in the most unexpected places in nature, from the arrangement of branches along the stems of plants to the proportions of chemical compounds and the geometry of crystals - does indeed play a role in human perception of beauty. When key “anchor points” in someone’s face, such as the ears, eyes, chin, mouth and nose, are arranged more or less in accordance with the golden ratio, the face is likely to be perceived as beautiful. (On a side note, the Rule of Thirds, well known to photographers, has also been derived from the golden ratio by way of simplification.) Ed Nash encourages you to try out his app on a photo of yourself or anyone else to find out if you - or they - are “officially” fit or fugly.

Website: Fit or Fugly

Jessops have decreased the price of its own 7” digital photo frame by more than 35%. The device, which features a 480x234-pixel display, USB port, interval timer, slideshow facility, and interchangeable surrounds now costs £25 at www.jessops.com.

The University of the Arts London has announced 28 Stories, a group show by graduates of the MA in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at the London College of Communication.  The exhibition includes a poetic exploration of a maverick spaceship designer, a reflection on elderly love, a study of the first female Indian soldiers deployed to the Indian-Pakistan border in Kashmir, a daughter’s interpretation of her father’s escape from Hungary and the former eastern bloc, remarkable and dignified bodies of work about loved ones living with illness, and numerous other exceptional essays, pieces and stories, the organisers say. 28 Stories runs from 10-23 December and 4-15 January, Monday to Saturday 10am-5pm.

According to DC Watch, the launch day of the Ricoh GXR system will be 18 December in Japan. The Ricoh GXR body, GR LENS A12 50mm f/2.5 Macro and RICOH LENS S10 24-72mm F2.5-4.4 VC lens units will all go on sale that day, along with a range of accessories. The international launch date has not yet been confirmed.

Source: DC Watch via 1001 Noisy Cameras

Panasonic has announced that its Lumix cameras have been used to capture 109 images for The Caravan Gallery’s latest book, Is Britain Great? 2. The Caravan Gallery is a mobile exhibition and visual arts project run by artists Jan Williams and Chris Teasdale who are on a mission to record the ordinary and extraordinary details of life in 21st century Britain.Looking carefully at cultural trends and paying attention to juxtapositions, the pair take a detailed glance at today’s society asking the question is Britain really that great? Panasonic’s relationship with Williams and Teasdale began with the purchase of the DMC-FZ30 camera. The pair now use the Lumix DMC-G1.

Three teens have been selected as national winners in Sightsavers International’s i-click competition 2009. Emily Tudor, aged 13 from Buckinghamshire, won first prize in the 11-14 category, Stacy Leigh Stewart, aged 16 from Scotland won first prize in the 15-16 category and Lolita Cameron, aged 17 won first prize in the 17-18 category. Their photos, selected from hundreds of entries submitted by young photographers from across the UK, will be displayed in a special exhibition alongside photos by Harry Potter star Katie Leung and X-Factor pop sensation Same Difference. The exhibition, ‘i:click – when actions speak louder than words’ will be held in the gallery@oxo on London’s South Bank from 10 December 2009 – 10 January 2010 and entrance is free of charge.

Website: i-click

Photo Productions - a London-based company that designs and produces premium photobooks for photographers - have opened up their service to the wider public. They claim that their Premium Photobooks are a world away from the low quality, mass-produced, design-it yourself products that have become increasingly common. Photo Productions have developed an innovative and user-friendly website. Customers upload photos, and through a simple order process can choose from twelve photobook sizes, three graphic design styles, and various personalisation preferences. There’s even the option to drag photos into a specific order or choose which are to be most prominent. Once the order has been placed it’s sent to Photo Productions’ in-house graphic designers, who get to work creating a bespoke storybook narrative.  Each premium photobook arrives in its own presentation box, free courier delivery is included within the UK, and they also offer 10% off subsequent Photobooks ordered at the same time.

Website: Photo Productions

Silkypix UK has released Silypix Developer Studio 4.0.27.2 and and Pro 4.1.27.2. Like the latest Release Candidates announced last month, these “final” updates provide support for cameras with Foveon x3 sensors, including the Sigma SD14, DP1, DP1s and DP2. Additionally, they support the new Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 and A550 models too. Exisiting Silkypix UK customers can obtain updates from the Downloads section of the Silkypix website.

Website: Silkypix UK

Praktica has launched the luxmedia 12-Z5, a new, 12-megapixel digital compact camera with a 28-140mm equivalent zoom lens.. The Praktica luxmedia 12-Z5 features a 2.7” TFT LCD screen, smile detection, face tracking, blink detection and intelligent scene recognition. Images are stored on SD and SDHC cards, and there is 32MB of internal storage available, too. Weighing in at just 120 grams, the Praktica luxmedia 12-Z5 is available now for €120.

Via DCVIEWS

The Mail Tribune is now accepting reader submissions for its Rogue Valley 2009 Photo Contest. Mail Tribune readers are invited to submit photos they snapped in Southern Oregon during 2009. Images can be of anything from neighbours and places, to regional events and familiar valley icons, as long as they depict the photographer’s unique take on life in the valley. The submission period is open now and will continue through December 31, 2009. Voting will begin New Year’s Day and continue through January 7, 2010. Reader votes will be collected via online balloting, and will be counted along with votes by a panel of expert judges. Winning photos will appear on an In Focus photo page in the Mail Tribune in January. Grand Prize will be a Vixen VMC 1-10L Telescope from Bach’s Camera. Other prizes will include: a Tamrac 5210 Camera Bag & Digipod 550 tripod to the first runner-up, and a 17x24 gallery wrapped canvas print for the second runner-up. Make sure to read the rules before entering your work.

Website: Rogue Valley 2009 Photo Contest

Now in its second year, the CB Richard Ellis competition sets a brief for photographers to explore “cities at work” at any time during a 24-hour period. The organisers split the day up into 24 hours and allow for up to 24 images per photographer, but only one per hour of the day. Winners for each hour are chosen by their judging panel, and the prize for each hour is sponsored by an international brand. The winner and two runners-up will be given prizes sponsored directly by CB Richard Ellis. The grand prize will be a week’s holiday for two in Jordan. Whereas the previous competition was only open to contestants from the UK, this year they are opening up the competition to all photographers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As with every competition, we encourage you to read the rules before entering your work.

Update: |Due to popular request, entry has been extended for the 2009 competition until Midnight on 31st January 2010.

Kenro has released a new CD folio case aimed at professional photographers. Made from a leatherette material the CD folio comes with a frame on the front for a photo or message. The folio inside has been designed to hold a single CD and has a designated space for a photo. The folio has a magnetic closure and is supplied in a presentation box. The CD folio is available now with an RRP of £8.95.