Artloco Gallery is looking for amateur and professional photographers resident within the South East of England to submit work for a photography exhibition. Artloco is a new community gallery opening in Ticehurst, East Sussex in December 2009. Their first exhibition will focus on photography by local photographers. If interested, send an email to Sallie Court’s address, [email protected] or visit her website.

Website: Artloco

Canon USA has announced instant rebates, ranging from $20 to $500, on select EF/EF-S lenses and Speedlites. The instant rebate programme runs until 16 January, and eligible products must be purchased by an end customer from a participating authorised Canon USA dealer or reseller in the 50 United States, the District of Columbia or Puerto Rico. Used or refurbished products are not eligible. The offer is valid for US residents only. Click through / read on for the full list of participating products.

Website: Canon USA Promotions

Mamiya have officially announced the Mamiya 645DF medium-format single-lens reflex camera body. The camera’s prototype was first showcased at the Photo Imaging Expo (PIE) held earlier this year. The final version is quite a bit different to the prototype, being essentially the same thing as the Phase One 645DF announced last month. It features the same selectable dual shutter system with available flash sync speeds of up to 1/1600 of a second, when one of the three new leaf-shutter lenses developed in cooperation with Schneider Kreuznach is mounted. The built-in focal plane shutter, on the other hand, can be used with any of 15 existing Mamiya 645AF system lenses. The Mamiya 645DF camera body is compatible with digital backs from Leaf, Mamiya, Phase One and Sinar. The suggested retail price for the 645DF camera (body only) is $5,990.

Professor Graham D Finlayson, founder and Chief Technology Officer of Cambridge-based computer vision company imsense, has been awarded the Royal Photographic Society’s Davies Medal for 2009. Instituted In 1998, the Davies Medal is awarded for a significant contribution in the digital field of imaging science. Professor Finlayson, holder of numerous patents for his work on image analysis and enhancement, including Dynamic Range Compression,  founded imsense as a spin-out from the University of East Anglia in 2006, and has developed computer and embedded versions of his algorithms into what is now branded as eye-fidelity technology and incorporated into camera devices and photo software. Professor Finlayson will be presented with the award at the Royal Photographic Society’s annual awards dinner in November.

Epson has added seven new video interviews to its Focal Points website dedicated to the Epson’s Stylus Pro 900 series professional printers. The list of the newly interviewed experts includes Bambi Cantrell, John Paul Caponigro, Douglas Dubler, Greg Gorman, Jay Maisel, Steve McCurry and Jeff Schewe. The videos provide an insight into how and why these professional photographers use these printers and the UltraChrome HDR ink set.

Website: Epson Focal Points

Today at PhotoPlus Expo 2009, HP unveiled ARTtrust, a simple self-certification system that allows artists to provide individual identity to any Digital Fine Art Collection Pigment Print produced on an HP Designjet Z series printer using HP Vivera pigment inks and any compatible media. ARTtrust is specifically designed to meet the needs of the art market including creators (photographers, designers, digital or traditional artists), printmakers (artists who print themselves, photolabs, specialized fine art printers, print service providers), retailers (galleries, auction houses) and private or public art collectors. The solution is comprised of BubbleTags, a translucent polymer containing random and self-generated air bubbles affixed to the artwork itself that references the certificate of authenticity filed by the artist. ARTtrust is available for existing and new prints and any Digital Fine Art Collection Pigment Print can be retrofitted on demand.

The winner of the UK’s “Take A View” awards has been named, and the finalists’ works will appear in a free exhibition at London’s National Theatre between 5th December 2009 and 24th January 2010, with over 100 stunning images on public view. Epson has teamed up once again with professional photo lab, Bayeux, to produce the exhibition display panels on Epson Premium Photographic Paper using the Epson Stylus Pro 9900 Large Format Printer. The Take A View – Landscape Photographer of the Year 2009 Exhibition will be open Monday to Saturday, 9.30am to 11pm (except for bank holidays) .

PhotographyBB announced today the release of the 21st edition of the PhotographyBB Online Magazine. The October 2009 edition features Halloween themed tutorials such as “How to Photograph Ghosts” and “Digital Pumpkin Carving in Photoshop.” Additionally, this issue explores a sneak peek at the new Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Beta release, and some of the exciting new features that Adobe has to offer. Other topics covered include outdoor portrait shooting techniques and HDR imaging, while their Photography Around the World feature showcases photographs of Ireland’s countryside, mountains, churches, and forts. Issue #21 is downloadable from the website below.

Website: PhotographyBB Online Magazine

Kodak’s finest-grained colour negative film, Kodak Professional Ektar 100, has turned one year old, and Kodak celebrates its birthday by announcing a photography contest. The competition, which seeks the best images captured on Kodak Ektar 100, will be officially announced at the annual Photo Plus trade show in New York City. Film enthusiasts are encouraged to shoot Ektar 100 film, scan their results and upload them to the website below. First Place winner will receive one year’s supply of Ektar 100 film up to 1200 rolls; an all-expense paid “Adventures by Disney” travel package in North America for two people; feature on kodak.com, and feature of their image on Kodak’s New York City Times Square Gallery. Note that the contest is open to 18+ legal residents of the USA only.

Website: Kodak Ektar Contest

The winners of the prestigious Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition 2009 have been unveiled. Americans Thomas Haney from Austin, Texas, Rob Palmer from Colorado and Kevin Schafer from Seattle are among the winners of the 46th annual competition, which attracted a record 43,135 entries from 94 countries. Thomas Haney won the One Earth Award with his moving image, ‘The Lone Fir’ (see above). Rob Palmer won the Behaviour: Birds category with his action shot, ‘Opportunist Snatch’, depicting a bald eagle catching a blackbird. Kevin Schafer was also announced a winner with his playful image, ‘Boto Water Polo’, which shone through in the Behaviour: Mammals category. The image shows a pair of wild Amazon river dolphins, or botos, playing with a floating macucu seed in a tributary of the Rio Negro in Amazonian Brazil.

Tamron has announced the imminent launch of the Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F/2.8 Di II VC lens for Canon. The VC abbreviation in the product name stands for Vibration Compensation, which is the name of Tamron’s proprietary tri-axial optical image stabilisation mechanism. The lens, whose Nikon version has already been available for some time, is only sutiable for use on cameras with an APS-C sized sensor. The Canon iteration will go on sale on 29 October 2009 in Japan.

Website: Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f2.8 Di II VC

Cosina has released a Canon version of its Ultron 40mm f2 SL II Aspherical “pancake” lens, which has hitherto only been available for Nikon and Pentax. The Ultron is a manual-focus lens made up of six elements in five groups, and has an angle of view of 57° on full-frame and film SLRs. The release of the Canon version makes it the most compact EF mount lens ever made. The lens can currently only be purchased in Japan, for the price of 53,000 yen. N.B.: The illustration above depicts the Nikon version.

Website: Ultron 40mm f2 SL II Aspherical (Google translation)

The Color Skopar 20mm f3.5 SL II Aspherical is a remarkably compact ultra-wide lens for modern SLR cameras. Previously only available in Nikon (pictured) and Pentax versions, the Color Skopar 20mm f3.5 SL II Aspherical is a manual-focus lens that has now also been released for Canon. The lens is constructed of 9 elements in 6 groups and delivers an angle of view of 94° on full-frame and film cameras. Currently, it can only be purchased in Japan, for 58,000 yen. The optional LH-20 lens hood costs another 2,000 yen.

Website: Color Skopar 20mm f3.5 SL II Aspherical (Google translation)

Two new and diverse photography exhibitions opened yesterday at Aperture Gallery, New York. Photographs, depicting subjects from across 12 genres, by the winners and finalists of the 2009 Sony World Photography Awards will be exhibited alongside photos from the Sony Artisans of Imagery programme. The Sony World Photography Awards Global Tour 2009/10 exhibition includes images by U.S. photographers David Zimmerman and Dustin Humphrey. In the Sony Artisans of Imagery exhibition showcases six professional photographers’ collections. Each photographer will display select images exclusively shot with Sony’s A900 digital SLR camera during the last year all over the globe, including England, India, Madagascar, Thailand and the United States. The exhibitions will run until 30 October.

The SNIPER-STRAP is a new secure camera strap that means your camera is always ready to shoot. Available in two versiosn, the ONE and more secure STEEL, both incorporate a shock absorber which compensates for the growing weight of modern SLR cameras, while the camera and the strap are worn diagonally and therefore never get in your way. The camera is protected by a steel wire insert and the carabiner slides freely along the strap. If a thief should manage to cut your SNIPER-STRAP “STEEL“ with a knife and steal your camera, you are insured for up to $500.00 / 400.00 EUR. The SNIPER-STRAP ONE”costs 49,00 EUR and the SNIPER-STRAP STEEL costs 59,00.

Nikon have released version 1.5.0 of their ViewNX software, which adds support for the Nikon D3s digital SLR camera. Moreover, the program now also runs on Mac OS X version 10.5.8 and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista and can interpret various GPS log formats. In addition, the software now supports Epson E-Photo.

Website: Nikon View NX

Kubota Image Tools have announced the newest addition to the Kubota Lightspeed Workflow family – new Kubota RPG SpeedKeys 2.0 for Lightroom 2. Kubota RPG SpeedKeys 2.0 for Lightroom 2 is a customisable wireless USB keypad with preset one-button access to: essential adjustments such as brightness, exposure, fill light; the most popular Kubota Lightroom presets; and advanced tools such as paint with light, burn, soften skin, and hand-colour. In addition, the Kubota RPG SpeedKeys 2.0 now offers 48 new key options for completely customisable functionality. The price of Kubota RPG SpeedKeys 2.0 for Lightroom 2 is $349.00. It is available as a free upgrade to customers who purchased the first version of the Kubota RPG SpeedKeys.

Epson’s P-6000 and P-7000 photo viewers can now be tethered to a DSLR camera. Images are then automatically saved onto the camera’s memory card while a backup copy is also saved to the viewer’s hard drive. The viewers’ high resolution, 4-inch color-accurate LCD can be used to preview images and confirm any adjustments to be made on the spot. “The new tethering feature in the Epson P-6000 and P-7000 Photo Viewers can dramatically enhance the workflow of any photographer, and is yet another demonstration of our commitment to developing products that meet the needs of the professional photography marketplace,” said Rick Day, senior product manager, Epson America. The new Epson P-6000 and P-7000 Multimedia Photo Viewer tethering feature will be available in late-October as a free download.

Viveza 2 is a new version odf Nik Software’s award winning plug-in for selective color and light control. Available in December, Viveza 2 includes new global adjustments and precise selective controls.  “New features such as shadow recovery, structure control, increased precision of selections, and user interface improvements together give users ultimate control, enabling truly spectacular results.” said Michael J. Slater president and CEO of Nik Software. Viveza 2 retails for $199.95, with upgrades for existing Vivez owners priced at $99.95. Customers who have purchased Viveza after September 22, 2009 will be eligible for a free upgrade to Viveza 2.