Bonhams, one of the world’s oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques, will organise its first-ever stand alone Photgraphy Sale on 20 May 2010. A beautiful early print by John French can be yours for as little as £500; a Parkinson or Beaton for £1,500; and Demarchelier can offer you Claudia, Elle, Cindy, Helena or Christy for a little more.

Nikon UK has teamed up with National Geographic in a partnership that aims to inspire wildlife and photography enthusiasts.  The channel sponsorship of National Geographic and National Geographic Wild & HD takes shape as a series of programme idents and three short vignettes, featuring renowned wildlife photographer, Andy Rouse. Given his impressive experience and expert eye, Andy is expected to inspire viewers of all photographic levels to get out and take pictures. To complement the television activity, Nikon will also be sponsoring an exhibition of Andy Rouse’s work, titled Vanishing Worlds, to be held at the National Geographic Store on Regent Street, London, from 16th October – 26th October.

Our Recent Nikon DSLR Reviews: D5000 | D3000 | D300s

Alexx Henry debuts a “Living Cover and Spread” with the October issue of Outside Magazine. The story features Chris Lieto in a pioneering moving-picture narrative of the tri-athlete. Designed with emerging technology in mind, Henry created the Living Spread as a contribution to a debate concerning the future of print, and to offer a scenario for its possible evolution. Currently, Henry’s Living Spread - created using a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and a RED camera - can only be viewed online, though not for much longer. While magazines have yet to widely implement the technology for motion photography spreads, that day appears to be imminent: display technologies such as E-ink and OLED screens continue to develop towards flexible screens that will make Henry’s imagining of a futuristic magazine possible within a few short years. A presentation of the Living version can be viewed at the website below.

Website: Living Cover and Spread

Steven Sasson, a retired research scientist for Eastman Kodak Company who is credited with inventing the first digital camera, will receive an “Innovation Award” from The Economist magazine in ceremonies in London on October 29. The invention of the digital camera began with a 30-second conversation when Sasson’s supervisor asked whether it was possible to build a camera with a new type of electronic sensor called a charge-coupled device (CCD). Sasson’s original prototype weighed eight pounds, recorded black and white images to a cassette tape, had a resolution of 0.01 megapixel and took 23 seconds to capture its first image. In 1978, Mr Sasson was issued a US patent for the digital camera and Eastman Kodak was the first company to develop a megapixel digital camera in 1986. For his achievements, the Economist is honouring Sasson in the category of Consumer Products and Services.

The Powermat, a new invention that can wirelessly charge up to three low-power electric devices simultaneously, is to hit the market in just over a week. While the Powermat itself does have to be plugged in, it requires a single mains socket only, while the devices you would like to charge simply need to be placed on the Powermat’s ultra-thin surface, without the need for additional cables and sockets. Given that existing mobile devices were not designed with wireless charging in mind, the manufacturer will also market a range of so-called “receivers”. These are basically cases with onboard RFID tags that allow the Powermat to determine how much to charge, so that the charging process can be terminated at the right time. Just place your phone, PDA etc. in an appropriate receiver and throw it on the Powermat, which will charge it using magnetic induction. Going on sale on 15 October, the Powermat will be available in two versions; one for the home/office, and a folding/portable iteration for when you are on the go.

Ricoh has just released a firmware update for the Ricoh CX2 digital compact camera. Version 1.13 fixes a couple of bugs related to the step zoom and manual focusing, Specifically, there were a few occasions when the camera would power off during zoom lever operation; and when using the englarger function in manual focus mode, the enlarged part sometimes blacked out - these are the issues fixed by the new firmware release.

Website: Ricoh CX2 Firmware 1.13

The new Giotto’s MTL8251B, 8261B and 8271B carbon fibre tripods are now shipping. With a weight capacity of 5kg and maximum operating height of over 160cm the MTL8251B weighs in at only 1.25kg. The MTL8261B weighs in at 1.6kg, will support up to 8kg and has a max height of 167cm. Finally the MTL8271B has a max operating height of 177cm, weighs 1.85kg and will support up to 10kg. All three models have a 5 year warranty. These three new tripods are available from all good stockists across the UK.

Six teenagers from across England are after your vote in the RSPCA’s prestigious Young Photographer Awards (YPA) after being shortlisted for the competition’s People’s Choice Award. The RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) organises this competition every year to give children and adolescents a chance to win one of a number of prizes with their pet photographs. The six young photographers shortlisted for the People’s Choice Award have been picked from thousands of entrants. You can see their phorographs at the website below, and you can submit your vote by texting ‘RSPCA 01’ through ‘RSPCA 06’ to 81400 (click through / read on to find out which code belongs to the photo you like the most).

Website: RSPCA’s People’s Choice Finalists on The Daily Express Website

Sixtyone North & Chicago Photo Safaris have announced an adventure photo workshop that involves a journey to the pristine southern coast of Alaska. Led by Dave Taylor and Gary Gullett, the eight-day workshop is taking place from 11 through 18 June 2010. Group size is limited to a dozen photographer participants plus spouses and non-photographer friends (limited to one “tag-along” per photographer). The cost is $3990 (Double Occupancy) / $4690 (Single Occupancy) per photographer, and $1990 per non-photographer (Double Occupancy). The - non refundable - reservation fee is $750 per participant. For more information and registration, head to the website below.

Website: Alaska’s Southern Coast

Jessops has unveiled their latest line in camera accessories – the Acme Made Fuzz Ball. The Fuzz Ball is a fun yet highly protective little case for digital compact cameras. Featuring a synthetic fur exterior, quited satin tuxedo lining and a stylish wrist strap, the Acme Made Fuzz Ball is available exclusively to Jessops in both brown and white, priced at £15.

Clickfree today announced the availability of their Transformer SE (Special Edition) backup solution. The Transformer SE allows users to automatically backup their irreplaceable digital photos, videos music and other data files onto the excess storage space of any external USB hard drive, iPod or iPhone. It can also be used to automatically import music from any iPod or iPhone to any computer - Windows or Mac. Backup starts automatically simply connecting your USB hard drive, iPod or iPhone to the Transformer SE. Only the excess capacity of your device will be used: none of the existing content will ever be overwritten. The Clickfree Transformer SE retails for £59.00 and is available now at www.clickfree.com.

With just over a month to go until the first Canon Pro Photo Solutions show, the countdown has begun until doors open. To be held on 27th and 28th October 2009 at the Business Design Centre, Islington, final details of the show content have just been released. The show is aimed at moving and still image professionals and will highlight how Canon can provide a complete workflow solution from image capture to output. 39 seminars will be held over the two days from 18 industry experts, and photographers will be able to book one of over 80 portfolio reviews with a distinguished panel including Canon Ambassador Lorenzo Agius, Getty Images, Professional Photographer Editor Grant Scott, and Canon UK Envoy Annabel Williams. Online registration for the event is free in advance at the website below.

Website: Canon Pro Photo Solutions ‘09

Epson has announced the Epson Red Sea 2009 event, which will take place on November 9-14th in Eilat, Israel. The competition is open for all underwater photographers, including amateurs, professionals, videographers and more, and consists of two main categories. The first is called Images of the World, in which participants are invited to submit images that were shot anytime and anywhere around the world, without even attending the competition. The second category is called Eilat Shoot-Out, in which participants submit only images that are taken during the three days of this competition in Eilat. Prizes this year are valued at more than $80,000 and include luxurious diving trips in exotic destinations, expensive diving gear, professional underwater photography equipment and cash prizes. The first prize this year, one of many others, is a $10,000 check plus a trip for two to Papua New Guinea for 3 weeks including airfare.

Pentax has announced a $100 instant rebate programme effective until 31 October 2009 on the K-7 body and three lens kit configurations. The promotion runs in the U.S.A., and affects the following bundles: Pentax K-7 with 18-55mm WR lens, Pentax K-7 double-lens kit including body, 18-55mm WR and 50-200mm WR lenses, and Pentax K-7 with 16-45mm lens. The offer is also valid on body-only purchases. The rebate amounts to USD 100 in all cases.

Tessera has announced its FotoNation Face Recognition technology, which performs automatic identification of specific human faces in camera equipped mobile devices. This new embedded imaging solution will enable manufacturers to quickly and cost-effectively integrate face recognition capabilities directly into devices such as cell phones, the company says. The FotoNation FaceRecognition technology is available for a number of platforms and requires only moderate computational and memory resources. The performance is claimed to be robust in the presence of various factors that make face recognition difficult such as changes in lighting conditions, facial expression and viewing angle/distance. The FotoNation FaceRecognition solution is available now for licensing from Tessera.

Mamiya have announced four medium-format DSLR cameras, all of which are apparently based on the body developed in collaboration with Phase One. While details are still a bit sketchy, it appears that they are the same camera outfitted with different backs, with the numbers in the product names referring to the megapixel count in each case. The 33-megapixel Mamiya DM33 and the 56-megapixel Mamiya DM56 can take advantage of the 1/1600-second top shutter speed of the three new leaf-shutter lenses developed in close collaboration with Schneider Kreuznach - and thus offer high-speed flash synchronisation -, but can of course also accept the existing 645AF series lenses. The comparatively lower-resolution Mamiya DM22 and Mamiya DM28 models are allegedly going to be priced at “extremely attractive points”, while offering “many of the features found on their higher-end siblings”. At the time of writing, it is unknown if and when the new Mamiya DSLRs will be available in the UK.

Via Imaging Insider | British Journal of Photography

Crayola has announced an application called “Lights, Camera, Color” that lets kids turn their digital photos into personalised colouring pages, and partnered with Olympus to introduce the exclusive FE-46 Digital Camera Colouring Set. The set will include an FE-46 digital camera and case, a 64-ct. box of Crayola crayons, a colourable craft storage box and a unique code for turning your images into personalised colouring pages. The Olympus FE-46 itself is a compact digital camera that combines a 5x optical zoom (36-180mm) with a 12 megapixel CCD. The FE-46 Digital Camera Colouring Set will retail for $99.99.

Website: “Lights, Camera, Color”

The HP StorageWorks X500 Data Vault Series is a new family of storage devices that provide a simple and cost effective solution for a small business such as a photography studio to store, secure and share data for under $1000. The X500 provides you with automated backup for up to 10 PCs and Macintoshes clients on the network while providing additional background features like folder duplication and data deduplication. It comes with two or three empty bays (depending on the model) for internal storage expansion and also offers external USB and eSATA ports for additional external expansion. The HP StorageWorks X500 Data Vault Series is available now with pricing starting at $699.99.

Website: HP StorageWorks X500 Data Vault

Matty Martin, an industrial design student at the California College of Arts, has come up with an unusual concept camera. The “Punch Camera”, as it is called, combines an imaging chip, an LCD screen and a hole-punch system to capture photos and output a rasterised image made up of holes of different sizes. To achieve this, it uses a fixed number of pins that come in four different sizes. As the output medium is a regular piece of paper, the rasterised “prints” cost virtually nothing. “This is a camera which was inspired by the loss of tangible memories. It is meant to connect both physical and digital while minimizing excess materials and the hardships in sharing images,” Martin explains. “I wanted to allow users to create a hardcopy image but minimize the use of inks and paper cartridges.”