Wildlife photographers William and Matthew Burrard-Lucas have launched a wildlife photography competition with a Olympus SP-570UZ camera (pictured) up for grabs. The theme is “Wildlife Portraits”. A photograph of any animal is eligible as long as it was taken in the wild. The competition is open to participants worldwide, of any age.There is a fantastic prize on offer for the winner: an Olympus SP-570UZ, a camera with a 10-megapixel sensor, a 2.7-inch LCD screen and 20x optical zoom with image stabilization - a perfect combination for wildlife photography.The deadline is 30th April 2009.

Website: Burrad-Lucas Photography - Wildlife Photography Competition

The UK-based Digital Camera Magazine website has seemingly been hacked and taken offline by an angry forum member. In a mass email to all of Digital Camera Magazine’s user database, a member called “4chan” sent out the following message:

Your retarded administrators don’t understand that repairing damage is meaningless unless you first fix the problem. This forum is now 4chan’s bitch, and we shall do with it as we please. Since your administrators are completely incompetent we have decided to ban them, as well as change their passwords; we’re sure you won’t mind. We went easy on you this first time, prepare for the worst.
-Anonymous

At the time of writing, the entire Digital Camera Magazine website (http://www.dcmag.co.uk/) was offline, displaying the message “You are not authorized to view this page”...

The Panasonic DMC-TZ7 is a new 10 megapixel compact camera featuring a 12x, 25mm wide-angle lens and 720p video recording. Offering a Leica lens with a focal range of 25-300mm, the Panasonic TZ7 (also known as the ZS3 in the USA) can record high-definition video in the new AVCHD Lite format. AF tracking and Face Recognition have been added to the TZ7’s Intelligent Auto mode, which is also available during motion image recording. Other highlights of the Panasonic TZ7 include a 3.0-inch, 460,000-dot Intelligent LCD, Venus Engine HD processing engine, optical image stabilization and three aspect ratios (4:3, 3:2 or 16:9). In the UK, the Panasonic DMC-TZ7 will be available in silver, black or brown from April 2009 for £349. In the US, the DMC-ZS3 will be available in silver, black, blue and red in April 2009 for $399.95.

The Panasonic DMC-TZ6 is a new 10 megapixel compact camera featuring a 12x, 25mm wide-angle lens. Offering a Leica lens with a focal range of 25-300mm, the Panasonic TZ6 (also known as the ZS1 in the USA) is the successor to the popular DMC-TZ5. AF tracking and Intelligent Exposure have been added to the TZ6’s Intelligent Auto mode. Other highlights of the Panasonic TZ6 include a 2.7-inch LCD screen, Venus Engine IV processing engine, optical image stabilization and WVGA (848x480) movies. In the UK, the Panasonic DMC-TZ6 will be available in silver or black from April 2009 for £269. In the US, the DMC-ZS1 will be available in silver and black in April 2009 for $299.95.

The Panasonic DMC-FT1 is the company’s first waterproof, shockproof and dustproof digital camera. Featuring a 28mm wide angle lens, 4.6x optical zoom lens and high-definition movies in the new AVCHD Lite format, the Panasonic FT1 (also known as the DMC-TS1 in the USA) can be used underwater to a depth of up to 3 meters and is drop proof from a height up to 1.5m. In the UK, the Panasonic DMC-FT1 will be available from March in a choice of silver or blue for £329, with a 40m underwater housing also available. In the US, the DMC-TS1 will be available in silver, green or orange in April 2009 for $399.95.

The Panasonic DMC-FX550 is a new touch-screen camera with 12 megapixels and a 25mm, 5x zoom lens. The Panasonic FX550 (also known as the DMC-FX580 in the USA) incorporates a large 3.0-inch touch-screen interface which combines cursor key control with touch screen operation. Other highlights of the Panasonic FX550 include manual adjustment of the aperture, addition of Face Recognition to Intelligent Auto mode, Venus Engine V processing engine, Panorama Assist mode, and HD motion pictures in 1280 x 720p. In the UK, the Panasonic DMC-FX550 will be available from March in a choice of black or silver for £299. In the US, the DMC-FX580 will be available in silver and black in April 2009 for $399.95.

The Panasonic DMC-FX40 is a new 12 megapixel camera with a 25mm, 5x zoom lens. The Panasonic FX40 (also known as the DMC-FX48 in the USA) features a 25mm Leica lens offering a focal range of 25-125mm and F2.8 brightness. Other highlights of the Panasonic FX40 include the addition of Face Recognition to Intelligent Auto mode, Venus Engine V processing engine, Panorama Assist mode, and 350 shot battery life. In the UK, the Panasonic DMC-FX40 will be available from April in a choice of black, red or silver for £259. In the US, the DMC-FX48 will be available in silver and black in April 2009 for $349.95.

The Panasonic DMC-FS25 is a new 12 megapixel camera with a 29mm, 5x zoom lens. The Panasonic FS25 features a 29mm Leica lens offering a focal range of 29-145mm. Other highlights of the Panasonic FS25 include the addition of AF tracking and Intelligent Exposure to Intelligent Auto mode, 3.0-inch 230,000 dot LCD screen, Photo Frame mode, and WVGA (848 x 480) movies. In the UK, the Panasonic DMC-FS25 will be available from April in a choice of black or silver for £219. In the US, the DMC-FS25 will be available in silver, black and gold for $249.95 in April 2009.

Apple iLife ’09, which features major upgrades to iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand, is available now. iPhoto ’09 builds on the ability to automatically organise photos into Events by adding Faces and Places as innovative new ways to easily organise and manage your photos using face detection, face recognition and GPS geo-tagging technologies.  iLife ’09 is included with every new Mac and is available as a £69 upgrade for existing users

The 12th edition of the PhotographyBB Online Magazine has just been released. The January 2009 release features digital photography articles with tutorials to help digital photographers to learn new techniques for achieving both better photographs as well as leaning post processing skills in Adobe’s Photoshop and Lightroom. PhotographyBB Online Magazine is available for free download.

The Honl Photo Speed System is a collection of lightweight, durable and affordable light modifiers for shoe-mount flashes. With retail prices ranging from $9.95 to $29.95, these practical tools were designed to universally fit all shoe-mount flashes without the use of annoying adhesives. Honl Photo Professional Speed System Products are now available at photo dealers in the US.

The Unibind PhotoBook Album Kit allows you to create unique personalized gifts, photo albums and memory books. Featuring special themes for events and holidays, the PhotoBook Album Kit requires no software or computer to make durable hard cover albums in minutes. The Unibind PhotoBook Album Kit is available immediately in a variety of themes, album sizes, and colors, priced between $14.99 - $24.99 according to the PhotoBook size chosen.

The Sony A900 DSLR currently offers the best bang for your buck in terms of sheer resolution - about $3,000 / 2800 Euros / £2100 buys you this 24.6 megapixel, full-frame pro-level camera. Leading the megapixel race isn’t the only ace up the A900‘s sleeve, with a host of professional features on offer including a body-integrated image stabilization system, large optical viewfinder with 100% field of view coverage, 5fps continuous shooting, maximum shutter speed of 1/8000s, x-sync speed of 1/250s and high-resolution LCD screen. The A900 is Sony’s first attempt at persuading pro shooters and well-heeled prosumers to turn away from Canon and Nikon and buy into a relatively young system. Zoltan Arva-Toth finds out if the Sony A900 deserves your consideration…

Website: Sony A900 Review

The new Olympus FE-35 digital camera combines 10 megapixels with a 3x optical zoom (36-108mm). The FE35 is powered by easily-available, standard AA batteries, so you’ll never be caught stranded in need of power. Features more usually associated with expensive cameras have been included without inflating the FE 35’s modest price tag. These include Intelligent Auto Mode and Advanced Face Detection Technology that make it easy to get the perfect shot the first time. With Digital Image Stabilisation, the FE-35 boosts image sensor sensitivity to reduce camera shak’. The Olympus FE-35 is available in elegant shades of gold, black or deep blue from late January in the UK and selected outlets in Europe.

The Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2009 competition has just opened for submissions. Celebrating its 30th year, a Newcomers Award has been added which is open to all photographers aged 25 years and under. The winner of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award will receive 5,000 euros or, alternatively, Leica camera equipment to the same value. The winner of the Newcomer Award will be awarded 2,500 euros.

Whether you’re just starting out or have a great portfolio, Name Your Dream Assignment is a chance for photographers to go anywhere in the world on assignment. The Name Your Dream Assignment organizers are inviting anyone to submit an idea for a never-done-before photo shoot. Everyone will have a chance to vote on their favorite idea, and a panel of judges (including me!) will select from the top 20 most creative and inspiring suggestions. The winner will get a $50,000 cash award plus lots of goodies including a Lenovo ThinkPad W700 notebook computer with Windows Vista, specially designed for photographers.

This is a great chance for starting photographers to enter the profession and to be recognized for their photography accomplishments through their creativity and imagination, rather than just their connections. You don’t need to be a pro photographer, or even to have a portfolio. Established photographers will get more exposure and a great assignment of their own making. The competition Web site will open to accept entries in early March. In the meantime, visit the site and enter your email to get updates and info when the competition opens.

Website: Name Your Dream Assignment

Release Candidate versions of Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 and Photoshop Camera Raw 5.3 are now available. Both release candidates provide additional raw file support for the Nikon D3X and Olympus E-30 cameras. In addition,the Lightroom 2.3 Release Candidate provides a solution to a memory leak that affected some customers of the Lightroom 2.2 release. The ‘release candidate’ label indicates that this update is well tested but would benefit from additional community testing.

We’ve teamed up with Picaholic.com to offer you a 20% discount. Picaholic leads the industry with high impact flash websites for a fraction of the cost (from $15 per month). Photographers, musicians, artists - just about everyone – we have what you need. Sign up with Picaholic.com and receive a 20% discount when using the below coupon code, exclusive to PhotographyBLOG readers.

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Yosemite’s Horsetail Falls is the subject of The Ansel Adams Gallery’s first One Day Workshop. Michael Frye, author of the Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite, will lead up to ten participants to photograph Horsetail Fall’s waterfall, which appears to glow orange-red, as if on fire. The workshop takes place on February 20th and 22nd and costs $225.

Photographer Paul Graham is in conversation with New York Times writer Philip Gefter at New York’s Visual Arts Theater on February 9th. This free event is the first in a series of monthly conversations exploring contemporary photography. British-born Paul Graham is recognized for his innovative and experimental contextualization of images and particularly tender observation of daily life.