A Show of Hands by photographer Tim Booth is an inspiring collection of the hands of Britain. A display of intricately striking monochrome images, the book was inspired by Tim Booth’s grandmother when he photographed her 94 year hands and found inspiration in the stories they could tell. Now spanning 20 years of photography, the labour of love has continued into a collection of over 110 hands dedicated to an art, job or tradition in the UK. Each portrait – shot only in natural light - is accompanied by a short story and quote from the sitter to put the hands in context of the history behind them.“I flick through this book and even now I feel humbled at the people I was able to meet and talk to and the memories these hands evoke,” explains Tim. “What started with my grandmother has taken me on an incredible and fascinating journey and I’m delighted to be able to share the hands of these wonderful people.” A Show of Hands will become available on 6 October 2015.

The Impossible Project has announced an instant film collaboration with Skateistan, an international not-for-profit organisation that uses skateboarding to change kids' lives. Starting out as a grassroots 'Sport for Development' project on the streets of Kabul in 2007, Skateistan has become an award-winning, international NGO with projects in Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa. Influenced by Afghan textiles, the special-edition, black-and-white Skateistan instant film features eight white frames decorated with the signature Skateistan details. “Having enjoyed working with Impossible last year we were excited to further cement our relationship,” said Skateistan founder and Executive Director Oliver Percovich. “It is a fantastic feeling to think that people will be shooting our film all over the world and in turn creating more opportunities and empowering the young people that we work with.” The film is available online from the Impossible website for €21.

Hasselblad has announced the appointment of a new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Effective 12th October, Johan Åhlén, a former brand, marketing and sales expert with Scandinavian Airlines assumes responsibility for Hasselblad's marketing initiatives. "As a marketeer it is an honour for me to accept this new role at Hasselblad and become an integral part of this iconic brand," Åhlén said. "This company has a stunning history, with its cutting edge products used by some of the best photographers in the world. It will be a joy to develop new marketing initiatives and business potential together with the Hasselblad team."

Gitzo have announced a completely new range of Center Ball Heads. Dedicated to pros and advanced amateur photographers, the new Gitzo Center Ball Heads have been developed to be the ideal complements to Gitzo’s top-of-the-range tripods. Available in three sizes, the new ball heads are coated with tungsten disulphide, which provides comfortable friction onto the ball, meaning it can be locked with minimal effort while avoiding unwanted deforming or drifting. All three models feature an independent pan lock, making it possible to take panoramic photos or make horizontal adjustments for perfect framing. The quick-release plate is locked with a screw-knob, which makes the system compact, light, and intuitive, while being flexible to accept most Arca-Swiss style plates. Prices start from £264.95.

Gitzo have unveiled their new Traveler Tripod range featuring state of the art “Carbon eXact” tubes. Stiffer than the antecedents’ Carbon 6X tubes, the new tubes include High Modulus carbon fibre, and have larger tube diameters. The new tripods also boast a new, compact leg lock system called Traveler G-lock. The new, curved external form provides good grip, whilst the internal O-ring achieves softer operation and reduces dust and grit entering the locks. The new range includes six tripods (priced from £559.95) plus a monopod (£239.95). Click through / read on for the details.

NYC-based fashion photographer Emily Soto has shot a series of photographs with the Lomography Petzval lens, which will be on display at the Lomography Gallery Store Soho from 20th August - 10th September. Soto is known for her unique style and professional aptitude and she is one of the top names requested by fashion editors.. Concurrent with her "Petzval Portraits" exhibition, she will discuss her work and experience using the New Petzval Art Lens in her work onThursday 27th August at 6pm. The Lomography Gallery Store Soho is located at 3 Newburgh Street, London, W1F 7RE.

Elinchrom, Phottix and Sekonic have announced plans to launch the "most revolutionary lighting control system ever." The integration of select existing technologies as well as the joint development of new ones from this global alliance carries the promise of creating a creative lighting toolkit allowing photographers to dramatically expand their repertoire. Currently, Phottix and Elinchrom design engineers are collaborating on enhanced features for the next generation of the Skyport transmitter, which will include hyper-sync functionality. Additionally, photographers using the Phottix Indra 360 TTL (pictured) or Indra 500 TTL lighting systems will soon have the ability to use the broad range of Elinchrom light-shapers. Sekonic is collaborating with both Phottix and Elinchrom to finalise two new 478-series LiteMaster Pro flash meters; one for Elinchrom featuring in-meter power control and one for Phottix that allows for triggering of groups from the meter.

This week we've been busy testing out the new Sony A7R II full-frame mirrorless camera with a variety of native lenses from Sony and Zeiss. We've published sample images from no less than 13 different lenses:

Sony A7R II with the Sony FE 16-35mm Sample Images

Sony A7R II with the Sony FE 24-70mm Sample Images

Sony A7R II with the Zeiss Batis 25mm Sample Images

Sony A7R II with the Sony FE 28mm Sample Images

Sony A7R II with the Sony FE 35mm f/2.8 Sample Images

Sony A7R II with the Sony FE 55mm Sample Images

Sony A7R II with the Sony FE 70-200mm Sample Images

Sony A7R II with the Zeiss Batis 85mm Sample Images

Sony A7R II with the Sony FE 90mm Sample Images

Sony A7R II with the Sony FE 28-70mm Sample Images

Sony A7R II with the Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 Sample Images

Sony A7R II with the Zeiss Loxia 35mm Sample Images

Sony A7R II with the Zeiss Loxia 50mm Sample Images

Most of these lenses were supplied by our friends at Hireacamera - they're definitely worth checking out if you want to hire or rent camera kit in the UK.

EIZO USA have announces the new ColorEdge CS270/CS240 Professional Photo Kit – an all-in-one colour-managed display solution package for photo professionals. The kit consists of an EIZO EX2 photometer, a copy of EIZO's ColorNavigator 6 software and either an EIZO ColorEdge CS270 or an EIZO ColorEdge CS240 monitor (pictured). It also includes a 20% discount coupon for Adobe's Creative Cloud Photography Plan. EIZO USA will launch the Professional Photo Kit through authorised resellers and will begin shipping on 24 August 2015. The price of the kit is $964 for the 24" option and $1,214 for the 27" one.

Corel today released ParticleShop, a new brush plug-in for Adobe Photoshop. “When I first saw ParticleShop in action, I was blown away by the effects that could be created in a matter of minutes,” says Corey Barker, Education and Curriculum Developer, Kelby One. “The atmospheric enhancements that can be added to photos are unlike anything I’ve seen before.” ParticleShop uses the power of the Corel Painter Particle brush technology to create specific, photo-realistic effects. Whether users want to add hair, fabric, fire, smoke, fur, dust or lighting to their photos, ParticleShop brushes can create these life-like effects with a simple brushstroke. Built to perform with a pressure-sensitive tablet, touchscreen or mouse, ParticleShop brushes enable users to add their unique artistic enhancements to any image. Corel ParticleShop comes with a starter pack of 11 brushes, with 11 additional brush packs available to add on. Each additional brush pack features 15 unique brushes. The plugin is available for $49.99 and the brush packs can be purchased for $29.99 each.

Samyang has announced a new line of professional video-cinema lenses. The Samyang Xeen range currently consists of three lenses in 24mm, 50mm, and 85mm focal lengths. On a Super 35 sensor, the lenses will give an equivalent view of 35mm, 75mm, and 155mm, which are focal lengths that are commonly used in a variety of cinema and video productions. Three more lenses are planned for release next year for a complete set of six lenses. All Xeen lenses feature a maximum aperture of T1.5, Multi-Nano-Coatings and "outstanding resolving power," and all of them are available in 5 fittings: Canon, Nikon, Sony E, Micro Four Thirds and PL- Each lens has an RRP of £1,600.

EPI, a brand license partner for Philips Monitors, has revealed the new Philips Brilliance 27” monitor with PerfectKolor technology for professionals, with 99% Adobe RGB colour space coverage. Boasting a high-qulaity 10-bit AHVA-IPS panel, the Philips Brilliance 27” monitor with PerfectKolor is pre- calibrated to render colours accurately and features 12-bit internal processing smooth, natural tonal transitions without colour banding. SmartUniformity metrics also allow the monitor to auto-adjust to compensate for fluctuations in brightness and colour, and deliver average luminance uniformity above 95%, which is vital for consistency in colour-critical applications such as photography. The display features a webcam, extra wide viewing angles, built-in stereo speakers, Quad HD resolution (2560 x 1440 pixels), tilt-and-swivel flexibility and multiple connection ports including DisplayPort, HDMI and Dual-link DVI. Available now, the new Philips Brilliance 27” monitor with PerfectKolor technology (272P4APJKEB) carries a suggested retail price of $899.

As an Official Sponsor of Rugby World Cup 2015, Canon has announced a new collaboration with Bear Grylls and Dave Rogers, Getty Images’ leading rugby photographer. Together, Canon, Bear and Dave invite fans from across the world to take a close look behind the scenes of the upcoming Rugby World Cup through a video that gives tips on how to capture some of the tournament’s greatest moments. Featuring Bear Grylls explaining his passion for rugby and discussing his favourite pictures from previous Rugby World Cup tournaments, the movie gives fans insight into the history of the role images play in the tournament. In addition to the video that’s available now, Canon will be launching a series of short films that give fans in-depth photography techniques of how to capture the perfect action shot, including tips on depth of field, shutter speeds and how to best use perspective.  In this series, Bear and Dave will also demonstrate the capabilities of the Canon PowerShot G3 X camera.

Digital Splash - a photography show hosted by Wilkinson Cameras – opens its doors at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston once again on Sunday, 11th October. The event itself is free to attend and there’s even plenty of free parking – doors open at 10am. Attendees will be able to listen to several presentations delivered by acclaimed photographers Jonathan Chritchley, Damien Lovegrove, Kerry Hendry, Adam Duckworth and Paul Rogers. Paul’s masterclass will include practical lighting demonstrations, highlighting his unique approach to this genre. This is a hands on workshop with the chance to shoot your own images – so guests are encouraged to bring along their cameras. Tickets for the seminars are £6, and £20 for the live phootshoots with Paul Rogers.

Calumet UK are offering customers the opportunity to test drive the latest Fujifilm X-Series kit for two days through its national rental service – free of charge. Available for a free two day test drive is the Fujifilm X100T (pictured) and the X-T1, one of the newest models in the X-Series which features evolved SLR-style handling, mechanical dials and weather-resistance together with all the benefits of an X-Series camera, including compact size, excellent mobility and high-speed performance. Customers who want to reserve a test drive should contact their local store or visit the website below.

Focal Press has released the 3rd edition of Adobe Photoshop CC for Photographers by Martin Evening. The 2015 release has been revamped to include detailed instruction for all of the updates to Photoshop CC on Adobe’s Creative Cloud, including significant new features such as faster Camera Raw processing, Blur Gallery noise matching, and new export options for quick image-saving and layers as separate documents. The 730-page paperback is available for $59.95.

Photography Beyond Auto: Switch off auto mode and take better, more original photos by Chris Gatcum is a new title from Ilex Press. Billed as "an easily accessible guide which will set you free," this book does not attempt to explain each and every button, dial and feature on your camera, or explore precisely where each pixel comes from. Instead it concentrates on the key creative controls, including exposure, focus and colour; essential skills that’ll enable you to take pictures that are simply impossible to capture with the camera left on auto. The 144-page paperback is available for £9.98 / $13.88 on Amazon.