Veteran AFP photographer Olivier Morin has managed to capture Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt crossing the finish line at the same time as a lightning bolt illuminated the sky during the IAAF World Championships in Moscow. Photographing lightnings alone isn't terribly complicated - you set your camera to the lowest ISO, choose an f-stop that allows you to use a several-seconds-long exposure, trip the shutter and repeat until you get a usable picture - but capturing a lightning bolt with the kind of fast shutter speed that's necessary to "freeze" a world-class sprinter takes an extreme amount of luck, even if you are a seasoned professional photographer who has made every necessary step well in advance to take a stunning image. Apparently, luck does come to those who are prepared, after all. Morin commented: “In 25 years of career, I have never had an outside, uncontrollable element make the shot. And I think that if I tried for another 50 years, it would never happen again. I really can only take 1% credit for this photo.”

The Bob Carlos Clarke Foundation has donated a selection of rarely seen celebrity portraits to the National Portrait Gallery. Taken between 1971 and 1998 by renowned photographer Bob Carlos Clarke (1950 – 2006), the images include portraits of high profile figures such as Marco Pierre White (pictured above), who Carlos Clarke photographed in his studio following the success of his acclaimed recipe book White Heat, and a striking portrait of Mick Jagger, taken during a Rolling Stones performance at The Marquee in London in 1971. The photographs can be viewed in the National Portrait Gallery’s online digital collection at the website below.

Canon today announced the details of its biggest-ever presence at the IBC show held from 13-17 September in Amsterdam. Canon has been an exhibitor at IBC for more than 30 years, and 2013 will see the company’s largest stand to-date. Covering a full 432m², the stand will display Canon’s complete range of products, including more than 75 lenses, as well Full HD and 4K camera solutions. Ken Koyama, Deputy Head of Professional Imaging Group, Canon Europe, said: “Last year’s IBC was our chance to introduce Canon’s expansion into 4K to the European market. This year we’re focusing even more on fully demonstrating not only the capabilities of new 4K technology, but how the breadth of Canon’s overall range enables production of first class content at all levels." Canon’s stand location at IBC 2013 will be Hall 11, Stand E50.

Brian Griffith has released Iridient Developer 2.2, an update to his critically acclaimed image processing software for Mac OS X. This release includes support for lens vignetting corrections including automatic correction from LCP lens profile files, DNG format images with embedded lens metadata and some camera manufacturer's raw metadata. Manual lens vignetting adjustments are now available as well. This release improves the "Auto Levels" noise reduction option introduced in version 2.1, and adds support for raw image files generated by the Canon EOS 70D, the Sony DSC-RX100 II and DSC-RX1R, the Fujifilm X-M1, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, DMC-FZ72 and DMC-FZ70, and the Pentax Q7. This is a paid upgrade for users who originally purchased a licence before 1 February 2012.

The Palm Springs Photo Festival and Photo District News have joined forces to present over 1600 reviews in their annual Official Portfolio Review Programme during this year's PhotoPlus Expo at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City, 24-26 October 2013. By registering, photographers will be able to schedule one-on-one, 20-minute sessions with difficult-to-meet, New York-based book publishers, advertising agency creatives, magazine photo editors, gallery and museum directors and curators, reps, industry consultants and more. The first 80 who pre-register for Portfolio Reviews before 1st September will be eligible to have a page devoted to their work (including contact info), included in the event's Portfolio Review Source-Book, printed by Blurb, which will be distributed to each of the reviewers at the PhotoPlus Portfolio Review. You can register at the website below.

Flixel Photos have announced that supermodel and businesswoman Tyra Banks  has invested in the company through Fierce Capital, the investment arm of The Tyra Banks Company. Flixel photographic images add an innovative element to traditional photographs by incorporating a seamless element of motion across an otherwise still image known as a “cinemagraph.” As a result of the new relationship, Flixel-branded cinemagraphs will be seen during Cycle 20 of ANTM, which premiered August 2 on the CW Network. "“Cinemagraphs combine the best of both worlds – the passive-viewing aspects of photography and the captivating aspects of video,” said Philippe LeBlanc, Flixel’s CEO. “We are very excited to partner with Fierce Capital and The Tyra Banks Company to introduce this exciting artform to... the millions of amateur and professional photographers and others worldwide who will create extraordinary works of art using Flixel technology.”

The Ansel Adams Gallery has added a very special extra element to the prize for the winner of the Monochromal portfolio category in the 2013 Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) awards. During their prize trip, the winner will visit the gallery and enjoy a private fine print viewing of Ansel Adams' original photographs. In addition to Monochromal, (TPOTY) 2013 has two other portfolio categories, two single image categories, an HD video category, a New Talent award and a Young Travel Photographer of the Year award. Images can be submitted as prints or uploaded online, and HD video entries submitted on DVD by post. Entries close on 1st October.

Epson is launching a new range of "Small-in-One" devices featuring Wi-Fi Direct. The range consists of the Expression Home XP-412/413/415, 312/313/315, 215 and 212. These all-in-ones are all compatible with Epson iPrint2, which allows users to print wirelessly from smartphones and tablet PCs. In addition, the XP-412/413/415, 312/313/315 and 215 allow users to print from anywhere in the world, by emailing photos and documents directly to the printer’s unique email address. These printers are also Google Cloud Print ready. The XP-412/413/415, 312/313/315, 212 and 215 are available immediately, priced at £89.99, £79.99 and £69.99 respectively.

The Royal Photographic Society, in partnership with the Science and Technology Facilities Council, are launching an exhibition of the world’s best scientific photography at the Great North Museum on Saturday 31 August. The exhibition also forms part of the British Science Festival taking place in Newcastle from 7-12 September, before touring the UK from 1 October 2013. The images selected by the competition's expert panel of scientific photographers and scientists range from far-away galaxies to subatomic particles, using specialist imaging techniques such as ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR), time lapse and high speed, electron microscopy, thermography, macro and photomicrography, phase contrast microscopy and schlieren photography. The exhibition runs from Saturday 31 August until Sunday 30 Septmber at the Great North Museum: Hancock, Newcastle. Admission is free..

Diddipix has partnered with independent family-run supermarket Dike & Son to launch a calendar competition for photography-loving kids. Created by Stalbridge-based teacher, photographer and children-writer Kirsten Harvey, Diddipix is a new photography website aimed at 6-16-year-olds. To enter the calendar competition all the children need to do is to sign up to diddipix.com and click onto the ‘Dike’s Calendar FREE membership option’. This will entitle them to a whole summer of photography fun and they will be given their own online gallery where they can upload up to 45 of their best photos completely free of charge. They can change them around and upload new ones as many times as they like through the holidays, ready for the final judging which will take place on Friday 13th September. The winning 12 photos will be printed in colour for the Dikes 2014 Calendar. The children will also receive a free annual subscription to the Diddipix site plus a winner’s certificate. The overall winner will also receive a bag of goodies from Dike’s worth £25 and their photo will appear on the cover of the calendar.

Silver Eye Center for Photography has announced the call for entries for Fellowship 14, its international photography competition. Now in its 14th year, this competition recognises both rising talent and established photographers. You may submit up to ten (10) images from a cohesive, exhibition-ready body of work created within the past three years. Award recipients will be selected by the juror on the basis of exceptional, distinctive talent as evidenced by the strength of their submitted portfolios. The juror is especially interested in seeing portfolios with a strong narrative thrust and highly individual, original points of view. The deadline for entries is Monday 21 October 2013, 11:59:59 pm EST.

The Photographic Museum of Humanity (PMH) has launched its new online exhibition “In Transit”, featuring the works of prestigious photographers of the PMH community. The aim of this exhibition is to draw attention to the issue of migration, from Latin American people risking their lives in order to fulfill their own "American Dream," to workers moving every day from the city center to the suburbs. On view until 2nd September, the "In Transit" exhibition shows works arranged in four different galleries. To view the images, head to the website below.

Elpical Software has released Organic Imaging 2.0, which delivers support for raw image files and comes with an improved user interface. Organic Imaging is a hotfolder-based application that will route a wide variety of image types from a predefined input folder to the processed Folder. "Extensive, automatic individual image analysis insures that every image receives precisely the exposure, sharpness, skintones, natural greens, blues, and anything else it needs," the company says. "Utilising the same technology installed in the world's most famous publishing houses, Organic Imaging is suited for photographers and prosumers who process quantities of images, need high quality results, and require rapid throughput." Photographers can download the software and process the first 250 images at no cost. Subsequent images are processed for 10 cents each (for up to 5000 corrected images per month).

Metro Imaging has launched its Metroprint Print App, which allows users to print high-quality versions of their Instagram pictures. The App currently offers images as 5”x5” prints on either gloss or matt photographic paper for 42p per print and with delivery across the globe. There are plans to roll out more features in the future. “There are some wonderful Instagram images being created out there and we thought it would be great to offer a printing service from a true professional lab," says Ben Richardson, Managing Director of Metro Imaging. "So we created our app, and now you can get your Instagrams printed by the same team that helps produce images for top photographers around the world.” The Metroprint Print App is now available as a free download from iTunes and Google Play.

The Society of Fashion and Glamour Photographers have announced the winners of the Chic Fashion Photographic Competition. The photograph Sculptures (above) by Diamantino Jesus from Madeira has been chosen as the overall winner, with his compatriot Jose Diogo coming in at second place. You can view all the images entered at the website below.

Underwater Photography Guide has announced that the prestigious Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition 2011 is now open for submissions. The competition has 12 categories, including a Novice DSLR category and 3 compact camera categories, giving underwater photographers of all levels a chance to win a prize. There are over $75,000 worth of prizes, including over 35 liveaboard and scuba diving resort packages, dive equipment, and much more. Grand prizes are an 18-night dive trip package combining 4 nights at Walindi Plantation Resort, a 10-night trip on the MV FeBrina and 4 nights at Loloata Resort, a trip of winner’s choice with Waow Charters in Indonesia, an 11-day Indonesia trip on the SMY Ondina, a 10-night Komodo trip on the S/Y Indo Siren and Oceanic OCi computers for 4 separate winners. For more information, visit the website below.

Shutterfly has released Shutterfly Photo Story, a new, free iPad app that allows users to create photo books in minutes. Photo Story pulls photos from the user's Facebook, Instagram, Shutterfly and iPad photo streams and uses multimedia features to bring stories to life, including first-of-its-kind digital audio recordings that can be shared via a QR code included on the printed photo book. “For more than a decade, Shutterfly has helped millions of customers tell their stories in photo books,” said Karl Wiley, General Manager of Shutterfly. “Shutterfly Photo Story represents the next generation of photo books, giving consumers a dynamic way to share their stories anytime, anywhere.” The Shutterfly Photo Story app is available on iTunes.

Tether Tools and Phase One have announced a special Pro Tether Kit with Capture One Pro 7 for professional tethered capture. The kit includes a Capture One Pro 7 licence, Tether Table & Aero Accessories, TetherPro Cable & Case and Tether Tools' JerkStopper Cable Management System. For a limited time, the Tether Tools + Phase One Capture Pro7 Kit is available at 15% off regular price -- $583.55 to $593.75 -- a saving of more than $100 off the complete kit. This promotion will run from August 10 - 23, 2013 at the website below.