On Monday 29 April, best-selling author and photographer Steve Bloom will deliver a lecture as part of PhotoVoice’s ‘Words on Monday’ series. “Witness silverback mountain gorillas deep in the rainforest; endangered black rhino drinking at a moonlit waterhole; remote cultures in Ethiopia’s Omo Valley; Mozambican migrant workers toiling in a gold mine three kilometres below ground; and fishermen on the Niger River,” the charity said in a statement. “In this unforgettable event, Steve captures the diversity of the continent where he grew up, and where he has felt compelled to return throughout his life.” The lecture will take place at Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9AG, starting at 7pm. Tickets cost £9.50 when bought on the door, with an early bird discount available to those purchasing their tickets before Sunday 31 March.

The International Garden Photographer of the Year (IGPOTY) 2013 competition 7 is now underway. Each year, the organisers run three ‘Photo project’ seasonal contests alongside the main competition - focussed on photography ideas, techniques and creativity in connection with garden and plant images. These ‘Photo project’ categories have earlier deadlines than the main competiton. The first of the categories is’ Monochrome’ - it’s all about black and white photography but can include any single-colour photograph. The deadline for this contest is 30 April 2013.

Transcend has introduced its 64GB microSDXC Ultra-High Speed Class 1 (UHS-I) memory card. The new 64GB microSDXC card features transfer rates of up to 45MB/s (300x) and includes a free download of Transcend’s own RecoveRx software, a tool for bringing back accidentally deleted or lost files. The card is now available for a suggested price of US$109 and carries Transcend’s Lifetime Warranty.

Seim Effects Photo Tools has introduced ColorFlow, a creative preset collection for Apple Aperture. The ColorFlow presets collection organizes more than 60 presets across 5 categories of colour tools: Essential Colour, Colour Story, Film Inspired, Hollywood Cinema and Colour Toners. The colour effects can be mixed and blended to achieve a specific look or desired mood. Seim Effects’ ColorFlow preset collection for Apple Aperture (ver. 3 and newer) is now available for instant download. And, until April 10, 2013 there is an introductory price of $39 (a $10 discount).

The Kraszna-Krausz Foundation has unveiled the shortlisted entries for its annual photo book awards. Established in 1985, the KKF Book Awards are the UK’s leading prizes for books published in the fields of photography and the moving image and the two winners share a £10,000 prize.  “The judges have shortlisted books ranging from heavy tomes to small paperbacks, each with outstanding pictorial and literary content and exceptional production,” the foundation said in a statement. The shortlisted books include Everything Was Moving: Photography from the 60s and 70s by Kate Bush, Billy Monk by Billy Monk and War / Photography: Images of Armed Conflict and Its Aftermath by Anne Wilkes Tucker, Will Michels and Natalie Zest. The Best Moving Image Book Award winner will be chose from the following entries: 39 Steps to the Genius of Hitchcock by James Bell, First Films of the Holocaust: Soviet Cinema and the Genocide of the Jews, 1938-46 by Jeremy Hicks and Hollywood Costume by Deborah Nadoolman Landis. The Kraszna-Krausz Foundation was established in 1985 by Andor Kraszna-Krausz (pictured), the Hungarian founder of the influential publishing house Focal Press.

The Vintage Everyday website has published a set of never-before-seen colour photographs showing inmates in a Nazi concentration camp. The Daily Mail, which also carried the photos, has talked to an unnamed expert who said the shots would most probably have been taken in the Dachau camp sometime after its liberation on 29 April 1945 by US Army forces. With the exception of one photograph depicting dead bodies in a railway carriage, the rare colour images feature exhausted but fairly relaxed-looking men of various nationalities, among them Russians and Poles. In some of the pictures one can also see French and Yugoslav flags being flown, underpinning the assumption that they were taken after the camp had been liberated. (The prisoners weren’t able to leave immediately after the arrival of the Americans as the war was still raging, and many of them didn’t have the means to return home on their own.) The original source of the images has not been revealed.

Photo: Vintage Everyday via The Daily Mail

Update: PhotographyBLOG has managed to trace back the images to the original source.

BosStrap’s Ultra Light Hand Band, an accessory designed for bridge and compact system cameras with relatively small grips, is now available for purchase. The Ultra Light Hand Band, which has a cam buckle with a double lock safety sleeve, is an extremely light, unobtrusive, and effective hand band that provides extra handling security especially with smaller cameras. In use, four fingers go through the ULHB loop; your thumb does not. The loop is fully adjustable to fit bare hands or large gloved hands. Sold via BosStrap.com, the product is available for $11.95.

A camera that recently washed ashore on a Taiwan beach has successfully been traced back to its owner, who had lost it six years ago during a scuba diving excursion in the Pacific Ocean off the Hawaiian coast. Although reports make no mention of the exact model, the pictures of the weather-beaten camera lead us to believe it was either a Canon PowerShot A510 or A520 encased in a Canon WP-DC60 all-weather housing. The camera was found by an employee of Taiwan’s China Airlines, who showed it to his manager, Douglas Chen. After browsing through the photos stored on the unharmed memory card, Chen alerted the company’s Honolulu office, which subsequently launched a nationwide search with help from the media. Based on the published photos, a friend identified the owner as Lindsay Crumbley Scallan, a resident of Georgia, USA, to whom the airline has offered a free return ticket so that she could collect her long-lost camera.

Via The Daily Mail

Cinecta, a Budapest-based start-up founded by a group of television professionals, has launched the Cinecta MX-1 camera stabilising system and the Cinecta SL-100 camera slider. Developed for DSLRs, CSCs and video cameras weighing up to 2kg, the Cinecta MX-1 (€689, pictured) is a fully featured camera stabilising system allowing users to record professional-quality, steady footage. Weighing in at 4.7kg, the system comprises three main parts, and comes with a one-year warranty. Made of steel and aluminium, the Cinecta SL-100 camera slider (€180) offers a travel length of 85cm, provides for extremely smooth frictionless operation, and can be used with cameras weighing up to 10kg.

Catherine Connor of Aspire Photography Training & Uzair Kharawala of SF Photo School have announced a new six-part webinar series on how to market your photography business to increase your profits. The contents of the webinar include topics such as keyword research, timelining, creating a business that can attract the right clients, refining your marketing approaches, creating a killer ‘landing page’ and marketing to your list. The webinar series starts on 1 May 2013 and is priced at $97 for all 6 sessions. Using the discount code sfps30 to receive an Early Bird Discount will save $30 off the normal price.

Leica has posted a firmware update for the Leica M (Typ 240) digital rangefinder camera. Version 1.1.0.2 adds vignetting correction for the following lenses: Leica Tri-Elmar-M 16-18-21mm/f4 ASPH, Super-Elmar-M18mm/f3.8 ASPH, Summilux-M 21mm/f1.4 ASPH, Super-Elmar-M 21mm/f3.4 ASPH, Summilux-M 24mm/f1.4 ASPH, Elmarit-M 24mm/f2.8 ASPH, Elmar-M 24mm/f3.8 ASPH, Summicron-M 28mm/f2.0 ASPH, Elmarit-M 28mm/f2.8 ASPH, Summilux-M 35mm/f1.4 ASPH and Summicron-M 35mm/f2.0 ASPH. You can download the Leica M firmware update from the website below.

Google has released a software bundle that includes all of Nik Software’s plug-ins and costs only $149. Branded as the Nik Collection by Google, the bundle was announced in a Google+ post by Christian Pesch. For the $149 price you will get the latest editions of Color Efex Pro, Dfine, HDR Efex Pro, Sharpener Pro, Silver Efex Pro and Viveza. “If you’ve already purchased one or more Nik plug-ins in the past, then don’t worry, we’ve got you covered,” Pesch says. “In fact: we’re going to upgrade you to the entire Nik Collection by Google for free. Just keep an eye out for emailed instructions in the next few days.”

Website: Nik Collection by Google

Samsung today announced that the Samsung NX300 compact system camera will be commercially available in the UK at the end of March from John Lewis and Dixons. Unveiled at CES in January, the NX300 is the new flagship model in the NX series and boasts the updated version of SMART Camera 2.0, a hub of innovative connectivity features. Highlights include a 20-megapixel imager with on-sensor phase detection AF sensors, an articulated OLED touchscreen, Wi-Fi connectivity, a sensitivity range of ISO100/21°—ISO25,600/45°, a maximum shutter speed of 1/6000 sec,  8.6fps continuous shooting, a 5-way manual key interface and i-Depth, an easy and simple way to adjust the depth-of-field of an image using the NX Series’ unique i-Function system.

Gary Fong has announced a 31-day money-back satisfaction guarantee on all of its products. The guarantee, which is valid on all e-store purchases, allows Gary Fong customers to purchase products with confidence. If for any reason, a Gary Fong product does not live up to the consumer’s expectation, the company will provide a full refund of the purchase price, no questions asked. For more information visit the website below.

DxO Labs have released version 8.1.4 of DxO Optics Pro for Windows and Mac. This update to DxO Optics Pro 8 brings support for four additional new cameras: the Nikon Coolpix P7700 (pictured), the Nikon 1 J3, the Olympus XZ-2 iHS, and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3. Furthermore, over 200 new camera/lens combinations have been added to the library of DxO Optics Modules, offering support for additional Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, Sigma, Tokina, and Zeiss lenses for numerous Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, and Pentax camera bodies. This upgrade is free for all owners of DxO Optics Pro 8, as well as for photographers who purchased a DxO Optics Pro 7 licence on or after September 1, 2012.

Olympus UK has announced a new promotion on the Olympus OM-D E-M5. From Good Friday (March 29th) Olympus are giving OM-D customers a saving of £150 off bodies and kits. This means that the body will be available for £849.99 while the M.Zuiko 12-50mm lens kit can be bought for £999.99. Additionally, Olympus are extending their offer on free accessories (worth up to £330) when bought with the OM-D to midnight on April 1st from the original end date of March 31st. This offer allows purchasers of the OM-D to get a head start with their camera kit by offering up the choice of either a free HLD-6 Battery Grip or the M.Zuiko 45mm f:1.8 portrait lens (read review) as well as an essential spare battery.