Olympus have teamed up with multi-award-winning photographer Damian “Big Dog” McGillicuddy for a mix of photographic demonstrations and “Random Acts of Photography” around Focus on Imaging. Attendees will have the chance to see the results achieved and to shoot a model wearing a one-of-a-kind OM-D dress as well as the opportunity to win a limited edition McGillicuddy print every day. Focus on Imaging will be held at the Birmingham NEC from 3 - 6 March 2013.  10am - 6pm Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. 10am - 5pm Wednesday The Olympus events will be taking place at Stand F51.

Photography education and entertainment site PhoozL has announced its first paid-entry photo contest: ‘Show the Song: Spirit of the ‘60s.’ The competition challenges entrants to interpret 1960s classic rock song titles through their photography.  The contest is open for submissions now until 24 March 2013 to all logged-in members of Phoozl.com, amateur to pro, 18+, worldwide. The entry fee is $5 and you may submit up to five photographs. Entries will be judged by Elliott Landy, the official photographer of the 1969 Woodstock Festival. For more information, visit the website below.

At this year’s Focus on Imaging trade show, Panasonic will be joining CameraWorld to provide visitors with product demonstrations, exclusive show offers and access to Panasonic experts. Panasonic’s Retail Sales Support Team will attend for the duration of the show (3rd-6th March 2013), and will be on hand to answer any questions. A selection of Panasonic’s imaging products, including the Lumix G cameras with lenses and a choice of compact cameras will be available at Stand E1.

The HTC One is a new smartphone with an “UltraPixel” camera and a 28mm (eq.) f/2 lens. Featuring a 1/3-type sensor with a pixel pitch of 2 microns, the camera module within the HTC One offers substantially better sensitivity than most camera phones, while the bright lens comes with optical image stabilisation to help users achieve blur-free shots at marginal shutter speeds. An intelligent flash, a Full HD, 468ppi 4.7” screen and 1080p HDR video recording capabilities round off the features list from the photographer’s point of view. The new HTC One will be available globally through more than 185 mobile operators and major retailers in more than 80 regions and countries beginning in March.

The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) has announced a powerful and thought-provoking exhibition of outstanding environmental, social and natural photographs by international photographers and filmmakers. Honouring amateurs and professionals of all ages, it provides an opportunity for photographers to share images of environmental and social issues with international audiences, and to enhance our understanding of the causes, consequences and solutions to climate change and social inequality. The exhibition will be on show at the Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AR, from 10 April - 3 May 2013.

The Lomographic Society has announced its plans to participate in Analogue Month this year with a series of events and special offers. Analogue Month begins on 11th March and lasts until 12th April. Programmes include camera workshops in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery, Q&A sessions with the LomoLab staff on Twitter/Facebook, live acoustic gigs in Lomography’s East Shop gallery, online competitions, and more. Click through / read on for the details.

Courtenay Studio today launched the Priolite professional studio lighting range into the UK market. Priolite is a range of highly portable, battery-powered monolights (monoblocs) and power packs designed and manufactured in Germany. “The Priolite lighting range gives the perfect combination of real innovation and performance that professional photographers need,” aaid Terry Caws, Courtenay Studio Sales & Marketing Manager. ‘This cutting-edge technology has taken us to the place where all our competitors would like to be”. The range currently includes 3 monolights, a continuous video light, 2 mobile flash power packs, a bi-directional radio remote control, reflectors, softboxes, umbrellas and a range of accessories. Pricing for Priolite products starts at £380.

Casio Europe has launched a new, 20.1-megapixel compact camera called the Casio EX-ZS30. Encased in a stainless steel body, the new model has a 26-156mm equivalent zoom lens and a beginner-friendly user interface. It is equipped with Premium Auto, which automatically analyses the scene to choose the best settings and performs optimal image processing. The Casio EX-ZS30 comes in five colour options: silver, black, purple, white, and pink. Pricing to be confirmed.

Casio has unveiled two new entry-level digital compact cameras, the Exilim EX-N5 and the Exilim EX-N50. The new models have rounded bodies that are easy to grip, and employ a CMF Design approach that considers not only colour, but also material and finish. Each of the new cameras has a CCD with an effective resolution of 16.1 megapixels and a 26-156mm equivalent lens. The Casio EX-N5 features a two–tone silver ring around the lens and comes in black, silver, white, and red. The Exilim EX-N50 sports a textured pinstripe pattern and a pearly finish. “The look changes slightly depending on the angle of the light, while the pearly shine and subdued color scheme creates an elegant impression,” the company says. The EX-N50 comes in three colors: silver, blue and red. Pricing for the new cameras has yet to be confirmed.

Kenro is planning to use this year’s Focus on Imaging trade show to launch a wide variety of new products into the UK market. These include the Nissin PS 8 Power Pack (pictured), a new line of KEnro frames and albums, an extended range of Signature Series Professional DVD/CD folios, Benro’s Hummer backpack and Pioneer trolley case, and the Nission Di700 flash unit. “Focus on Imaging is always an exciting time of the year and gives us a great opportunity to showcase a variety of new products to the public,” said Paul Kench, managing director at Kenro. We are very-much looking forward to exhibiting.”

Lomography has launched a special edition of its Belair X 6-12 medium format camera. Like the classic edition the new Lomography Belair X 6-12 Trailblazer enables users to take pictures in 3 different formats: regular 6x9 photos, 6x6 squares or 6x12 panoramas on 120 film. It also takes interchangeable lenses including the bundled 58mm and 90mm optics that are made of an unnamed material, possibly plastic, as well as the new 90mm and 114mm “special multi-coated Russian glass lenses” that are currently available to pre-order only. Other highlights include an aperture-priority auto-exposure system, a flash hot-shoe and a standard 1/4” tripod socket. The Lomography Belair X 6-12 Trailblazer kit is available for £289.

Chromasia has announced a new architectural photography competition. Sponsored by Goodman Business Parks, the competition runs until 25th February, with the main prize being a Sony NEX-5R compact system camera. To enter, upload your picture to any Web server, making sure it’s publicly viewable, and tweet the direct URL via Twitter including @chromasia and #GoodmanComp. For more information, visit the website below.

Website: Chromasia

The winners of the 2012 World Press Photo awards have been announced. The overall winner is Paul Hansen for his image of a group of Palestinian men carrying the bodies of two children killed in an Israeli missile strike (above). The photograph was taken on 20 November 2012 in Gaza City and appeared in the Swedish newspaper Dages Nyheter. The jury gave prizes in nine themed categories to 54 photographers of 32 nationalities from: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Jordan, Malaysia, the Palestinian Territories, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, USA, and Vietnam. You can view the winning photographs at the website below.

LPA Design, manufacturers of PocketWizard Photo Products, today announced that it is co-sponsoring The Tutu Project NYC Gallery Event Benefiting The Carey Foundation to celebrate the Tutu Project’s first anniversary. The event includes a print exhibition, auctions, book signing and lecture by photographer Bob Carey.The event will officially launch bidding for a limited edition of the popular PocketWizard Plus III radio trigger made specifically for Bob Carey and the Tutu Project. These fully-functional Plus III radios feature “Tutu Pink” plastic and even have a pink backlight. Limited to only 20 radios, these will be signed and numbered by Bob Carey, and auctioned off to help the Carey Foundation raise funds for women battling breast cancer.

The Schloßparkmuseum in Bad Kreuznach is hosting a special exhibition entitled, “The World in Focus – 100 Years of Schneider Optische Werke Bad Kreuznach.” In the past 100 years, Schneider Kreuznach played an instrumental role in the history of optics in Germany and gained worldwide recognition especially in the field of large- and medium-format camera lenses. “The company has always aimed for the highest quality rather than quantity; we still feel committed to this aspiration,” says Dr. Josef Staub, CEO of the Schneider Group. The exhibition will be on display from 17 February to 31 August 2013.

Nikon has issued the final call for entries for the 2012-2013 Nikon Photo Contest, open until 28th February 2013. Held since 1969, the Nikon Photo Contest (NPC), formally known as the Nikon Photo Contest International (NPCI), was created with the goal of “contributing to the development of photographic culture by providing a venue of communication among photographers from around the world, be they professionals or amateurs.” For this year’s contest, Nikon is seeking entries in four categories including single photo, composite photo, video and Motion Snapshot. To submit your work, visit the Nikon Photo Contest 2012-2013 website and complete the entry form.

Pentax Ricoh has posted a firmware update for the Pentax Q10 small-sensor compact system camera. Version 1.01 improves overall stability and the performance of the camera’s contrast-detect AF system. You can download the firmware upgrade from the website below.

Website: PENTAX Firmware Update Software for PENTAX Q10