Epson has teamed up with Manchester United and renowned photographer Walter Iooss to capture high-resolution images of the team’s star footballers. The photographer was briefed to take studio still shots of some of the biggest names in world football - including Wayne Rooney, Shinji Kagawa, David De Gea and Javier Hernandez - using a Hasselblad H4D-60 digital medium-format camera. Beginning this autumn the images will be rolled out to Epson Group companies worldwide for use in print samples and other promotional materials.

Boarded Up Britain, a website aimed to document all of the boarded up buildings in Great Britain will be launched on 26th November and members of the public are now being encouraged to upload pictures of derelict buildings in their area to help raise awareness of them. Matthew Dyas, Boarded Up Britain coordinator said: “No matter where you look nowadays you’ll find an empty building. Homes, pubs, warehouses and mills abandoned and left to rot. You can’t even escape it on the high street, with over 1 in 10 shops now lying vacant… If you’re sick of that derelict building up at the end of your street, [photograph it and] upload it to the website and let’s try and do something about it.”

FotoWeekDC’s sponsor, Lindblad Expeditions, has launched a sweepstake for photographers and photography lovers. No donation or purchase is necessary to enter for a chance to win an idyllic 8-day / 7-night Baja California experience - a prize valued at $10,000. The sweepstake ends at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on 21 November 2012. For more information and to enter, visit the website below. Do note that this sweepstake is open to US residents only.

The new Joby UltraFit range of camera straps for men and women are now on sale in the UK. Originally announced at Photokina 2012, the straps are designed to accommodate both CSC and DSLR cameras and are available in a quick-draw, cross-body design for men and women, in addition to a versatile 3-way wearing option. The Joby team conducted extensive user studies with more than 500 photography professionals and enthusiasts and pinpointed how camera straps should fit and move on the body. This research resulted in the patent-pending UltraFit Sling Strap (pictured), built with Joby’s exclusive UltraFit Layered-Pad Technology for lightweight support without the bulk of thick padding. The 3-Way Camera Strap offers photographers a versatile and portable solution with three wearing modes: wrist, neck and shoulder. A convenient alternative to wrapping a neck/shoulder strap around the wrist, this compact strap allows shooters to minimize muscle fatigue with multiple ways to support the weight of the camera. The UltraFit Sling Strap is available now for £41. The 3-Way Camera Strap retails for £33.

Olympus UK has announced a new OM-D event. Held from 1pm to 5pm and again from 5.30 to 9.30 on Friday, 23rd November in London, “A different approach” is hosted by fashion photographer Jay Mclaughlin. “This 4-hour workshop challenges some of the misconceptions about successful photography,” the organisers say “With in depth talk, demonstrations and a chance to try out the Olympus OM-D for yourself, this workshop is about changing the way you approach your photography, whatever your level of experience.” The cost of attendance is £25 and every participant will receive a £50 voucher against an OM-D or accessory purchase. The workshop will be held at Murder Mile Studios, Hackney. You can book your place through the website below.

Website: OM-D Event / London

The Royal Photographic Society (RPS) has put out a call for nominations for its annual Awards. Nominations are sought in a range of categories as photographers in different branches of imaging, photographic scientists, curators, publishers, educators, and those involved with The Society itself.  Award winners will be announced at a special event to be be held in London in September 2013. Nominations are required by 22 February 2013. Full details of each Award and a nomination form can be found on The Society’s website.

Photobucket has launched “Photobucket Stories,” providing users with an easy new way to combine photos and videos into complete, shareable narratives. Once Stories are created, they are easily embeddable on blogs, personal, and brand sites, and can be shared among friends from mobile devices or across Facebook, Twitter and other social networks. “With the addition of Stories, Photobucket continues to deliver on our promise to be the one place for all your photos and videos so you can do everything you want with them,” said Munro. “We’ve already taken the guesswork out of preserving and protecting your memories; but thanks to Stories, you can now add new context and meaning to your adventures, connecting with others in a more complete way than ever before.”

Last night saw the world’s first real time digital photography exhibition, allowing visitors to appreciate the work of three photographers - Lee Strickland, William Daniels and Paul Sullivan -  from the moment the shots were taken. Sony has partnered with three photographers, based in Berlin, London and Paris across Europe, who have been set the creative task of ‘capturing the light’ of their home cities. Each was armed with Sony’s latest NEX-5R camera, complete with built in Wi-Fi allowing them to send photos directly to the gallery in London from their separate locations across Europe. As the night developed, 14 screens on the gallery walls were filled with over 200 images sent through in real time demonstrating parallels and contrasts between each city and the people that live there.

The new Seamless Internet store offers photographers easy access to the tools that they need most, while also providing a creative hub with inspirational resources from the worlds’s finest photographers. Carrying a wide-range of products such as complete studio lighting solutions, exquisite lens filters and more, Seamless offers free shipping all over Europe. “The products that we have on offer are of the highest standard,” says Padraic Deasy, Irish Photographer of the year 2011. “The build, the design and the durability of Seamless accessories puts the necessary tools into the hands of photographers and frees them to achieve their unique vision.””

Nikon today announced that total production of Nikkor lenses for interchangeable lens cameras reached 75 million at the beginning of November 2012. As the 70 millionth Nikkor was manufactured in May, this means that Nikon produced no less than 5 million interchangeable lenses in a matter of only 6 months.

Photoshelter has published a new free ebook entitled Email Marketing for Photographers. “Email marketing is core to helping photographers reach more clients,” says Andrew Fingerman, PhotoShelter Chief Executive Officer. “Use this guide to learn how to engage an audience and stand out in an inbox.” The guide includes 8 email marketing tips direct from photo buyers, 10 questions to ask before hitting the Send button, examples of emails that work and more.

Website: PhotoShelter

On 4th December, Lytro will unveil a new light field technology capability for the Lytro camera, featuring Perspective Shift as well as new creative tools called Living Filters.  Perspective Shift lets Lytro photographers interactively change the point of view in a picture after it has been taken. When pictures are shared to the web, Facebook and Twitter, friends can experience Perspective Shift without needing any special software. Perspective Shift also works retroactively on any light field pictures previously taken with a Lytro camera. Living Filters enable Lytro photographers to apply one of nine interactive filters to their pictures and change the look of the picture based on light field depth. Unlike traditional digital photo filters, Living Filters create additional effects as viewers interact with a picture. These features will be available to customers via a free Lytro Desktop software update.

The 54th issue of the free PhotographyBB Online Magazine is now available for download. This edition features stroke-by-stroke photo painting techniques in Photoshop, an essay on the art of multiple exposures, a look at the benefits and drawbacks of High Dynamic Range Photography, a guest article on wide-angle portraiture by Andrew S. Gibson, and more.PhotographyBB Magazine is available for free download through the PhotographyBB website.

Website: PhotographyBB

The American Chemical Society has released a fascinating new video entitled “The Chemical History of Photography.” In the video, produced by Kirk Zamieroski, photo conservation scientist Art Kaplan shows us some samples of early technical processes like daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes, along with some other more rare and interesting photographic techniques. “As it turns out, photography was really born out of chemical experimentation in back rooms, completely out of the lab setting,” Kirk says. “Early photography certainly wasn’t know at the time to have been a very daring craft; however photographers were frequently handling toxic and dangerous chemicals without any safety precautions.” Click through / scroll down to watch the video.

Jessops today launched the Winter edition of its Image magazine, available free at Jessops stores across the United Kingdom. This edition features a number of helpful guides and in-depth articles to help customers make the most of their photography at this time of year. The new magazine also features an extensive gift guide and a number of reviews of the latest products from leading manufacturers. Commenting on the latest edition of Image magazine, Sean Emmett, Marketing & E-commerce Director at Jessops says, “As the UK’s leading photography retailer, we are uniquely placed to offer impartial advice and the widest choice of products to our customers.  With technology advancing so quickly, Image magazine offers a quick and easy way for customers to stay up-to-date with the very latest cameras and accessories. This edition acts as a brilliant gift guide that I believe will really help our customers when buying gifts this season.”

Tamron USA has announced the winner of the Tamron USA My Travel Exhibit User Photo Contest. Professional photographer Ian Plant selected “New Mexico” by Terry Mann as the winning exhibit, which featured images taken with the Tamron AF 18-270mm F3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD lens. The winning exhibit can be viewed at the website below.