The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has announced the winners of the annual RHS Photographic Competition. Josie Elias has won the first prize of £1000 and the title of RHS Photographer of the Year 2012 for the above image of an olive tree surrounded by tulips. Elias said: “We stumbled on the Iris Garden at Plantas Distintas in Marnes, Spain quite by chance. I was particularly intrigued by the contrast of the gnarled old olive tree and colourful spring flowers. I felt I had to capture the scene and was encouraged by the nursery owners to enter the photograph into the RHS competition. I am very excited and honoured to have won.”

Manfrotto is giving away one of its fantastic new 290 Carbon Fibre tripod and head kits worth £249.95!

The lucky winner is Paul Mitchell - congratulations!

The new Manfrotto 290 Carbon - a new family of carbon fibre camera supports designed to accompany passionate new photographers as they progress and improve their skills.  At that level, no longer a beginner, but not (yet) earning a living from photography, it has always been difficult to find accessories and equipment that offer the right balance of performance, practicality and versatility: cheap “first tripods” are too flimsy and can’t be upgraded, but professional tripods have too many features, too many options and are too much of an investment. The 290 Carbon range steps right in to fill the gap in the middle and support the aspiring photographer along the path from hobby to passion… or from obsession to profession.

Journeys to far-flung locations and spectacular holidays are often the triggers to taking photography more seriously, but it’s notoriously difficult to find a tripod that’s compact and light enough to travel, but stable enough to really help when you get to your destination. Step into your passion for photography!

For more information or to buy Manfrotto products online visit: www.manfrotto.co.uk

Last night the winners of the 2012 AOP Open Awards were announced at the presentation and party at Draw Walk Gallery, Truman Brewery. Photographer Andrew Perkins won Best in Show Award for his image, “Girl’s shadow on beach and three people in deck chairs” (above). Other winners include Simon James, Jon Tonks, Marietta d’Erlanger and Gaynor Perry, all of whom have received Judges’ Choice Awards.

Top Travel Photo Tips From Ten Pro Photographers is a new title from Allworth Press. Author and director of the New York Institute of Photography, Chuck DeLaney has interviewed ten outstanding professional and well travelled photographers and asked them to share their favourite tips and techniques for taking great travel photographs. Illustrated with 80 full-colour travel photos, the 112-page paperback is available for $16.95.

The Outdoor Photographer of the Year (OPOTY) 2012 Competition is now open for entry. Now in its third year, the contest offers six categories across the genres of landscape, wildlife, nature and adventure with the chance of winning a cash prize of £1,000. The category winners will each receive a £250 voucher from Wex Photographic. The awarded images, along with other selected images will be exhibited at The Outdoors Show at ExCel, London (17 – 20 January 2013). The closing date for entries is 9 December 2012.

Tiffen has unveiled its Next Generation Domke gear at the 2012 PDN PhotoPlus Expo (booth 545), held at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City. “[The] Next Generation Domke line keeps the core Domke DNA and personality, adding personalisation capabilities that can be customized to fit every shooter,” the company says. Demonstrated at PhotoPlus Expo, Next Generation Domke includes the Journalist Series, the Adventurer Series, the Metropolitan Series and the Visionary Series, each offering the new Domke GearProtex divider and PocketFlex pocket and pouch personalisation and customization systems.

Founded on 17 October 1987 by CEO John Tu, and COO and David Sun, Kingston is marking its 25th anniversary in the United States, Canada and EMEA by holding a contest with a grand prize of $2,500 and the opportunity to design a USB Flash drive. Other prizes include $250, solid-state drives and Kingston’s 25th anniversary USB drive. Full contest details can be found on Kingston Europe’s Facebook fan page..

AKVIS has released AKVIS Chameleon v.8.0, the latest version of its photo collage creation software for Windows and Macintosh. This update adds a new Guidelines feature helping users precisely position the fragment on the background image. Additionally, the new version is compatible with Mac OS X 10.8. Users of the latest versions (v.5-7) of AKVIS Chameleon can upgrade to version 8.0 free of charge.

CyberLink has released an updated version of PowerDVD 12 to ensure compatibility with Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 OS. “With the removal of native support for DVD playback in Windows Media Player, consumers will require additional media playback software to play DVDs and MPEG-2 files on their Windows 8 PCs.,” the company says. “PowerDVD 12, is certified as compatible with Windows 8, guaranteeing users can still enjoy all their Blu-ray Discs, DVDs and videos on their new systems.” CyberLink also launched a new mobile application designed for Windows 8 tablets.

BeFunky has announced that it delivers support for iOS 6, the iPhone 5 and the new iPad Mini. The new version of the app offers users the ability to stack an unlimited number of effects on mobile devices, new editing capabilities for enhanced artistic control, and a seamless photo editing experience across multiple devices and platforms, the company says.

Phase One today released Capture One Pro 7. This is a major release built on a new processing engine with new and advanced professional tools that are claimed to “dramatically boost” out-of-the-box image quality, offering exquisite detail and colour rendition as well as improved noise reduction. Additionally, Capture One Pro now includes Live View support for selected DSLRs in tethered mode, and adds expanded asset management functionality lifted from Phase One Media Pro (formerly known as Microsoft Expression Media). Phase One Capture One Pro 7 is available now for Mac OS X and Windows for $299/€229.  Owners of Capture One Pro 3/4/5/6 may upgrade for $99/€69. Owners of Capture One Express may upgrade to Capture One Pro 7 for $249/$199.

Samsung Electronics America today announced pricing for the new Samsung NX 12-24mm f/4-5.6 ED and Samsung NX 45mm f/1.8 i-Function lenses. First shown at Photokina, the lenses are on display now at Photo Plus Expo. The Samsung NX 12-24mm f/4-5.6 ED ultra-wide angle zoom carries an MSRP of $599.99, whilst the Samsung NX 45mm f/1.8 short telephoto lens will cost $299.99.

Nikon has issued a call for entries to the 2012-2013 Nikon Photo Contest. 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. The entry period begins on 1 December 2012 and runs until 28 February 2013. To submit your work, visit the Nikon Photo Contest 2012-2013 website, complete the entry form and submit your work.

Polaroid is showcasing a wide range of photographic accessories at Photo Plus Expo. Offered by C&A Marketing, an authorised Polaroid licensee, the Polaroid line of photo accessories on display at Photo Plus Expo feature LED lighting solutions, tripods, flash units and filters. The products on display at Photo Plus Expo inclde a 112-bulb LED light bar ($79.99), a dual flash-LED combination ($129.99), a variable neutral density filter ($49.99)and a carbon fibre tripod ($149.99).

Samsung today announced an expanded line of advanced SD and microSD cards with the introduction of a new Pro Series. Offering capacities up to 64GB, write speeds up to 40MB/s and transfer speeds up to 80MB/s, the new cards are currently on display at the PhotoPlus International Conference + Expo. Available now, the Samsung Pro Series memory cards sport a unique high-end design while being water resistant, shockproof (up to 3,200 lbs.), and magnet proof (up to 10,000 gauss ).

Announced seven weeks ago, the new Epson XP-850 “small-in-one” printer is launching in the US this November. The Wi-Fi enabled printer, which usesEpson’s new six-colour Claria Photo HD Ink Set (black, cyan, magenta, yellow, light cyan and light magenta), Other highlights include a scanning resolution of 4800ppi, duplex ADF for double-sided scanning, copying and faxing; and a motorised control panel and output tray, which open automatically before printing so all users have to do is collect their printouts. The Epson Expression Photo XP-850 is expected to hit the shelves at an estimated street price of $299.99.

Tiffen has unveiled the new Lowel GL-1 Power LED Light at the 2012 PDN PhotoPlus Expo (booth 545), held at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City. The Lowel GL-1 Power LED is a battery-powered, focusable and dimmable, photo-quality tungsten colour (3000-Kelvin) LED light. This means users can control the diameter of the light beam, focusing from a tight spot to a wide flood. The beam is very even, from edge to edge, with no hot spots. A “what you see is what you get” lighting tool, with the Lowel GL-1 shooters always know exactly what their image will look like. With an MSRP of “less than $800,” the Lowel GL-1 Light will be released in Q4 2012