Sigma Corporation of America has teamed up with underwater photographer, sculptor and conservationist Jason deCaires Taylor to help photograph the artist’s oft-unseen work and share it with the world. Taylor is the mastermind behind the underwater sculpture park, known as the Museo Subacuático de Arte (MUSA) in Cancun, Mexico. The museum, which consists of more than 400 of Taylor’s permanent, life-size sculptures, is designed as an artificial coral reef that provides a new habitat for sea creatures, while drawing attention – and tourist traffic – from the region’s overtaxed natural reefs. Because the project can only be viewed by scuba divers, snorkellers and people aboard a glass-bottom boat, photographs of the museum are essential in helping Taylor share this work. “Sigma lenses have become a vital tool for me to document my work and portray the beauty and fragility of the underwater world,” he says. “I have been photographing underwater for more than 10 years and have tried many different camera setups, however, using Sigma’s wide angle 10-20mm has been a turning point.” For information about on Taylor, MUSA or his artwork, visit the website below.

Shaped by War is the largest ever UK exhibition about the life and work of one of the world’s most acclaimed photographers, Don McCullin. On show at IWM London until 15 April 2012, the exhibition brings together McCullin’s frontline work from conflicts all over the world including the confrontation between East and West Berlin, Vietnam and Cambodia, the conflicts of the Middle East and the intense human suffering in Biafra and Bangladesh. These are displayed alongside McCullin’s photographs of more recent conflicts such as the Gulf War and the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. The exhibition is accompanied by a book, Don McCullin: Shaped by War, published by Jonathan Cape in association with IWM. The 208-page hardback has an RRP of £25.

Photography game and education site PhoozL has released version 1.1 of its photo IQ quiz app, PhoozL IQ for iPhone and iPod touch: The free edition of PhoozL IQ includes 50 challenging questions and allows a longer time period for answering the questions. The pro version ($0.99) includes 100 more-difficult questions and a shorter time clock. An optional “Extended Play” mode in the pro version enables players to answer all 100 questions in one, intense, non-stop game session.

proDAD has announced availability of the newest member of its Adorage video effects family – Effects Package 13. Included in Adorage 13 are hundreds of effects and transitions based around the themes of holiday, family, festivals, weddings and romance. Adorage Effects Package 13 is available for immediate purchase and download from the proDAD online shop and is available for a special introductory price of $79 until 15th January.

The BenQ AC100 is a new AA battery powered14-megapixel compact camera featuring 10 special effects. The digital filters on board include Negative Film, Colur Accent, Astral, Toy, Lomo, Mosaic, and more. Other highlights include in-camera panorama stitching, a 720p HD video mode, advanced smart scene detection, HDR imaging, a 5cm super macro mode and a 27-108mm (eq.) f/2.9-6.5 lens. Availability is slated for January, with pricing to be announced.

Over the next 7 days we’ll be revealing our favourite products from this year in our first ever annual awards, looking back at the essential photography kit that has helped to define 2011.

Kicking things off is the Software of the Year 2011 award.

There aren’t too many applications that we consider to be a must-have addition to any photographer’s camera bag, but Silver Efex 2 from Nik Software is certainly one of them.

“There are some features that you will be able to do in any editing suite available. The main difference with Silver Efex is the ease in which you can apply the changes and the vast amount of preset monochromatic settings available. If you enjoy playing around with your pictures and you have around 200 euro to spend on a Photoshop plug-in, then this will provide hours of fun.”

Read the Full Review

Congratulations to Nik Software and Silver Efex 2!

Nikon has posted firmware updates for its new Nikon 1 J1 and Nikon 1 V1 compact system cameras. Version 1.10 adds a pixel mapping function and support for the FT-1 adapter that enables users to attach F-mount lenses to these cameras. You can download the firmware updates from the websites below.

Website: Nikon 1 J1 Firmware Update 1.10
Website: Nikon 1 V1 Firmware Update 1.10

iLightningCam 1.2 allows you to capture a lightning strike using the 8-megapixel camera of the Apple iPhone 4S. In full-resolution mode, the app builds on the increased speed of capture offered by the iPhone 4s, which “should capture almost all lightning strikes within range”, the developer says (the app works on the iPhone 4 too, but fast lightning strikes might be missed “due to hardware limitations”). iLighningCam 1.2 also works in video mode, where it analyses the footage and grabs the frame in which the lightning occurs and saves it - along with the next one - as a JPEG with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels on the iPhone 4 and 1920x1080 pixels on the 4S. The app is available on iTunes for $0.99.

Ecce Terram has launched a new photo book app for Facebook. The application enables members of the social network to create and order photo books from their favourite photo services provider, using photos stored in their Facebook albums. Order processing is handled by Ecce Terram’s Photo2Lab CentralHub middleware. For large retail chains with the Photo2Lab infrastructure already in place, configuration and deployment of the new app to work with their existing order processing system can be completed within a matter of days, the company says. Facebook members who log in to the Share Your Photostory app can simply select one of their albums, choose a background colour and pick the photos they want to include in their photo book, add some text, define the sort order and determine the cover image, and order the book, without ever leaving Facebook.

AKVIS has released version 4.0 of its NatureArt image manipulation software. Described by its developers as “an excellent tool for imitating the magnificence of natural phenomena”, AKVIS NatureArt lets photographers choose from up to eight nature effects including ice, frost, rain, water, lightning, clouds, fire and Sun. The new version makes it possible to apply an effect to a transparent area, adds new presets to the Sun and lightning effects, and includes an improved, more realistic version of the fire effect. AKVIS NatureArt is available in two editions, including a standalone version and a plug-in to a photo editor. The program sells for $72 USD for Home version (either Plugin or Standalone, 6 effects), $129 USD for Home Deluxe (Plugin and Standalone, 8 effects), $189 USD for Business (Plugin and Standalone, 8 effects, for commercial use).

Adobe has released the final versions of Lightroom 3.6 and Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) 6.6. Previously available as “release candidates”, these updates add support for new cameras including the Nikon 1 V1 and J1, the Canon Powershot S100, the Fujifilm X10, the Leica V-Lux 3, the Ricoh GR Digital IV, the Sony NEX-7, the Panasonic GX1 and the Samsung NX200 and NX5 (pictured). They also contain various bug fixes.

Website: Adobe Software Updates

Sigma has just announced the release of the PG-31 power grip for the Sigma SD1 digital SLR camera. Measuring 156mmx72mmx77mm, the Sigma PG-31 vertical grip can accommodate up to two BP-21 lithium-ion batteries for extended battery life, and features a shutter release for easier shooting in portrait orientation. Availability is slated for January, SRP to be announced.

The winners of the international Travel Photographer of the Year 2011 competition have been announced. The overall winner is Louis Montrose of the USA - an Elizabethan scholar and former professor at the University of California -, who has received the award for his two striking, and very different, portfolios; one documenting life in a painted village in Burkina Faso and the other depicting the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Festival in Oaxaca, Mexico. Mr Montrose will be given a unique personal showcase within the exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) in the summer of 2012. In addition he’ll receive a £1,000 cash bursary, plus Adobe Creative Suite Design Premium 5.5 and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 software, a Plastic Sandwich personalised leather iPad portfolio case, complete with iPad2, and a Lexar Professional 600x 32GB CompactFlash memory card + Lexar Professional Dual-Slot USB 3.0 card Reader.

Chrome Industries have launched a photo contest, entitled “‘I’m A McKenzie, You’re A McKenzie”. Interested photographers are invited to visit and “like” the Facebook fan page of Chrome Bags, and email a picture of a friend that most closely resembles Bob or Doug McKenzie from the film, ‘Strange Brew’. “We’re talking winter truck stop beanies, hunting caps, flannel and charm,” says Corinne Avganim of Chrome Industries. The submission deadline is Thursday, 15th December, and the main prize is a Nikon D300 and a Chrome Niko pro camera bag.

Nik Software’s first-ever mobile app, Snapseed, has been named by Apple as iPad app of the year in the company’s App Store Rewind 2011. Introduced half a year ago and featuring the company’s award-winning U Point technology, Snapseed enables users to apply a wide variety of innovative filters to their photos including Grunge, Vintage and Drama. “It’s very rewarding for our entire team to have Snapseed for iPad recognized as the number one app available for iPad, having released Snapseed just 6 months ago,” said Michael J. Slater, President and CEO of Nik Software. “We look forward to bringing Snapseed’s powerful, fun photo experience to the desktop and other devices as we continue to grow Snapseed.”

X-Rite has released several free downloadable software updates including ColorMunki Display software, i1Profiler software and i1Profiler D2LionEdition software for i1Display LT and i1Display 2 colour calibration devices. Click through / read on for a detailed description of these updates.

At CES 2012, Parkside is introducing a new line of LensPen cleaning products featuring a brand new, stylish design. The new LensPens use the same special carbon compound, cleaning tip and natural goat hair brush that’s found in the old ones, but sport a completely new look and state-of-the-art packaging. For more information on LensPen products, visit the website below.

The BenQ GH700 is a 16-megapixel camera with a 21x zoom lens and a 1/2.3-type Sony BSI CMOS sensor. Capable of shooting 16-megapixel stills as well as 1080p/60fps Full HD videos, the BenQ GH700 comes equipped with a 25-525mm equivalent zoom lens featuring aspherical and low-dispersion lens elements and nano-scale anti-reflection coating. The camera also offers a selection of Program, Manual and Scene modes, a pop-up flash, 1cm super-macro mode, optical image stabilisation and a 3-inch, 460,000-dot rear screen. The BenQ GH700 carries a recommended retail price of €200.