The World Photography Organisation today issued a last call for entries for the 2012 Sony World Photography Awards, billed as “the world’s most comprehensive photography competition”.  The awards include a Professional competition, which invites entries from the world’s leading photographers and ‘serious enthusiasts’, and an Open competition for everyone with an interest in photography. For the 2012 awards, a ‘Nature & Wildlife’ category has been introduced to the Professional competition and there are no less than three new categories in the Open competition including ‘Enhanced’, ‘Split Second’ and ‘Low-light’. The submission deadline is 4 January 2012. For full details, visit the website below.

A new exhibition from photographer Nick Danziger documenting the lives of people living in some of the world’s poorest countries is taking place at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) in London. In 2000, the United Nations’ eight Millennium Development Goals were agreed, aiming to eliminate poverty, to achieve universal primary education, to reduce child mortality and to improve maternal health, by 2015. In ‘Revisited’ Nick presents photographs from these countries – Armenia, Bolivia, Cambodia, Honduras, India, Niger, northern Uganda, and Zambia - which tell stories about real lives, through which he examines whether these goals are succeeding or are simply unfeasible targets with impossible aims. Free to enter, ‘Revisted’ is on show at the Pavilion of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR Monday-Friday 10am-5pm, until 11 January 2012 (closed 24 December – 2 January).

Colour Confidence today launched two new monitor calibration packages based around the X-Rite ColorMunki Display. The Colour Confidence Studio Photo (£155+VAT, pictured) is designed specifically for photographers and includes the ColorMunki Display screen calibration device, a Kodak Colour Management Check Up Kit and a durable, foldaway grey card for ensuring accurate image capture both indoors and out. The other package, Studio View (£199+VAT), is targeted at a broader range of imaging professionals, and includes - on top of the ColorMunki - a PChOOD Monitor Hood Pro monitor hood and an A4 sized Colour Confidence GrafiLite daylight balanced light source for print assessment. Both packages are available for order on the website below, although note that Studio View will only start shipping on 12th December.

Panasonic has released a firmware update for the Panasonic Lumix GH2 compact system camera. Version 1.1 adds a new 24Mb/s video mode, full compatibility with power zoom lenses, full-area enlargement of the AF area setting, more accurate adjustment of the output of the camera’s built-in flash; plus improves noise reduction efficiency at high sensitivity settings, AF speed in video mode and the speed of consecutive shooting when using the autoexposure bracketing feature; increases the number of recordable images in consecutive shooting; and allows the Extra Tele Conversion function to be turned on and off separately in photo and video modes. For more information on the firmware update, visit the website below.

Website: Panasonic Japan

Nikon has posted a firmware update for the Nikon Coolpix P7000 digital compact camera. Version 1.2 improves auto focus accuracy, enables the use of auto exposure bracketing in combination with the self-timer, and fixes a number of bugs. You can download the firmware update from the website below.

Leica has issued a firmware update for the Leica M9 full-frame digital rangefinder camera. Version 1.176 enables M9 owners to use “any SD card that is in accordance with the respective standards”, with practically no restrictions. While stressing that “it is impossible to test the compatibility of every single card of every single supplier”, Leica now says that all SD cards manufactured by SanDisk should function properly in the M9 once the firmware update is installed (when the previous firmware version was released, the company “mistakenly stated” that San Disk Extreme Pro SDHC I UHS-I and San Disk Extreme HD Video SDHC I memory cards might not be compatible with the camera). You can download Version1.176 from the website below.

Light & Land has announced the addition of professional landscape and architectural photographer, David Clapp, to its team of photography tutors. David has several years’ experience of running his own workshops and he is a regular contributor to the UK photography press as well as having a strong following for his social media commentary. His addition to the Light & Land team also sees the launch of a brand new range of photographic city breaks – including Valencia, Düsseldorf and Berlin. These 3-day long weekend tours allow for shooting architecture and cityscapes at dawn, dusk and even at night. For more information on David Clapp’s spring & summer 2012 tours, visit the website below.

Snapfish by HP is offering a new range of personalised photo gifts for the holiday season. “From large coffee table photo books to small books that make great stocking-fillers, Snapfish offers easy tools and fun ideas to create sentimental holiday gifts,” the company says. “With the new photo organiser, collecting photos for books is easier than ever. Personalising books is simple and fun with many themes and fonts to choose from.” For more information, visit the website below.

PhotoWhoa is a new website offering daily deals on a variety of photographic products. “We differ from other photography-related daily deals sites by really offering our users insights on the product they are buying,” says PhotoWhoa co-founder Kevin Tang. “We provide in-depth coverage and review on each and every product we sell, and we focus on only one deal at a time.” To check out the website, simply follow the link below. (Do note that in order to see the deal of the day, you’ll have to provide your e-mail address first.)

Website: PhotoWhoa

Canon UK has launched a new lens cashback promotion with offers on 14 products across the EF and EF-S range when purchasing an EOS 60D, EOS 7D or EOS 5D Mark II. Lenses available in the promotion include the EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS and 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM, as well as the EF 50mm f/1.4 USM, 85mm f/1.8 USM, 50mm f/1.2L USM, 85mm f/1.2L II USM, 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM, 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 17-40mm f/4L USM, 24-105mm f/4L IS USM, 70-200mm f/4L IS USM, 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM (pictured), 24-70mm f/2.8L USM and 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM. To be eligible for the cashback, you must purchase one of the selected DSLR cameras by 28th February 2012, and one of the selected lenses by 31st May 2012. The deadline for claims is 30th June 2012.

Canadian photographer Brian Mosoff has launched a new website offering video reviews, tips and tutorials. Taking the form of a video blog, the site currently features an introduction to off-camera flash photography, a half-hour Lightroom tutorial, plus an album and a tripod review, with more to come.

Website: The Photo Tip

As part of its What Photo Buyers Want series, PhotoShelter will be hosting a live interview tomorrow at 4 pm EST with Sports Illustrated Director of Photography, Steve Fine. The interview is open to the public and will be conducted by PhotoShelter Co-Founder, Grover Sanschargrin. Topics covered include insights about shooting for Sports Illustrated, how to assemble your best portfolio and avoid common mistakes, top skills and traits that Steve looks for when hiring new photographers, and more. You can register for free at the website below.

iWorldWideApps has just introduced Camera FX+ for iPad 2 and iPhone 4S. The application has a graphical user interface (GUI) that resembles the look of a DSLR camera, and allows you to apply various effects to your photos. You can use your existing images or take a photo from within the app, and then post the resulting image to Twitter or Facebook. Currently, Camera FX+ sells for $2.99 on iTunes.

The winners of the FEP European Professional Photographer of the Year 2011 competition have been announced. The overall winner is Spanish Photographer Oriol Jolonch, who also won the Golden Camera 2011 award in the Illustrative category, whilst the Young European Professional Photographer of the Year 2011 title has been awarded to Luca Leon Fasching of Austria.

Epson has teamed up once again with Bayeux, one of London’s leading photographic and imaging companies, to sponsor and support the prestigious ‘Take a view’ Landscape Photographer of the Year 2011 Competition. A free exhibition at London’s National Theatre from 5th December 2011 to 28th January 2011 will showcase all the winners - including the overall winner, “Winter Field, Stirlingshire, Scotland” by Robert Fulton, above - together with other selected finalists. For the exhibition, Bayeux produced limited-edition Digigraphie prints on Traditional Photo Paper, one of Epson’s range of art media, with the Epson Stylus Pro 9900 large format printer. For more information, visit the website below.

Profoto has just introduced its new Umbrella XL product line. Available in three versions – white, silver and translucent – the new Profoto Umbrella XL fits on all Profoto flash heads and monolights and features a diameter of 65” with a slightly parabolic shape that allows photographers to change the light distribution by simply sliding the umbrella shaft inside the flash head. There is also an optional front diffuser available to soften the light and reduce the intensity by 1.5 f/stops, practically converting the white and silver models into a fully functioning Octabox. An optional stand adapter allows photographers to mount the umbrella on a light stand, or for use with other flash brands. The Profoto XL Umbrellas are available now at local photo retailers throughout the U.S. starting at around $300.

The tenth edition of the online Landscape Photography Magazine is now available. This issue includes thought-provoking articles by Miles Morgan, Dimitri Vasiliou, David Hay, Mike Bell and more. The magazine also showcases stunning images of Corfe castle in England and superb black-and-white photographs by Martin Henson. Note that the full contents of Landscape Photography Magazine are available to subscribers only. The annual subscription is £6.00/$9.50.

Website: Landscape Photography Magazine