Over seventy winning and highly commended images from CIWEM’s Environmental Photographer of the Year 2011 competition will go on display at a free exhibition held from 6-17 December at London’s SW1 Gallery. Selected from over 10,000 images, The Environmental Photographer of the Year is an international showcase for the very best in environmental photography.  The competition honours amateur and professional photographers who use their ability to raise awareness of environmental and social issues. The SW1 Gallery is located at 12 Cardinal Walk, Roof Garden Level, Cardinal Place, London.

A Somerset-based start-up called Phlib is offering a range of magnetic photo frames that hold multiple photographs in an array and make them look as if they’re floating off the wall. Available in a number of colours, Phlib are lightweight metal frames that come complete with powerful little magnets to hold your prints in place. Priced from £27.50, Phlib frames are available through the website below.

Website: Phlib

Canon U,S,A, has posted an update on the availability of the Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM, 500mm f/4L IS II USM and 200?400mm f/4L IS USM EXTENDER lenses. The company is basically saying that the launch of the lenses, whose development was first announced more than a year ago, has been delayed until further notice, adding that “additional information regarding the shipping date of each lens will be made available as soon as possible”. The 500mm and 600mm lenses have MSRPs of $10,499 and $12,999, respectively.

Today is the 224th birthday of Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, inventor and namesake of the first commercially viable photographic process, the daguerrotype. While the world’s first known photograph was taken by another Frenchman called Nicéphore Niépce - who later joined forces with Daguerre - it was Daguerre who perfected the process; which involved the creation of a direct positive image on a silvered copper plate through exposure, development and fixation. The French government subsequently acquired the rights from Daguerre in exchange for a lifetime pension, and went on to present the process as a gift to mankind on 19 August 1839. Today, Google is celebrating Daguerre’s birthday with a doodle featuring a stylised black-and-white family portrait.

Hannah Millard a freelance wedding photographer has been crowned Best New Wedding Photographer in the first-ever Hitched.co.uk Breakthrough Awards (HBAs). The HBAs is an award scheme which recognises the creativity and talent of newcomers to the wedding market using expert judges and a transparent voting system to identify the best new work of 2011. After receiving her certificate Hannah said “Entering the hitched.co.uk Breakthrough Awards was a great opportunity for me to review my work to date. As with many businesses the focus has to be forward-facing but by looking back at my portfolio I could see how my business has developed. This was the first award scheme I have entered and to win through a process of both expert selection and public voting is especially rewarding.”

The Silver Eye Center for Photography in Pittsburgh has issued a call for entries for its international photography competition Fellowship 12. Each entrant has to submit eight images from a cohesive, exhibition-ready body of work created within the past three years, accompanied by a CV in PDF format. The deadline for entries is 15 January 2012, at 11:59:59 pm EST. Toe enter, visit the website below. Do note that entry fees apply.

Topaz Labs have released a major update to their Topaz Adjust Photoshop plug-in. Version 5 includes an intuitive selective adjustment brush, over 100 new presets for a faster workflow, effect stacking, transparency control, a new finishing touches tab and a number of other user-requested features.“For Adjust 5, our challenge was to make it better without taking anything away from the success of the previous version. We were able to take our recent technological advances in user interface customization and program architecture, introduced in our recent B&W Effects and Lens Effects programs, and blend them with the existing Adjust infrastructure,” said Jawad Malik, developer for Topaz Labs. The plug-in retails for $49.99 and is also available as part of the $299.99 Topaz Photoshop Bundle.

Nikon’s iP-PJ Transfer App enables users of the Nikon Coolpix S1200pj digital compact camera to project content stored on an iPhone or iPod touch using the camera’s built-in projector. Until now, content that could be projected using an iOS device and the Coolpix S1200pj was limited to slideshows and the streaming of YouTube videos but the iP-PJ also enables projection of individual photos and thumbnails. Available now, the app is a free download from the iTunes App Store.

Olympus has released firmware updates for the Olympus PEN Lite and PEN Mini, also known as the Olympus E-PL3 and E-PM1. Version 1.1 for both models improves reliability while using an Eye-Fi card. You can update the camera firmware from within the Digital Camera Updater software, while the camera connected to the computer.

Nikon has updated its ‘my Picturetown Pad’ App for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch to include iOS 5 support. The app gives users of the company’s my Picturetown image sharing and storage service a convenient way to access their photos and movies from any supported iOS device. Moreover, the ‘my Picturetown Pad’ app also allows Motion Snapshots generated with the Nikon 1 V1 and J1 cameras to be played back on the user’s iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. The app is available as a free download from the iTunes App Store.

Canon has posted a firmware update for the Canon EOS 5D Mark II full-frame digital SLR camera. According to the manufacturer, version 2.1.1 incorporates the following fixes and improvements:

1. Fixes a phenomenon where shooting stops after capturing one image when in continuous shooting or the Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) continuous shooting setting.
2. Corrects wording in the Dutch language menu screen.

The firmware update can be downloaded from the website below.

Website: Canon

The Lomographic Society has announced that three of their most popular Lomography plastic cameras are now available in a Special Gold Edition. The new versions of the Fisheye 2, the Diana F+ and the Diana Mini are available for £89, £99 and £109, respectively.

The newest collection of Etre Touchy gloves has just gone on sale in the UK. Etre Touchy gloves are a stylish, fun and practical way to keep your hands warm while fiddling with your gear outdoors. Originally targeted at users of mobile phones, music players and portable games systems, these gloves - which have missing thumb and index fingertips - have also proven popular with photographers. Available from leading fashion stores, including Selfridges, Park & Bond and YMC, Etre Touchy Gloves retail at £35.

Behind Photographs – Archiving Photographic Legends is a new book by world-renowned photographer Tim Mantoani. Successfully funded through a Kickstarter project, the book is Mantoani’s personal mission to introduce the world to the photographers behind some of the world’s most quintessential images. Using the rare and mammoth format of 20X24 Polaroid, Mantoani documented these photographers holding one of their favorite or most iconic photographs.Featured photographers include legendary rock photographer Jim Marshall holding a photograph of the late Johnny Cash during his legendary concert at San Quentin Prison, Neil Leifer posing with his famous shot of Muhammad Ali standing and gesturing over a knocked out Sonny Liston, Harry Benson with his epic photo of The Beatles having a pillow fight and Steve McCurry’s famed portrait of the Afghan Girl from the cover of National Geographic. At the bottom of each Polaroid, the photographer has been asked to comment about their image in their own penmanship. Published by ChannelPhotographics, the book is available for $60. There is also a limited-edition version, which includes a set of nine 8"x12” individual prints ($295).

Zoner Software has released a new version of its flagship software Zoner Photo Studio. Among the most important new features are new editing functions - such as Tone Mapping and ‘Fill with Surroundings’, CUDA/OpenCL support, and direct integration with the Zonerama web photo sharing service. Zoner Photo Studio 14 PRO is offered at a price of $69.99, while the HOME edition is available for $34.99. A free, 30-day trial version can be downloaded from the developer’s website.

The new “Quick Shoot Strap” accessory from Hama gives you quick access to your camera while working in the field. “The strap is easily attached to a threaded plate on the tripod socket of the camera and can go from carrying position to the desired shooting position in a flash without having to move the entire camera strap,” the company says. The Hama Quick Shoot Strap also features 18 air cushions in the shoulder pad for added comfort. The product is available for a recommended retail price of €49.99.

Ricoh has issued a firmware update for the Ricoh PX dust-, shock- and waterproof digital compact camera. Version 1.10 improves zooming speed and enhances the quality of the images displayed on the rear screen. The firmware upgrade can be downloaded from the website below.

Website: Ricoh