The Lastolite Strobo Beauty Box is a new beauty box and softbox combination designed for off camera flash. This collapsible and fully portably Beauty Box is quick to set up and take down and is perfect for studio and location photography. The Strobo Beauty Box is available now at £100.00.

Sakiai, Lithuania-based Graphic Node has released a 16-piece design add-on for Apple’s Aperture application called Aperture Themes. According to the company, the Aperture Themes pack “allows Mac users to explore new ways of conveying their fondness for photography” by equipping them with an extensive collection of design choices for laying out their photos and other pictures in Aperture and exporting them into Web galleries. Eleven of the themes allow the user to display photos in their original sizes, while the remaining five crop images to squares and present them in elegant and tidy grids. The package is available on the Mac App Store for $24.99.

The Lomographic Society has released the La Sardina Deluxe Kit, which contains four La Sardina toy cameras and a flash called “Fritz the Blitz”. Each La Sardina camera in the collection features a wide-angle lens, rewind dial for easy multiple exposures and simple focusing system with two preset distance settings. The La Sardina Deluxe Kit is available through the Lomography Store for €199.

The Young Outdoor Photographer of the Year contest is free to enter for those aged 18 and under. The organisers want “visually arresting images of landscapes or wildlife that matter most to the young photographer”. The winner will be awarded with £500 worth of Lee Filters vouchers. For more information and to enter, visit the website below. The submission deadline is midnight on 25th September 2011.

International Garden Photographer of the Year (IGPOTY) is reminding interested photographers that the deadline for submissions for the Summer edition of its 4Seasons competition is 31st August. The 4Seasons summer category theme for this year is ‘Weather Eye’ – a theme designed to encourage photographers to explore the different aspects of weather that are essential for plant growth.The winner of the 4Seasons category wins a cash prize of £500 and a copy of the latest IGPOTY book, ‘International Garden Photographer of the Year Collection 4’ (published in May 2011). Entries cost £10 for 4 images and can be made online at the website below.

Ricoh has just announced that the upcoming exhibition, PDN’s 30 2011: PDN’s choice of 30 photographers to watch, will be hosted by its Ring Cube Photo Gallery in Tokyo. PDN’s 30 is an annual special issue published by PDN (Photo District News), an American photographic magazine. Each year more than 300 photographers nominated by photo industry professionals submit portfolios of their work, which are then evaluated over the course of several weeks by the creative director and editors of PDN. This “PDN’s 30 2011” exhibition is the first opportunity to see the PDN’s 30 exhibited outside the US.

Mastering the Nikon D7000 by Darrell Young is a new title from Rocky Nook. This book guides readers through the camera features with step-by-step setting adjustments; colour illustrations; and detailed how, when, and why explanations for each option. Every button, dial, switch, and menu configuration setting is explored in a user-friendly manner, with suggestions for setup according to various shooting styles. The 496-page volume is available in printed form for $34.95, or as an e-book for just $14.95, through the website below..

Fujifilm has just announced the Fujifilm FinePix F600EXR digital travelzoom camera, which features a 16-megapixel EXR CMOS sensor, 15x optical zoom, GPS Landmark Navigator, raw image capture and both automatic and manual exposure modes. The FinePix F600 EXR uses key aspects of the specification first seen on the F550 EXR, but adds extra functionality. The camera now features a new EXR Auto mode with a Motion Detection capability, making it better at deciding whether it needs to raise the ISO sensitivity to capture a blur-free shot in a low-light situation. The GPS Landmark Navigator helps you pin-point interesting landmarks around you and shows you where they are in relation to your current location. Additionally, the Fujifilm FinePix F600 EXR offers an enhanced Motion Panorama mode for 360° panoramic images and a continuous shooting mode with frame rates up to 8fps at full resolution. For users preferring to capture video footage, the FinePix F600EXR offers full HD 1080p movie capture with stereo sound and a high speed movie option for freezing fast moving action at up to 320 fps. The Fujfilm FinePix F600 EXR will go on sale at the end of October with an RRP of £269.

The Fujifilm FinePix JX370 is an affordable, entry-level 14-megapixel digital compact camera with 5x optical zoom, HD video capture and easy-to-use photo sharing options. Simply scroll through the images on the rear LCD, mark the ones you want to publish and, once connected to your computer, the images will instantly upload via Fujifilm’s MyFinePix Studio software. Additionally, the Fujifilm FinePix JX370 features Photobook Assist where you can create the book in camera and preview it by ‘turning’ the pages on the LCD screen. Other highlights include a panorama shooting mode; face, smile and blink detection technologies; automatic scene recognition and an I-Flash function for natural subject illumination in flash shots. The Fujifilm FinePix JX370 will go on sale in October with an RRP of £89.

Photo Productions - a London-based company that produces Premium Photobooks for weddings and special occasions - have reduced the price of their pre-designed sample albums by up to 70%. Three sample sizes are available, starting at £15.00 for Pocket Book samples, rising to £95.00 for a 12x15”. For more information, visit the website below.

To celebrate the launch of the LS-20M; a new device that delivers recording studio sound quality with HD movie capture, Olympus is launching a battle of the bands competition in collaboration with Harvest.  The winning band will receive an Olympus LS-20M as well as an opportunity to play at the festival on the main stage on Sunday, 11th September. Available for £280/$300, the Olympus LS-20M comes with a range of Movie effects, including Pop Art, Pin Hole, Punk and Sketch and also features dual LCD panels as well as two condenser microphones for recording 24 bit/96 hHz linear PCM stereo sound.

Brooklyn-based Caseable is now offering iPad and Kindle book jackets that you can customise with your own photos. The newly introduced iPad Book Jacket can be fully customised on the front and
back covers, as well as the spine. You can lay your photos and graphics out over the entire case, or even write your name on the spine. “With the refined sublimation print technology, the Book Jackets are not only great for self-expression or gifts, they are also ideal for photographers and artists looking to promote their work,” Caseable says. Products start at $29.90 and ship in one day with local production in Brooklyn, NY.

Sony has launched a series of ‘How-to’ guides across multiple platforms, to give customers handy visual guides to getting the most out of their Sony Handycams, Cyber-shot and interchangeable-lens digital cameras. The guides, available via YouTube and a number of major retailers’ websites include easy-to-understand tips and tricks and provide answers to the most commonly asked product related questions. All of the videos are professionally recorded and, where possible, made available in HD. If consumers want to find out even more, each video includes a link to a website where further details are available.

The winner of the Nikon Photo Contest International (NPCI) 2010-2011 competition has been revealed. Billed as the biggest international photography competition in the world, NPCI 2011 saw more than 60,000 entries submitted by approximately 23,000 photographers from 153 countries. The winning image, “Learning to Fly” by Indian photographer Debarshi Duttagupta (above), was taken in Varanasi, India. Commenting on why the jury chose this photo as the overall winner, judge Hiromi Tsuchida said: “This image tells three stories in synchronicity, exhibiting the passage of time and the simultaneity of life.” A selection of the winning photographs will be on display at Getty Images Gallery, London, from 15 September until 13 October 2011.

Website: NPCI

Underwater Photography Guide has announced that the prestigious Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition 2011 is now open for submissions. The competition has 12 categories, including a Novice DSLR category and 3 compact camera categories, giving underwater photographers of all levels a chance to win a prize. Unique categories include SuperMacro, Cold/Temperate Water, Nudibranchs, and Divers/ Fashion. The more traditional categories include Wide-Angle, Macro, Marine Life Portraits, and Marine Life Behaviour. There are over $75,000 worth of prizes, including over 25 liveaboard and scuba diving resort packages, dive equipment, and more. For more information, visit the website below.

Bob Books is launching its first UK-wide celebration of photobooks in September. Taking the form of a touring workshop that will call at 10 cities across the country, Photobook Month is aimed at photographers and photobook lovers looking to improve their photobook projects or get some inspiration from photographers and photobook experts. Bob Books’ general manager Ibolya Németh said: “We wanted to celebrate photobooks in their many forms and the best way to do this is to invite photographers and photobook lovers to join us for a month-long celebration of photobooks in September.” Tickets are £10 in London and £5 everywhere else and limited to 15 tickets per city. Click through / read on for a full list of dates, locations and guest speakers.

Filled with 156 high-quality panoramic photographs from Kolor’s 2011 Panoramic Photography Competition, Rocky Nook’s Panobook 2011 is a beautiful, 224-page hardcover book that opens to 24 inches across two pages. “This collection of images provides an introduction to the best of today’s panoramic photography and serves as inspiration for the interested photographer,” the publisher says. “Laymen and photographers alike are certain to be delighted as they embark on a tour of the world.”

Burrard-Lucas Photography has launched a new “Wildlife” photo contest. They are looking for striking and original photographs taken anywhere in the world. The winner receives a Canon EOS 60D digital SLR camera and a $100 Amazon gift voucher, while two runners-up will be awarded with $25 gift vouchers. Entry to this contest is free and you will retain copyright over any pictures you submit. The submission deadline is 15th October.

Website: Burrard-Lucas Photography - Wildlife Photo Competition 2011