Mute is an upcoming exhibition of haunting dog portraits by Martin Usborne at East London gallery theprintspace. The collection consists of eight large-scale prints of dogs looking out of car windows. theprintspace’s Cathy Eck said, “This exhibition is an unusual treat for dog lovers and photography fans alike, with a really impressive collection of images. The mournful look in the dogs’ eyes really stops you in your tracks, a must-see.“ The exhibition opens on 21 October 2010 and runs until 9 November.

Panasonic have teamed up with Channel Five for the advertiser-funded programme commission How To Take Stunning Pictures. Each programme in the six-part series focuses on a different theme; portrait, action, celebration, landscape, holidays and animals. Photography master classes will be provided by Martin Parr, Harry Borden, Tim Flach Emily Quinton, Bob Martin and Charlie Waite. The series will be sponsored by Lumix, Panasonic’s range of photographic cameras and will also be available to view on Panasonic’s IPTV service Vieracast. The programme launches tomorrow at 7.30pm on Channel Five with Episode 1: Portrait.

Website: How to Take Stunning Pictures

The winners of the Red Bull Illume 2010 Image Quest were unveiled at a stunning exhibition in Dublin. We teamed up with Red Bull Reporter to send aspiring photo-journalist Mike Gamble over to capture the action and tell the story of the ceremony, which took place inside the historic grounds of Trinity College. Click through to read his report and see some of his photographs.

This is the latest assignment from Red Bull Reporter, the programme from Red Bull that sends aspiring writers, photographers, filmmakers and presenters to interview talent and go behind the scenes at music, culture and sports events all over the UK and beyond. Find out more at www.redbullreporter.com

Eye-Fi is celebrating its fifth anniversary by announcing a new developer programme to expand its digital connectivity platform. “Looking back five years, Eye-Fi’s founders recognized the need for a solution that has already helped people back up, organise or share more than 100 million memories,” said Jef Holove, President and CEO of Eye-Fi. “ We have since created an ecosystem of seven camera partners and 45 online services that enrich those personal memories and the introduction of the Developer Programme is our response to the growing interest from application developers.” To sign up for the programme, simply follow the link below.

Website: Eye-Fi Developer Programme

DxO Labs have announced the availability of 99 new DxO optics modules for DxO Optics Pro. Providing extra lens support for Canon, Fuji, Nikon, Pentax and Sony DSLRs, the new optics correction modules are listed at the website below.

Website: 99 New DxO Optics Modules

Fantasea Line has announced an underwater housing for the Nikon P7000 digital compact camera. Featuring a double O-ring seal and a special mount for accessories, the Fantasea FP7000 housing is shock resistant, depth rated to 60m/200 feet and is fully functional with ergonomically designed and labelled controls. Availability is slated for early 2011.

The Panasonic AG-AF101 is an interchangeable-lens digital video camera that takes Micro Four Thirds lenses. Demonstrated to attendees at the Panasonic stand at IBC, ahead of its introduction to the market in December, the Panasonic AG-AF101 has a Four Thirds MOS sensor optimised for HD video recording. The camera can record video in Full HD (1080i/p)/720p formats including 1080/24p native mode with Full HD Variable Frame Rate function. The video can be recorded on SDXC memory cards in professional high quality PH mode (up to 24Mbps). Two SD card slots allow relay recording from one card to another to give large recording capacity of up to 12 hours in PH mode or 48 hours in HE mode. The Panasonic AG-AF101 will be released in December at a recommended retail price of €4,900+VAT.

Sigma says some of its lenses may have a potential aperture operation problem when used with the Sony A33 and A55 “SLT” cameras. Those camera owners who experience this issue are encouraged to contact the a Sigma Service Station for a free lens modification. Note that for lenses discontinued several years ago, a modification may not be available. Future batches of Sigma lenses for the Sony A mount will be fully compatible with these cameras, the manufacturer says.

Olympic Dreams is an exhibition by James Dodd that introduces viewers to the City of Sheffield Diving Team and their youth development programme, which works alongside the nations preparations to develop our sporting elite for the 2012 London Olympics. Presented by Bank Street Arts in partnership with Print 4 Sheffield, Olympic Dreams features 8 images presented in light-boxes within an atmospheric darkened gallery space. “For the series I decided to concentrate on a ‘non standard’ approach to documentary photography. Rather than simply showing a day in their lives etc,” says James Dodd. “I wanted to convey their dreams, something that obviously isn’t visible.” Running until the end of this month, the exhibition can be seen in the Bank Street Arts gallery, 32-40 Bank Street, Sheffield. There is an evening viewing with the photographer planned for 17th September, starting at 7pm, which is open to the public.

Shiraz Software has announced that it will be launching an updated version of its Shiraz Focus raster image processing (RIP) package at Photokina. The latest update to Shiraz Focus provides a raft of image control and production options for photographic and fine art output. A new component has been added and provides pre-print editing, such as adjustments, filters or effects, while the main application now enables users to save and recall jobs, add a variety of frame and crop marks and apply changes across batches. Photographers can also take advantage of Shiraz Focus’s print management facilities to keep their costs down and reduce production times.

Canon promises to showcase an exciting range of innovative imaging products at this year’s Photokina. To ensure all visitors at this year’s Photokina, which runs from 21st to 26th September, can try Canon’s new products with ease, a 3,155-square-metre showcase has been built and can be found in Halle 3.2. Some of the highlights include the Canon EOS 60D digital SLR camera, the Canon XF105 professional camcorder, the Canon IXUS 1000 HS compact ultrazoom camera, the EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM zoom lens (pictured) as well as Canon’s Pixma and imagePROGRAF printers.

This year’s Hasselblad booth at Photokina will be a hotspot for attendees to learn about and experience the world of Hasselblad. Renowned fashion photographer Tom Hagemeyer will re-create the excitement of the Paris cabaret by staging a burlesque show at the booth. Visitors will have the opportunity to photograph this event using the Hasselblad H4D. Interested readers are encouraged to pre-register online at the Hasselblad website for the Catwalk Experience. The show will run several times a day throughout the length of the fair. Hasselblad is also setting up a special stage with one of the world’s most extraordinary sports cars. Professional automobile photographers Guenther Raupp (Tuesday-Thursday) and Roberto Bigano (Friday-Sunday) will offer 30-minute Master Classes five times a day for attendees to get a first-hand look at their set-up and shooting techniques.

Datacolor will be offering free calibration services at Photokina 2010 using its complete line of Spyder3 monitor calibration products and the SpyderLensCal, a new DSLR lens calibration device. Offering calibration of lenses and autofocus functions on modern DSLR camera bodies, the SpyderLensCal will be officially unveiled on September 22 at 10am at Datacolor’s booth (Hall 4.1, Booth E010/F019). In addition, Datacolor will also be presenting the results of its ‘Real New York’ photo contest.

The Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG21 and VPC-GH3 are new dual cameras capable of shooting 1080i video and 10-megapixel photos. Also featuring 5x optical zoom for stills and 10x “dual-range” zoom for video, these digital cameras are almost identical inside but look very different on the outside. The Xacti VPC-CG21 is a pistol-shaped affair, while the GH3 is a more traditional, horizontal design. Both cameras feature 2.7-inch fold-out LCD screens with a resolution of 230,000 dots, HDMI ports and easy operation, and both will be available at a recommended price of €199.

Website: Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG21 Datasheet (in German)
Website: Sanyo Xacti VPC-GH3 Datasheet (in German)

The Wild Side of Photography by Cyrill Harnischmacher is now available in the UK. This book, which debuted in the US in August, is geared toward the adventurous photographer. From this book, you will learn build a shift/tilt lens for your DSLR from an old junkyard 120 film camera, try the camera toss, shoot images from a kite, use a peephole door viewer as a fisheye lens, or build your own pinhole camera. Each project is presented with easy to understand instructional text, background information about the author and the project, and beautiful colour images to illustrate what can be accomplished and how you can do it too. Written by Cyrill Harnischmacher, this 176-page book is available for £22.99.

At Photokina 2010, the Manfrotto School of Xcellence will be offering participants a unique opportunity to listen, learn and talk with five top professional photographers. The School’s showcase will take place at the Manfrotto School of Xcellence Theatre in Hall 5.1 of the fair in Cologne, and will feature hourly presentations by photographers Bill Frakes, Joe McNally. These presentations will take place at 1pm on each day of the fair and then at 4pm on Sunday. In addition to this, at the School Booth in Hall 5.1 Bill and Joe will be giving portfolio reviews in the mornings - so aspiring photographers have the opportunity for a professional one-to-one critique of their work with feedback and advice. More portfolio reviews will be held in the afternoon, lead by another three highly respected photographers: Roberto Bigano from Italy, Uwe Statz from Germany, and Drew Gardner from the UK.

Website: Manfrotto School of Xcellence

THROUGH THE EYES OF THE VIKINGS: An Aerial Vision of Arctic Lands is a new title from National Geographic Books. Showcasing more than 100 spectacular and “utterly unfamiliar” views of Arctic lands and waterways, this new book by celebrated aerial photographer Robert Haas promises to “shatter our preconceived notions about a barren Arctic landscape”. The 224-page hardcover will be released on Tuesday 21th September at a price of $50.

A company called Soviet Montage Productions has released a short HDR video captured using two Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR cameras and a beam splitter. The two cameras used different exposure settings but - thanks to the beam splitter - filmed the exact same scene, allowing the two pieces of footage to be blended and tone-mapped in software. The result is a more realistic and more “film-like” video, as you can see below.