Talenthouse has issued a new Creative Invite for photographers to shoot electric violin player Caitlin Moe for the cover of her new album. “The image captured in the cover shot should be mysterious and dramatic like her songs, fun and loud like her personality and should push the boundaries just like her violin playing,” Talenthouse says, adding, “the shot should incorporate the violin in some artistic, out of the ordinary way.” Interested photographers should submit two of their best artistic shots via the website below. The selected photographer will be flown to New York City for the photo shoot, receive album credit and will be introduced to Caitlin’s network of musicians and other artists.

Website: Talenthouse

Over 1,000 historic BT Archive images from the 1860s onwards can now be downloaded thanks to Telefocus - the new BT Archives Image Gallery. The gallery offers an insight into the history of telecommunications through images. David Hay, BT’s head of heritage and corporate memory, said: ““As the world’s oldest communications company and guardian of the UK’s telecommunications legacy, we recognise and attach great value to our long and rich history. We are particularly proud to encourage greater accessibility to these fascinating images through Telefocus. In doing so we are opening up BT’s heritage to a whole new audience”.

Website: Telefocus

Still in Motion is a company that aims to promote contemporary photography both in Paris and London by way of organising a photography festival that will “build a bridge over the Channel”. The opening of the Still in Motion London Photography Festival will take place in Paris, at La Cartonnerie, on the 29th and 30th of May 2010 and one week later, at the Horse Hospital in London. The festival programme includes an exhibition of pinhole photographs, a pinhole photo contest on the theme of the changing city, free pinhole portraits in a Victorian lay-out, an exhibition of young photographers, and more. Throughout the weekend, a discovery workshop will be delivered for the public that will play upon the pinhole camera’s origins and the experience of taking a picture in a 19th century studio. “One of the targets of this event is to recreate the social link within the city through photography, and to bring urban people to rediscover their city,” the organisers say.

Website: Still in Motion

The winning entries for ADP’s second student photography competition, Architecture Naturally, have been announced at an exhibition, held at London’s Bankside Gallery. The competition this year focused on the relationship between architecture and the natural world. Ryan Manton from University of Kent, won first prize for his image, ‘Tree Sleeve’. Ryan won a £1000 photographic commission, £750 of camera equipment vouchers, a one-year subscription to Digital Photographer Magazine, plus 12 months discounted printing with CallPrint.

The Annenberg Space for Photography presents its next exhibit, Pictures of THE YEAR International (POYi), with images from one of the most prestigious photojournalism competitions in the world. With approximately 60 images, the print exhibit will cover 2009 with views of youth culture, soldiers’ stories, the continued economic crisis, environmental disasters, pop culture, and more. A separate digital exhibit will feature hundreds of additional winning images and will follow winning photojournalists ‘behind the lens’ in the field, such as- Barbara Davidson and Brian L. Frank. The exhibit will kick off June 24-25, 2010 with the POYi Education & Awards programme, a two-day event that includes presentations by the exhibited award-winning photojournalists. The Annenberg Space for Photography is located at 2000 Avenue of the Stars, Century City, California and is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11am-6pm.

Sony has launched its first mirrorless interchangeable-lens system cameras, the Sony NEX-5 and the Sony NEX-3. Both cameras feature 14.2-megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS sensors, 25-point contrast-detect autofocus systems, 49-segment exposure meters and 3-inch tilting LCD panels with 921,000-dot resolution. Both the NEX-3 and the NEX-5 can capture fast-moving action with a high-speed burst of full-resolution images at up to 7fps. The new Sony NEX cameras feature the new E mount, but can also take regular Sony ? lenses via the optional LA-EA1 adapter. The NEX-5 has a magnesium alloy body and shoots Full HD (1920 x1080i) video as high-quality AVCHD files. The NEX-3 captures 720p HD video as compact MPEG4 files that are claimed to be “ideal” for PC storage and web sharing. Although the cameras have no built-in flash, they both come supplied with a super-compact clip-on flash that attaches via an accessory terminal (there’s no hot shoe though). The NEX-5 and NEX-3 cameras from Sony will be available in the UK from June 2010.

Sony is developing an interchangeable-lens AVCHD camcorder that will be compatible with the new E-mount lenses developed for the Sony NEX-3 and NEX-5 cameras. Using the same Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor that is at the heart of those models, the new camcorder is planned to hit the shelves in autumn 2010.

The Canon IXUS 300 HS (called the SD4000 IS Digital ELPH in North America) is a premium compact featuring a 10-megapixel CMOS sensor, a 28-106mm equivalent f/2.0-5.3 lens with image stabilisation, semi-manual exposure modes and 720p HD movie recording. The new Canon IXUS 300 HS is capable of taking full-resolution stills at up to 3.7 frames per second (fps), and 2.5-megapixel photos at up to 8.4fps. The number of pictures that can be taken in a burst is limited by the memory card’s capacity only. The Canon IXUS 300 HS features a 3in PureColor II G LCD screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio, which incorporates a strong tempered glass outer layer, providing high contrast and wide-angle viewing. For moments that lend themselves to video, the Canon IXUS 300 HS offers 720p high-definition movie recording with stereo sound. The lens’ quiet drive system allows users to zoom during recording with minimum audio interference, while the optical image stabiliser can also be engaged to reduce the effects of camera shake in video footage. Extreme, fast-paced action can also be recorded using Super Slow Motion Movie mode, which captures at 240fps and plays back at a much slower 30fps, although at a meagre 320x240 pixels only. The Canon IXUS 300 HSwill be available across the UK and Ireland from the end of May 2010, priced at £379 / €419. In the USA, the camera is marketed under the name Canon Powershot SD4000 IS Digital ELPH, and retails for an estimated price of $349.99.

Hasselblad’s Phocus 2.5 for Apple computers allows users to import raw files from more than 150 DSLR cameras, and features support for most standard image file formats. The supported camera models include products from Canon, Nikon, Leica, Sony, Fuji, Olympus, and more. Photographers who use Leaf digital backs also benefit from this upgrade, with the inclusion of raw support for Leaf digital backs. Phocus 2.5 for Mac will be available for download from the Hasselblad website starting 19 May.

Jerusalem Always is a new book by renowned photographer Marcelo Bendahan. Written in English and Spanish, the book touches on all aspects of life in today’s Jerusalem including festivals, visits to the Western Wall, the co-existence of Ethiopians, Armenians, Jews, Christians, and Muslims, and more. Bendahan’s photos “capture the unique light of Jerusalem and convey not only a city full of history but also one brimming with life”. Jerusalem Always is available on www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, www.maestrobooks.nl/order.html and in bookstores throughout the United States and Canada.

The Natural World - Portraits of Earth’s Great Ecosystems is a new coffee-table book that explores, in panoramic format, six continents and ten ecosystems celebrating Earth’s diversity of life. With a foreword written by renowned primatologist and U.N. Messenger for Peace Dr. Jane Goodall, this book is a record of Earth’s last great places. Featuring Thomas D. Mangelsen’s panoramic photographs and excerpts from his journals detailing his experience in the field, is also a quiet call to action to conserve the land and the creatures that inhabit it. The 256-page hardback is scheduled to hit the shelves in September, priced at $75.00 USD / $88.00 CDN / £47.50.

Sony Electronics will be enhancing its lineup of Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX memory cards to increase transfer speeds. These new Memory Stick cards have a 30-megabytes-per-second transfer rate, making them Sony s fastest memory cards on the market. They are Sony s highest performance memory cards and are designed to support and enhance features of Sony hardware devices. Sold in capacities ranging from 8GB to 32GB, the HX series starts at $59.99. As a value-added benefit, all Memory Stick models include x-Pict Story software for easy on-line photo sharing, as well as data recovery software to enable file rescue.

Website: Sony Memory Media Portal

Fantasea Line has announced a range of new Fantasea Eyes products designed to be compatible with almost any housing in the market, including Fantasea, Canon, Fujifilm, Sony, Olympus, Sea&Sea and more. These include the BigEye FXF80/100/200 lenses and the EyeDaptor FXF80/100/200 adaptors for Fujifilm housings, BigEye and EyeDaptor MPK series for Sony housings and a number of products for the Canon S90 and G series cameras.

Website: Fantasea Eyes

The new Benro Travel Angel tripods are now available in the UK. Travel Angels feature a folded design that makes them easy to carry and up to 20% smaller than conventional tripod designs. Each Travel Angel tripod features a reversible centre column that gives added flexibility and provides additional shooting angles. The adjustable legs can be independently locked, and the rubber feet of the tripods can be removed to enable optional stainless steel spiked feet to be attached. The Benro Travel Angel tripods are sold by Kenro in the UK.

Website: Kenro

Canon UK has announced a new student cashback on the Canon EOs 7D and EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR cameras. UK and Irish photography students, lecturers and technicians purchasing either of these two models through the EOS Professional Network before 31 August 2010 can claum £75 / €85 cashback on the 7D and £150 / €180 on the 5D Mark II. Claims must be received by 1 October.

DxO Labs have launched DxO Optics Pro 6.2 for Windows and Mac, which supports Canon 550D and Sony Alpha DSLR-A450 in both its Standard and Elite editions, and the Canon 1D Mark IV and Nikon D3s in its Elite edition. In addition, 85 new DxO optical modules are now available to DxO Optics Pro users, supporting the following cameras: Canon 350D, 400D, 450D, 500D, 550D, 20D, 30D, 40D, 7D,1D Mark III, 1D Mark IV; Fuji S5 Pro; Nikon D3000, D40X, D50, D60, D90, D700, D3, D3s; Pentax K200D, K-7; and Sony A450. This brings the number of lens-camera combinations supported by DxO Optics Pro to 2000. The DxO Optics Pro 6.2 Standard edition costs £85, while the Elite edition is £179. These discounted prices are valid until 15 June 2010. All customers who purchased DxO Optics Pro 5 or 6 after 1 June 2009 are entitled to a free upgrade to version 6.2.

Bicycle Portraits - everyday South Africans and their bicycles is a photography book project initiated by Stan Engelbrecht and Nic Grobler. Described as “an investigation into South African bicycle culture”, the project involves photographs of, and interviews with, cyclists from all over South Africa. Engelbrecht and Grobler try to find out who the bikers are, why they ride bicycles, if and why they love their machines, and why so few South Africans choose these vehicles as a transport option. The two have set up a Kickstarter pledge page as an alternative way of raising funds by essentially taking pre-orders from an online community who want to see the project succeed. To find out more, check out the website below.

Website: Bicycle Portraits

This year, DCP Systems will be supporting the Manchester and Coventry events of the Photovision Roadshows. Now in their sixth year, the Photovision Roadshows aim to promote innovation and excellence in the photographic industry. The Manchester event will be held on 11 May, whereas the Coventry event takes place on 15 June. Both start at 11 a.m., but there will be free seminars for photographers starting at 10 a.m. DCP will be bringing with them a range of large-format printers for the photographic arena – including the Epson Stylus Pro 3880/4880 and the Epson Stylus Pro 7800/7900.

Website: Photovision Roadshows

Olympus Europe is releasing a silver version of the E-P2, which has until now only been available in black. This variant looks almost exactly like the E-P1, except that it has an accessory port for optional extras such as a detachable electronic viewfinder and microphones, just like the black version. Available from mid-May, the silver Olympus E-P2 comes bundled with a 14-42mm kit zoom.