The winners of the World Press Photo of the Year 2009 contest have just been announced. The overall winner is Italian photographer Pietro Masturzo for his image of women shouting in protest from a rooftop in Tehran after the strongly contested presidential elections. The jury gave prizes in ten themed categories to 63 photographers of 23 nationalities from: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Ecuador, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mali, Mexico, the Netherlands, Palestinian Territories, Peru, Somalia, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States. The winning entries have been chosen from a record 101,960 images submitted by 5,847 photographers. Featured above is the 1st prize winning entry in the Nature Singles category, Hunting Kingfisher by József Szentpéteri (alias Joe Petersburger), National Geographic.

Website: World Press Photo Winners Gallery

Panasonic USA has announced pricing for four of its new Lumix digital cameras. These include the Lumix DMC-TS2, Lumix DMC-ZS7, Lumix DMC-ZS5, and Lumix DMC-ZR3 – all which will be available in mid-March 2010. The Panasonic Lumix TS2 has a suggested retail price (SRP) of $399.95, the Lumix ZS5 and the Lumix ZR3 will be available for an SRP of $299.95 each, whie the ZS7 will cost $399.95.

A retired Belgian engineer who calls himself Foto Opa, or Photo Granddad, has created his own self-contained laser rig for high-speed photography. Consisting of a reflected laser light system, an external shutter, two flashguns and a system of extra lenses to look for insects in focus, the unit works in full darkness just as well as in broad daylight. It takes only 40 microseconds for the system to determine if the subject is in focus, to which the external shutter adds a lag of a mere 5-7 milliseconds. This allows him to take photos of insects in flight and other extremely fast-moving subjects. His online gallery is well worth a visit.

Today, Leaf Imaging announced the 40-megapixel Leaf Aptus-II 8, billed as the industry’s fastest medium format digital back. At a capture rate of under 0.8 seconds per frame, the Leaf Aptus-II 8 delivers a sustainable burst of 60 full resolution images per minute. Boasting a 44x33mm CCD imager with a sensitivity range of ISO 80-800, the Leaf Aptus-II 8 offers connectivity with over 80 different camera platforms including large-format cameras. Bundled with both Leaf Capture 11 and Capture One 5, the back is priced at €13.995 and is available now.

Website: Leaf Imaging

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has released a series of previously unseen aerial photographs that document the collapse of the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001. The Twin Towers were destroyed in a devastating terror attack conducted by Al-Qaeda, acting in accord with the 1998 fatwa issued against the United States and its allies. After the terrorists had flown a pair of passenger jets into the skyscrapers, the only vehicles allowed in the air space near the World Trade Center were police helicopters, which is where these newly released photos were taken from. The photographer was Detective Greg Semendinger, who allegedly took three rolls of film with a Minolta camera, plus 245 digital photos. Many of the latter have been published since then, but his film shots were only released yesterday, after ABC News had filed a Freedom of Information Act request back in 2009.

Website: See 12 images on MSNBC

Panasonic has announced a new colour scheme for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 Micro Four Thirds camera. From March, the GF1 will also be available in pink, in addition to the existing black, silver, white and red options. Panasonic plans to produce 5,000 units per month of these cameras. If you are more interested in what the Panasonic GF1 can do than what colours it comes in, make sure to check out our in-depth review.

Source: Panasonic Japan via 1001 Noisy Cameras

Terra Incognita Ecotours, an adventure travel company that specialises in wildlife-focused ecotours, is offering a new photo expedition to takes wildlife enthusiasts to Madagascar, the “land that time forgot”. In Madagascar, travellers find all of the world’s lemurs and over half of the world’s chameleons, as well as more than 170 kinds of frog. Every year scientists discover new species of plants and animals in its deserts and forests, so it’s a chance to photograph some of the world’s rarest creatures. The cost of participation in the expedition is $5399 For each participant, a $250 donation will be made to Project Angonoka, a project of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.

Website: Photo Expedition to Madagascar

LaCie has announced the Rugged eSATA, claimed to be the first mobile external hard drive on the market that features a Power eSATA interface. The USB-eSATA combo interface, also known as Power eSATA, features a slightly different connector than eSATA and is frequently found on late-model laptops. The LaCieRugged eSATA drive is also compatible with standard eSATA ports when the included USB power-sharing cable is connected. Housed in the award-winning Rugged casing designed by Neil Poulton, the LaCie Rugged eSATA drive features a unique scratch-resistant aluminium shell, internal anti-shock absorbers, and a shock-resistant rubber bumper to better protect files against everyday blunders. The LaCie Rugged eSATA will be available in 500GB capacity through the LaCie Online Store, LaCie Reseller+ and LaCie Storage Partner starting at the suggested retail price of $159.99 / £129 incl VAT.

Samsung has posted a number of sample shots taken with the all-new Samsung NX10 system camera and (mostly) the 30mm f/2 lens. Available on SamsungImaging.net, the photos link to their own full-resolution versions on Flickr. The entire set consists of 87 images, of which 13 are reproduced on the SamsungImaging blog.

Website: SamsungImaging

Via 1001 Noisy Cameras

Pentax has posted two entertaining short films shot by professional production companies to demonstrate the possibilities of shooting HD video on a Pentax K-7 digital SLR camera. The All Terrain Studios filmmaking team of Dave Rosner and Melissa Rosner produced The Rider in the Colorado high country using the smc Pentax DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited, the smc Pentax DA Star 55mm F1.4 SDM and the smc Pentax DA Star 300mm F4 ED(IF) SDM lenses. The other film, Uncle Jack, produced by Futuristic Films, is a fast-paced nocturnal odyssey shot in downtown Denver entirely at night using the smc Pentax DA Star 16-50mm F2.8 ED AL (IF) SDM, the smc Pentax DA 10-17mm F3.5-4.5 ED (IF) zooming fish-eye and the smc Pentax DA Star 60-250mm F4 ED (IF) SDM lenses.

A Spanish trawlerman has fished out a digital camera from the Atlantic Ocean and was able to retrieve five photos stored on its memory card. The BBC reports that the camera may have been dropped overboard from the ocean liner Queen Mary 2, most likely in October 2008. One of the photos features the cruiser Queen Elisabeth 2 in the background, and it was in that month that the two liners sailed together for the last time (the QE2 is now out of service). The BBC report does not mention the brand or the type of the memory card or the camera.

At press time, the identity of the camera’s owners was unknown; but it’s likely that the shooter belonged to the people seen in the salvaged snaps.

Via BBC News

Update: The camera’s owners have been identified as Barbara and Dennis Gregory from South Africa.

BenQ announced today the release of their latest digital camera – the 12 megapixel BenQ E1240 –, which boasts 720p video recording and semi-manual shooting modes like shutter and aperture priority. The frame rate for HD movies is a little pedestrian 20fps, and the lens is a bog standard 35-105mm equivalent zoom; but the BenQ E1240 has a few interesting tricks up its proverbial sleeve. Among these is an Auto Panorama mode, which seamlessly stitches three photos into one panoramic image. Other highlights include a 2.7” LCD with LED backlighting, a Fisheye mode and a hotkey function called “Beauty Enhancer”. The BenQ E1240 digital camera will be available worldwide later this month.

Photodex has released a new training DVD for users of its ProShow Producer and ProShow Gold programs, entitled “Photo Video Fusion – Combining Images and Video in your Slide Shows’.  This 90 minute training DVD teaches ProShow Gold and Producer users how to add video to their shows to create a richer, more engaging experience for their audiences. Available now from photodex.com for $24.95, this DVD helps you learn how to edit video for use in your show, create special effects, and examine best practices for outputting your final fusion piece to HD video, DVD, Blu-ray and more.

Website: Photo Video Fusion

MRM Worldwide has partnered with Nikon to create an online tool called the Nikon Virtual Touch Experience. Users who have webcam-enabled computers can install the Nikon Virtual Touch Experience by simply dragging a link to their bookmarks bar. When a user is ready to view images on a given web page or online gallery, a simple click on the toolbar link opens the experience in a branded Nikon frame and allows full screen browsing. Through edge-detection technology, the webcam can recognise movement so that hand gestures control the virtual scroll or re-sizing of images.

Couture Book has announced the availability of a new book plug-in that allows users of Apple Aperture 3 to design and order museum-quality photo books directly within Aperture. “Before this development, it could take days to layout a professional quality book,” said Phyllis Lane, co-founder of Couture Book. “With Aperture 3 and the Couture Book plug-in, the entire book design process is sped up dramatically.” The plug-in, available for download at the website below, allows photographers to build their photo books using professionally designed templates.

Website: Couture Book

Photo Quest Adventures have announced their new 2010 specialised global photography workshops and unique Nikon-sponsored US flash clinics for small groups of all skill levels. PQA was created by a group of professional photographers with the purpose of conducting intimate photography workshops in the world’s most unique places and across the US. The new workshop destinations include: Patagonia, Baja, Morocco, Peru, Kenya and South Island, New Zealand, while the new Nikon sponsored flash clinics locations include: Santa Barbara, New Orleans, Jackson Hole, New York City, Moab, Las Vegas, Miami and Sonoma. The latter offer a weekend long workshop where photographers master the basics of flash photography using the Nikon Creative Lighting System.

Website: Photo Quest Adventures

The recently announced Nikon AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm f/4G ED VR lens looks set to be an important milestone for Nikon for at least two reasons. Firstly, it is the company’s first professional AF zoom with a constant f/4 maximum aperture, putting aside the £4500+ AF-S 200-400mm f/4G IF-ED VR. Secondly, this is the first pro-grade non-telephoto FX lens with Vibration Reduction.

The fact that Nikon has come out with a pro f/4 zoom may bring hope to those users who have found the f/2.8 offerings too heavy or too pricey. At $1259.95/£1049.99/€1249.00, the new 16-35mm f/4G ED VR is certainly not cheap, but it’s still about 30% less expensive than the existing 17-35mm f/2.8D. It does not deliver so well on the size/weight front, as it is only lighter by some 50 grams, and actually longer than the f/2.8 lens. Still, the announcement may indicate that Nikon is thinking about coming out with f/4 versions of their 24-70mm and 70-200mm lenses. Those would almost certainly be smaller, lighter and again cheaper than their f/2.8 counterparts, and if wide-open performance is good they may do their job just as well, as long as one doesn’t need the shallower DOF the extra stop of aperture provides.

Luxology, an independent technology company developing next-generation 3D content creation software, has introduced a new Studio Lighting & Illumination Kit created by Yazan Malkosh. Designed specifically for users of modo, Luxology’s 3D modelling, painting and rendering application, the company’s Studio Lighting & Illumination Kit provides realistic lighting of scenes that mimics those found in the real world of photography. The Studio Lighting & Illumination Kit is available immediately for the suggested retail price of USD $125. Do you think this is the beginning of the end for traditional studio/product photography? Share your views by leaving a comment below.

Hoya’s financial report on the quarter that ended on 31 December 2009 says that Pentax is making a profit again. While Pentax’s endoscope business is still ailing due to restrained buying by medical organisations, the camera department reports an increase in the number of [digital] SLR cameras sold. This alone would not have led to profits though, as tough price competition has caused Pentax’s operating income to actually shrink despite rising sales volumes - the fact that Pentax turned profitable from making losses in the same period of the previous year has more to do with cost reduction, achieved via reorganisation, Hoya says.

Source: Hoya

PhotographyBB today announced the release of its Watercolor Pro Action Package for Photoshop. Watercolor Pro produces realistic and high-quality painted watercolour effects suitable for portraits, wedding photos, beautiful landscape artwork, night shots, architecture and more. Watercolor Pro Actions will work with Photoshop versions CS, CS2, CS3, and CS4 (English only versions) on both PC and Mac platforms. The package launches with a 20% discount on this action pack (and all existing action packs) for three days only, by using the COUPON CODE: ATN20 in the shopping cart at: http://www.photographybb.com/actions.