The Kodak Pic Flick iPhone app, which enables consumers to print pictures wirelessly on the KODAK ESP 5250 All-in-One WiFi-enabled printer, can now be downloaded free of charge from the iPhone App Store in the UK. Announced at the beginning of last month, the Pic Flick app lets you print photographs directly from your Apple iPhone or iPod Touch, in sizes ranging from 3x7.5cm to 21.5x28cm. All you need to do is ensure that the printer is connected to the same LAN/WiFi connection as your iPhone or iPod Touch. The KODAK ESP 5250 AiO printer, available since September 2009, is the latest in Kodak’s range of AiO consumer printers, claimed to produce lab-quality, long-lasting photos and documents.

Webaite: Kodak Pic Flick

Kubota Image Tools have announced the first-ever Photographers Ignite sessions to take place 9-11am, Thursday, 11 2010 at the WPPI Convention at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV. Ignite is a style of concentrated presentation where participants are given exactly five minutes to speak on a subject accompanied by 20 slides. Each slide is displayed for only 15 seconds before being automatically advanced. Photographers Ignite is focused on photography topics, tips, hints and inspiration. It’s a challenging new way for photographers to share ideas and stories, five minutes at a time. There will be about 15-20 session ideas selected. Proposals for these fast-paced sessions are now being reviewed and accepted. Professional photographers interested in being a presenter should visit the website below.

Website: Photographers Ignite

LaCie has introduced the LaCie Rikiki, billed as the smallest 2.5” metal hard drive on the market. Encased in brushed, sturdy aluminium, the LaCie Rikiki, which means “tiny” in French, offers plug-and-play simplicity via its USB 2.0 interface. Rikiki also comes with a simplified software suite – for quick setup and easy-to-use backup management – enabling complete configuration in just a few clicks. The LaCie Rikiki will be available in 250GB, 500GB, and 640GB capacities through the LaCie Online Store, LaCie Reseller+, and LaCie Corner, starting at the suggested retail price of $74.99 (excluding VAT).

Website: LaCie

Practical Digital Photomicrography is a new book about digital photography through the microscope. Readers will learn about the three camera types used in photomicrography and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Detailed discussions on microscope illuminators and lighting systems are also included. Practical Digital Photomicrography costs $69.95.

Pentax have opened an online store in the UK with a wider range of cameras and accessories. “The online store will ensure that a broader portfolio of products, particularly accessories, is available than our partners have the capacity to carry. This in turn will make PENTAX cameras a more attractive proposition to customers and should drive increased sales through traditional retail channels.” commented general manager Jonathan Martin.  All Pentax cameras and accessories will be sold through the site at retail prices.

ADP has announced the launch of its second photography competition, Architecture Naturally. The competition focuses on an important relationship - that which exists between architecture, and the natural world and is open to UK students over the age of 16 studying photography, a photography-related course, architecture or an architecture-related course. The winner will be awarded a one thousand pound commission to photograph one of ADP’s completed buildings, plus 750 pounds worth camera equipment vouchers and a year subscription to Digital Photographer magazine.

Website: ADP Architects

Carl Zeiss has today launched an annual worldwide photo contest with the theme “digital culture”. Anyone can participate, provided the pictures are shot with a Carl Zeiss lens. Pictures can be taken with any type of camera, from an SLR reflex camera to the camera of a mobile phone. First prize is a ZEISS SLR-lens, which the winner can select. The second prize is a set of Cinemizer plus video glasses, including an iPod touch 8GB. Third prize is a Nokia N86 mobile telephone. The jury will select 10 winners after January 15th 2010.

Win tickets to a play at The Old Vic theatre in London and a limited edition book by David Bailey or Helmut Newton with Olympus. Simply find out what Kevin Spacey thinks about his Olympus E-P1 camera by finding the hidden content in one of Olympus’ new TV adverts for the Pen EP-1 camera. The closing date is December 24th 2009.

Epson have released the free and easy-to-use iPrint photo printing app for iPhone and iPod touch. Now available on the App Store, iPrint lets users print wirelessly on Epson network capable printers including the Artisan 810,  Artisan 710 and WorkForce 610. “With the holidays quickly approaching, many special moments will be captured on an iPhone and Epson is providing users with an easy way to print high-quality photos of these special memories onto Epson printers using the Epson iPrint App,” said Epson’s Steve Semos.

Casio’s new “Animate and Share” website showcases their unique Dynamic Photo camera function. Using Dynamic Photo, moving subjects can be dynamically “cut out” and pasted into a different still shot that forms the background. The new virtual camera site allows visitors to create eGreetings and share them vie email or social networks like Facebook. Visit http://www.animateandshare.com to experience Casio’s Dynamic Photo for yourself.

Symantec has just launched the newest version of its consumer online backup service, Norton Online Backup, along with a launch campaign contest. To enter, simply submit stories, photos or videos of how you have lost valuable computer files in the past (i.e. dropped laptop off the balcony, spilled coffee on your computer, hard drive caught on fire, etc.) at http://www.nortonsavedmybacon.com. All entrants will receive a free trial subscription for 5GB of online storage through Norton Online Backup and a random drawing will award a year’s supply of gourmet bacon (and a few other bacon-themed goodies) to 12 lucky winners.

Crashpadder.com is a peer-to-peer accommodation network which has recently added interest groups to the offering which enables people to meet and stay with strangers who share an interest or passion - such as photography. This means that happy snappers can meet and stay with other photography aficionados next time they’re on a trip and benefit from the personal knowledge of a local photography fan, the company says. Hosts and guests can look at one another’s profiles, check feedback from other users and send each other messages via the website ahead of making a booking in order to make sure they are both comfortable with the booking. Finally the guest pays via the website on credit or debit card which verifies their identity and home address.

Website: Crashpadder

A dramatic photograph capturing a hovering barn owl has been unveiled as the overall winner of this year’s RSPCA Young Photographer Awards. 18-year-old Ryan Edwards scooped the YPA09 overall winner’s prize, as well as the 12-18 category, with his photograph Golden Flight (above). Ryan, from Woodbridge, in Suffolk, received his prizes from BBC One Countryfile presenter Matt Baker, who was also on the judging panel for this year’s awards. Ryan’s prizes include £1,000 worth of Olympus vouchers, an Olympus E-620 D-SLR camera with two zoom lenses and the opportunity to go on an exclusive photo shoot at a unique RSPCA location. (RSPCA stands for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.)

Nik Software has announced that Viveza 2, the latest upgrade to its photo editing software for selective colour and light control, is now shipping. Viveza 2 includes new global adjustments and precise selective controls.  “It’s simply faster, easier, and more powerful than anything I’ve got in my own bag of tricks, which is why Viveza 2 is my new tool for making fast, accurate selections,” said Scott Kelby, editor of Photoshop User magazine and author of The Digital Photography Book, Volumes 1-3. “This is a plugin that every serious photographer has to consider, because now the rules have changed. After all these years, making accurate selections is still one area that gives even the pros fits, but Viveza 2 changes all that without the complexity and steep learning curve.” Viveza 2 retails for €199.95, with upgrades for existing Viveza owners priced at €99.95. Customers who have purchased Viveza after September 22, 2009 are eligible for a free upgrade to Viveza 2.

Hoodman’s Super Hoodskins are optically clear, colourless LCD screen protectors that are 4x thicker than the original Hoodskins. They come in 3” and 3.5” versions to fit today’s large camera screens. Super Hoodskins have a special scratch resistant hard coating applied along with UV protection for extended life. Priced at £9.99, there are two Super Hoodskins per pack and the 3” versions are already in stock at Newpro UK.

Website: Hoodan Super Hoodskins for 3” & 3.5” LCDs

The Cullmann Nanomax 290 is a new monopod with a detachable ball-head. This brand new addition to the range of Nanomax products from Cullmann has a flexi-foot ensuring you keep a good contact with the ground at most angles .As with the range of Nanomax tripods, the top section is covered in comfort grip foam and each leg section can be easily released and locked again with the easy clip leg locks. The maximum height of the Cullmann Nanomax 290 monopod is 150cm, but can be collapsed to just 48cm for easy transport. With a load capacity of 2.5kg, the Nanomax 290 is available now from Newpro, priced at £29.99.

Website: Cullmann Nanomax Series

Strobox is a new iPhone app that lets studio photographers create and share lighting diagrams. Cameras, lights and subjects can be dragged around and rotated until they show the exact setup you wish to demonstrate with your diagram. Strobox is a free download from the iPhone App Store.

Website: Strobox

Via Photography Bay

Olympus have released an update for their free raw development software, Olympus Master. Version 2.3 adds Windows 7 and Olympus E-P2 support. It also gains two new art filters, Diorama and Cross Process, introduced with the Olympus E-P2 camera.

Website: Olympus Software Downloads

‘Yuu Waa’ today announced a free trial for anyone who owns a USB flash drive. A new solution for securely storing, backing up and sharing all types of multimedia data from one single interface, YuuWaa combines a USB flash drive with software and secure online services. The new free trial offer will allow anyone with a USB memory stick to ‘YuuWaa-nise’ their flash drive via a download link and gain 2GB of online storage, really simply data sharing with friends and family and back up services for a trial period of 30 days. Once the trial is over users can upgrade to ‘YuuWaa Go’ or ‘YuuWaa Plus’. The former provides users with a combined total of 24GB storage for £19.99, while the latter offers 54GB of storage for £29.99.

Website: YuuWaa