Released as a free app on Apple's iTunes store, Strobox offers a variety of lighting diagrams for amateur and professional photographers.  Using the tools within the app, you can build diagrams for photo shoot as well as share the diagrams with your photography brethren.  The app creates PNG files from your diagrams which you can send via email with the iPhone. 
There is plenty of equipment to be found within the app for setting up the proper scenario.  Types of equipment includes strobes, backdrops, hairlights, diffusion panels, umbrellas and softboxes. The app can be downloaded for free here.

56 new DxO Optics Modules and user interface improvements.

The new version 6.1 of DxO Optics Pro for Windows adds support for 3 new cameras:
- Canon EOS 7D (Standard or Elite Editions);
- Canon PowerShot G11 (Standard or Elite Editions);
- Nikon D3000 (Standard or Elite Editions).

For this new release, DxO Labs fixed several bugs and also made some improvements to the user interface, based on customer feedback and suggestions, including:
- full screen display mode for increased visual comfort - additional shortcuts for improved productivity
- additional presets for increased flexibility

Check the full list of supported cameras & lenses inside

 Author Loe Beerens, a veteran photographer on the international concert scene, relates his experience in and knowledge of all the important aspects of planning and photographing concerts of all kinds in this new book from Rocky Nook, Three Songs, No Flash! ($24.95 USD). From punk to classical and everything in between, Loe covers how the music industry is organized, how to get access, the right people to befriend, and the proper etiquette of concert photography.
From preparation to equipment selection, the reader will learn how to make the most of those three songs from this richly illustrated book. Shooting techniques for each of the major musical instruments are covered, as well as capturing the peak action, post-production techniques, shooting in low light, and marketing your images.

Whether you are a photography enthusiast, a working professional, or just a lover of music, you will benefit from this informative guide. You can get the book here.

Casio America, Inc. announced today the launch of the company’s “Animate and Share” Web site (www.animateandshare.com), allowing consumers to experience Dynamic Photo fun through the creation of entertaining and unique eGreetings. Visitors can add a creative touch to their photos and bring them to life with Casio’s exciting animation feature on the company’s new virtual camera site. Each new user can share their creativity with the option to send their Dynamic Photo as an egreeting or through email or upload to social networks like Facebook.com. Casio’s new virtual camera site allows customers to experience Dynamic Photo enjoyment before making a purchase. Read the whole article inside

The City of London Police has repeated its call for photographers to carry identification in spite of insistence by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) that photographers do not need to identify themselves.

Last week City of London Police told us: 'Photographers should carry identification where possible and be prepared to answer questions about why they are taking photographs, if they are asked.'

However, a few days later ACPO, which co-ordinates police policy in England and Wales, told the BBC that photographers can refuse to give their name and address.

ACPO spokesman Andy Trotter told the BBC's Jeremy Vine radio show on Monday: 'The photographer is not required to give their details.' rada more here

British press photographer Jess Hurd is considering legal action against police after she was stopped while taking photographs outside a hotel in east London.
Jess, a freelance, had been shooting video of guests leaving a wedding reception when she was stopped outside the Ramada Hotel in Docklands at 5.10pm on 10 December.
Prior to that she had been recording still images using her Canon EOS 1D Mark II digital SLR.
We understand that Jess was detained for 45minutes before being allowed to continue. Read the whole article here

Adobe has updated Photoshop Lightroom to Version 2.2. The latest version extends RAW support to the cameras included in the recent Camera RAW 5.2 release. The latest update also builds-in the camera profiles, previously available from Adobe Labs, that attempt to mimic the camera manufacturers' intended output.