Samsung announced this week that its ST5500 camera will come equipped with Wi-Fi radio and access to Boingo software that allows users to immediately share their photos on Facebook, Picasa, YouTube, and SamsungImaging.com. Samsung is even offering three months of free access to the software, a great marketing ploy, considering users probably won't want to cancel after seeing how easy it is to not have to take the intermediate step of uploading pictures to their computers.

Diaspora – This is the name given to an open source personal web server that helps users have control over their data. This idea has sprouted out of Facebook's privacy concerns and has received much attention from social we lovers (and Facebook haters). Four New York University students started this project. They aimed to collect funding of $10,000 for completing the project. They hoped to have the amount in hand by June1, but instead it came in just 12 days. The team achieved this with the help of the fund raising platform called Kickstarter. 

Google has just made sharing your Picasa pictures and albums a whole lot easier.  Typically your images are shared by inviting your friends to view your album, but now Google has made your albums "social" by creating easy share buttons for Google Buzz, Blogger, and Twitter within your albums.  And sharing is as easy as clicking one button, hence the "easy-share."

Microsoft has confirmed that the next generation of its Windows Live photo and video editing software is almost ready for release for public testing.  In the next few months, Microsoft will release the software for testing as part of a series of changes and updates to the product and services, which will not be compatible with Windows XP. 

myPhotopipe.com, an online photo sharing and photo project website announced the addition of TruePhoto to their line of photo books.  The company already has a successful line of photo books, shared with a partnership with blurb.com, a book making software site.  The president of myPhotopipe.com, Pete Casabonne said of the addition, "Our new TruePhoto brand of photo books offers customers dozens of combinations of sizes, styles, and page counts -- all with that high-end look and feel that people associate with our Company."

Smilebox, an online "creative" photo sharing service, has raised $2 million in order to expand their services to Europe.  This is part of their second round of fundraising from investors that the company has done, making their total funds raised (including first round) now up to $14 million.  Smilebox is following its competitors Snapfish and Photobox, who are already present in numerous European countries. 

YPI KIDS was formed in 2006 by C. Paul Denckla. The first showcase of Project: Tomorrow took place in 2007. There were 9 participants in the 2007 project. These kids ranged from 10 years old to 18 years old. The project was conducted in partnership with Maine Children's Cancer Program.This project focused on children that had cancer or were in remission. The 2008 project on the other hand focused on children whose parents had cancer. In 2009 there was no project.

I am a photographer and a photography writer and through this trait I meet several interesting people and have been fortunate to work on several inspiring projects. But I have never come across anything as special as YPI KIDS. Have you ever wondered about the point where your profession becomes passion? Or when photography become more than just photography? That happens, and it has probably happened to all of us - an image that we shot meant so much to someone else. The point where a photograph becomes an object of endearment is the point when photography becomes more than just photography, more than a profession or an art, it becomes an important factor in someone's life. In my previous article about YPI KIDS I gave a brief introduction of what they did. Moving forward, this article will analyze the projects sponsored by YPI KIDS to enable kids "at-risk" or suffering from cancer photograph precious moments.

Bing unveiled the National Geographic iPhone App, that has 7 million place listings. Now that is simply outstanding. The App also offers iPhone users the ability to "view 7 different levels of cartography, 3 maps styles and the ability to find locations around the world..." This application does not use Google Maps but uses Bing Maps Platform as the integrated mapping service. Many companies are switching over to Bing. And soon we will see Bing as the preferred search engine.

For the past week, Google’s Nexus One has been trying to position itself as the premier data phone in the country.  However, like any piece of hardware whose primary function is to run other programs, it will be the software that ultimately makes or breaks the brand.  Fortunately for both Google, and for the consumers, there will be no shortage of new and innovative applications available soon. Thanks to the Android operating system, anyone can make and distribute Nexus One applications. There are veritable armies of both corporate teams and independent programmers who are salivating at the opportunity.  Presented today are the five of the most promising and exciting media applications.

This is the last part of our Interview series with British Photographer Richard Hull. Richard is a brilliant photographer. He is a thinker and is very gifted. He has managed to come a far way in the past year or so that I have known him. He is not only a talented photographer but a very gifted engineer and an amazing race car designer. He uses all 3 of his skills in his photographic work. When asked what was his current profession he stated that, 'I currently work in the R&D department for a Formula 1 team part-time, while completing a doctorate (PhD) in automotive transmission modeling - the order I listed them tells you something about where my priorities lie. I think my background and interest in engineering is often visible in the photos I take - detail shots of machines and mechanisms, buildings, vehicles, bridges. It's no coincidence that good engineering is usually aesthetically pleasing.'

Richard calls himself 'the counterfeit photographer' on his website. His digital portfolio shows a vast array of different styles of photography. He claims that he has never really limited himself to one genre and likes to experiment. When asked what genre of photography he worked in Richard stated, 'I've never really fitted into genres. I like all kinds of pictures and try and alter my mindset to wherever I happen to be.' His photographs also reflect this attitude and have a kind of openness about them. Each photograph has an individual personality and his work is not formulaic. This quality definitely sets him apart from other photographers. It allows room for experimentation and enables him to produce content that is not 'cliched'.

This is part 2 of the interview series with British Photographer Richard Hull. As stated in the previous post this interview will be published in a series of 4 entries on the Amvona Blog. I just found out that today is also Richards birthday. So here's wishing Richard a very happy birthday from every one at Amvona. I first met Richard in London in 2008. At that time I wasn't familiar with his photographic skills but knew that he was an avid car lover. A friend of mine always raved about his work but somehow I couldn't really build the connection between an engineer and photography. I met him in New York earlier this year where a bunch of us went up to the Empire State building and I saw Richard take some amazing photographs. I have been following his work ever since. Not only are his photographic skills admirable but the precision with which he composes his pictures is also remarkable. He puts life into the simplest of objects and each of his photographs tells a story. His photograph of yellow cabs in New York, taken from the top of the Empire State building is one of my favorites. 

Yesterday, I interviewed British Photographer Richard Hull to highlight his experience of photographing the vivid U.S. landscape, his interest in photography, his favorite photographs and to get some tips on taking amazing photos. Richard is an upcoming, self-taught British photographer and has had his work published in car magazines and guide books. His work has also been used in some advertising and he has an online portfolio to share with the world.  It was amazing to see America from a British photographers lens.

Justin Kraemer!!! Yes, ladies and gentlemen Seattle based photographer Justin Kraemer won the 2009 Bing Home Sweet Home Photo contest. Bing released the name of the winner last night. Justin is an aspiring photographer based in Seattle, Washington. He likes shooting landscapes and cities. And he has recently become very fond of HDR photography. His amazing photograph of the Seattle skyline won the most user votes in the 2009 contest and will be put up on the Bing Homepage on January 6th 2010.