Tripod Ventures, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, a provider of technology solutions for the retail sector, will partner with San Mateo, Calif.-based Future Image Inc. on its next generation web platform, currently called Fusion. Future Image will help to define the competitive landscape, market requirements, and positioning of the platform.

  Tripod Ventures will be working primarily with Paul Worthington, Future Image's lead analyst for consumer digital photography. Worthington produces The Future Imaging Report monthly newsletter read by business leaders in more than 50 countries. He has also published research studies in the fields of location-aware images, user-generated visual content, digital cameras, online photo services, and consumer imaging.

General Imaging, Torrance, Calif., the worldwide exclusive licensee for GE digital cameras, will launch its first 12-megapixel camera on March 14 through multichannel retailer HSN. HSN will offer the GE E1235 at the introductory price of $199.95, including a black camera case and an ArcSoft software package with Print Creations Greeting Card, Print Creations Scrapbook, CD & DVD LabelMaker, DVD Slideshow, and PhotoImpression. The camera is also available online at www.hsn.com.

  Available in either deep red or silver, the E1235 offers the highest resolution of any camera yet in the GE lineup. The E1235 also includes a 2.7-inch LCD screen, 3x zoom and ISO 3200 sensitivity. The E1235 will be the fourth GE digital camera to appear on HSN. The first was the ultra-compact G1 on May 1, 2007, which served as the worldwide retail debut for the camera brand.

Panasonic Consumer Electronics Co., Secaucus, N.J., announced a new firmware update available for its interchangeable Leica D SUMMILUX 25mm/F1.4 ASPH.(L-X025) lens, which is compatible with the Four Thirds standard DSLRs, including Panasonic's LUMIX DMC-L10. With the firmware update, the Leica D SUMMILUX 25mm/ F1.4 ASPH.(L-X025) adds contrast auto focus to the single focal length lens, making it more suitable for taking snapshots and portraits where the photo subject is able to stand out due to an intentional out-of-focus background.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Washington, D.C., announces a 2008 photo contest focusing on images that represent the EPA's mission to protect human health and the environment. Entrants can submit one photo in each of three categories: Enjoying the Environment, Protecting the Environment, and Nature and Wildlife. The EPA will select 10 finalists within each category and feature the finalists' images on the EPA website, where consumers can select the winners. Winning photos and finalists will be linked from the EPA home page for a week after Earth Day.

  The contest is available to entrants 18 and older from any country, and is open for submissions until 11:59 p.m. eastern time on March 24. The contest will run on Flickr to encourage participation and provide maximum public access. The EPA prefers entrants that use a Flickr account to enter, but pictures may also be e-mailed to the organization at levy.jeffrey@epa.gov. E-mailed images must be no larger than 1024-by-1024 pixels and 400K in file size, and must be in JPEG format.

PhotoShelter Inc., a provider of online photo archiving and e-commerce, introduced its Flickr Import Tool, which enables photographers currently relying on Flickr for their photo sharing needs to quickly and easily upload their images to the PhotoShelter Personal Archive. The new tool makes copying images from a Flickr Pro-level account simple for photographers interested in having complete control over image storage, protection, distribution, and sales. PhotoShelter Personal Archive offers state-of-the-art image security that prevents unauthorized viewing, downloads, and image theft, in addition to bulletproof storage and e-commerce capabilities, says the company.

  "There have been several well-publicized cases of image theft on the Internet. The deployment of our Flickr Import Tool helps photographers that wish to protect their most valued images to easily migrate them to PhotoShelter's secure archive system and distribute these images for commercial purposes," said Allen Murabayashi, CEO of PhotoShelter Inc. "While user-generated content continues to be an enormously popular source of entertainment, people need to realize any photo posted on an unprotected site is vulnerable to theft and misuse. Corporations are actively seeking photos from real people doing real things, and as such, everyone needs to be more aware of their intellectual property rights and the tools available to protect and share their content."

  To transfer a copy of their images to the PhotoShelter database, users log into their PhotoShelter Personal Archive account, select "Import from Flickr" from the pull down menu and the Import Tool will upload the selected images to their PhotoShelter Personal Archive. Photographers can then create public, password-protected or private galleries to share with contacts. In addition to preventing unauthorized downloads, photographers can upload their personal watermark to overlay each image. Furthermore, photographers can keyword and price images for print, royalty-free and rights-managed sales. Any keywords or descriptions previously assigned to an image in Flickr will be automatically transferred with the image making it simple to graduate to selling images online. The Import Tool also enables reverse transfer of images from a PhotoShelter database, back into Flickr for users wishing to use Flickr's photo sharing and community features.

  "PhotoShelter is supportive of Flickr as a community of photographers and a resource for sharing photos. Many of our customers love using Flickr and we do too," added Murabayashi. "A PhotoShelter Personal Archive is a complimentary resource for the photo community, where photographers looking to take their images to the next level can archive, protect, and sell in a professional venue."