PhotoActive

Episode 94: All About SD Cards

June 11th, 2021  |  33 mins 51 secs

apple, cameras, imac, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, memory, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, sd card readers, sd cards, storage, usb-c

You can shoot the most amazing photos using the best gear you can afford, but it doesn’t mean anything if the pixels you capture aren’t saved to a storage card. In this episode, Kirk and Jeff talk about SD cards: what do the symbols on the card stand for? What speeds are good? How best to transfer images from the camera to the computer? What capacities should you buy? If your camera includes two card slots, do you write to them sequentially or for simultaneous backup? And how in the world did Jeff manage to shoot a Hawaiian sunset and end up with zero images?

Episode 93: P Is for Professional

May 28th, 2021  |  37 mins

aperture, apple, cameras, exposure compensation, exposure triangle, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, shutter speed

Do you capture photos using your camera’s automatic modes, or do you shoot using manual settings? Jeff and Kirk debate both approaches, looking at situations where each is appropriate and clarifying which features constitute “auto” modes.

Episode 92: Sensors and Megapixels with Richard Butler

May 14th, 2021  |  38 mins 23 secs

apple, camera sensor, cameras, dpreview, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, megapixels, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, richard butler, sensor

Camera marketing often leans heavily on sensor size and numbers of megapixels, because those are numbers that are easy to sell. But are they easy to understand? When does an APS-C sensor outperform a medium format one? Are larger pixels better? Should Jeff take the plunge and buy the 100 megapixel Fujifilm GFX 100S? Our guest Richard Butler, technical editor at DPReview, helps clarify how sensor sizes and megapixels affect the way you shoot photos.

Episode 91: iOS Editing Workflows

April 30th, 2021  |  31 mins 42 secs

In episode 87, we explored Kirk’s workflow for importing and editing images into Apple’s Photos app. Now, we revisit the topic by focusing on how Jeff works with photos on the iOS side, using both the Photos app and Lightroom on the iPhone and iPad. And has Jeff fallen in love with presets?

Episode 90: Bryan William Jones on How We See

April 16th, 2021  |  52 mins 6 secs

apple, bryan william jones, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, neuroscience, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, retinal science, vision

Retinal neuroscientist Bryan William Jones joins us this week for a fascinating discussion about how our eyes, brains, and technology work together to create and record images. Can we apply the understanding of the way we see to the way the camera sees?

Episode 89: Buttons and Knobs

April 2nd, 2021  |  37 mins 47 secs

apple, buttons, cameras, ergonomics, fujifilm, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, knobs, lenses, photo editing, photography, podcast

The experience of using a camera is just as important as what you put in front of the lens. If the controls are complicated — or too minimal — you wind up focusing on the camera, not the images. In this episode, we count buttons and deliberate whether today's cameras are helping or hindering photographers.

Episode 88: That Was the Year that Was

March 19th, 2021  |  35 mins 46 secs

apple, cameras, covid, covid photography, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, pandemic year, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast

How has the past pandemic year affected or changed your photography? Kirk and Jeff discuss not just cancelled trips and lost opportunities, but also the process of getting back into the habit of photography as we hopefully head toward a vaccinated, post-Covid reality.

Episode 87: Apple Photos Workflow on Mac

March 5th, 2021  |  27 mins 25 secs

affinityphoto, apple, cameras, fujifilm, iphone, iphone12pro, iphone12promax, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, lightroom, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, proraw, raw, raw converter, rawpower

Apple’s Photos app is the photo-editor-for-the-rest-of-us, but there are still complications that can trip up any photographer, from deciding where to import images to making sure you don’t max out your iCloud storage. In this episode, Kirk and Jeff look at Kirk’s unusual workflow for getting his photos into Apple’s Photos and editing them on macOS.

Episode 86: Jordan Drake on Shooting Video

February 19th, 2021  |  44 mins 19 secs

apple, cameras, dpreview, gain, iphone, jeff carlson, jordan drake, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photography, podcast, shooting video, video, video lenses

Your camera likely records video, but if you've never used it, you may be in for a surprise. DPReview TV co-host Jordan Drake joins us to talk about how shooting video on a DSLR or mirrorless camera differs from shooting stills.

Episode 85: Film Camera Love with Dan Bracaglia

February 5th, 2021  |  36 mins 30 secs

apple, cameras, dan bracaglia, film, film camera, film photography, fujifilm, instax, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, kodak, leica, lenses, minolta, photography, podcast, polaroid, retro

Dan Bracaglia of DPReview joins us to talk about his love of film cameras, how to get started with film in this day and age, and the enduring appeal of analog photography.

Episode 84: Editing Shadows and Highlights

January 22nd, 2021  |  34 mins 9 secs

apple, cameras, highlights, how-to, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, lightroom, photo editing, photo organization, photography, photos app, podcast, shadows, step-by-step

We often talk about "bringing up the shadows" and "recovering highlights" when editing photos, particularly with raw files. But what does that mean exactly? This week, we walk through some edits to show just how that's done. This episode is available as audio with embedded images, and also as a video—go to photoactive.co and get the video link in the show notes.

Episode 83: Raw and ProRaw on the iPhone

December 31st, 2020  |  37 mins 10 secs

affinityphoto, apple, cameras, iphone, iphone12pro, iphone12promax, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, lightroom, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, proraw, raw, rawpower

Is Apple’s new raw photo implementation ProRAW or FauxRAW? In this episode, we look at why you’d want to shoot raw on an iPhone in the first place, and then dig into the details of Apple’s new ProRAW format, which is available only on the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Episode 82: Quintin Lake Returns

December 11th, 2020  |  37 mins 4 secs

apple, cameras, interview, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, perimeter uk, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, quintin lake

When we last checked in with Quintin Lake, he was walking the coastline of the United Kingdom and photographing what he found. In September 2020 he finished the trip: 6,835 miles (11,000 kilometers) and 179,222 photos. As he continues to edit his backlog and make and sell prints, we caught up with him to talk about the experience.

Episode 81: The iPhone 12 Pro Cameras

November 27th, 2020  |  36 mins 34 secs

apple, cameras, iphone, iphone 12 pro, iphone 12 pro max, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast

As with every new iPhone release, Apple touts the camera capabilities more than any of the other features. Jeff upgraded to the iPhone 12 Pro right away, while Kirk is happy with his iPhone 11. In this episode, they talk about the choices around iPhones as cameras, and why Jeff ultimately didn’t go for the iPhone 12 Pro Max, which features better camera capabilities.

Episode 80: Street Photography with Valérie Jardin

November 6th, 2020  |  37 mins 42 secs

apple, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, rocky nook, street photography, street photography assignments, valerie jardin

Street photography looks easy: grab a camera, find some people, make some photos. Doing it well is another thing altogether. Photographer, educator, and author Valérie Jardin joins us to talk about the art of street photography, and how to develop the skills for creating great images with the help of her new book, Street Photography Assignments.

Episode 79: Professional Retouching with Lisa Carney

October 23rd, 2020  |  38 mins 51 secs

advertising, amazon prime, apple, cameras, compositing, hollywood, interview, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, lisa carney, movie posters, netflix, photo editing, photo organization, photography, photoshop, podcast, professional, retouching

In Episode 78, we talked about everyday photo retouching, such as removing dust spots and objects from your images. Now, we’re shifting to the big leagues, talking to professional retoucher Lisa Carney about the art and business at this level. You may never look at a movie or TV ad the same way again.