PhotoActive
Episode Archive
Episode Archive
184 episodes of PhotoActive since the first episode, which aired on May 30th, 2018.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Episode 78: Everyday Photo Retouching
October 9th, 2020 | 48 mins 36 secs
apple, book, cameras, guide, instruction, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo guide, photo organization, photography, podcast, retouch, retouching
You may think of “retouching” as a high-end photo skill for professionals—and it is—but there are also many types of retouching that every photographer will run into. In this episode, Jeff covers many of the techniques he uses, from removing dust spots in clear skies to erasing unwanted objects from photos, as well as portrait retouching that’s accessible to anyone. This is an extra-long episode with lots of example images, so don’t forget you can view the photos in some podcast players (like Apple Podcasts or Overcast), and of course you can also view them at PhotoActive.co.
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Episode 77: Photo a Day Challenge
September 25th, 2020 | 41 mins 52 secs
apple, cameras, challenge, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo a day, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast
We gave ourselves a simple challenge to create one photo every day for the month of August. It’s advice we give often: shoot often, shoot what’s nearby, use your photographer’s eye to find beauty in the everyday experience. Were we successful? And what unexpected challenges arose?
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Episode 76: Shooting and Developing Film with Angus Haywood
September 11th, 2020 | 42 mins 15 secs
angus haywood, apple, black and white, cameras, film, film photography, interview, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast
This week we talk to landscape film photographer Angus Haywood about building his own darkroom in a shed behind his house, seeing the world in a square aspect ratio, and the pace and people you experience when shooting film.
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Episode 75: Creative Garden Photography with Harold Davis
August 28th, 2020 | 36 mins 25 secs
apple, cameras, floral, garden photography, gardens, harold davis, interview, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, outside, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast
The summer and fall are some of the best times to visit and photograph gardens, so we’re happy to welcome Harold Davis back to the PhotoActive podcast to talk about his newest book Creative Garden Photography. We cover photographing public gardens, your own garden, getting creative with light tables when the weather is sour, lighting, and more.
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Episode 74: Michael Kenna and His New Book 'Buddha'
August 14th, 2020 | 46 mins 21 secs
apple, buddha, cameras, film photography, interview, iphone, jeff carlson, kenna, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, michael kenna, photo book, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast
We’re pleased to welcome back Michael Kenna to the PhotoActive podcast. In this episode, we chat with him about his new book Buddha, how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected a photographer that spends much of his time traveling, and the value of finding treasure in one’s photo archive.
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Episode 73: Real Estate Photography with Rich Baum
July 31st, 2020 | 38 mins 7 secs
apple, cameras, homes, houses, how-to, interior photography, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, real estate photography, rich baum
Rich Baum joins us this week to talk about real estate and interior photography, a type of shooting that relies as much on discipline and adherence to rules as it does on creative problem solving. If you’re looking to expand your photographic skills or push into the field as a career, good news: you can get started pretty easily by shooting the rooms you’re already in!