PhotoActive

Episode 152: Android and AI

November 3rd, 2023  |  28 mins 9 secs

ai, android, apple, cameras, google, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, ml, photo editing, photo organization, photography, pixel 8, podcast

Google’s Pixel phones are held up as the Android smartphones to follow, and their cameras are often pitted against the iPhone as examples of the state of the art. However, as Kirk discovered when he bought a Pixel 8, the details matter... such as the Pixel 8 not being able to use the full resolution of its main camera. Also in this episode, we check in with some new developments in the generative photography world with Adobe’s release of Firefly 2 and GenAI integration in Photoshop.

Episode 151: iPhone 15 Hands On

October 13th, 2023  |  29 mins 14 secs

On the surface, making photos with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro is relatively simple: pick a zoom level, pick a format (raw or not), and go. But as soon as you get just below the surface, you’re faced with a surprising amount of complexity. In this episode, we wade into all the megapixels (including from the iPhone 14 Pro) to try to make sense of it all.

Episode 150: Episode 150: iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro

September 29th, 2023  |  37 mins 13 secs

apple, cameras, iphone, iphone 15, iphone 15 pro, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, tetraprism

Who wants to talk megapixels and tetraprisms? In this episode, recorded shortly after Apple announced the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro, Kirk and Jeff look at the specs and possibilities of the newest cameras-that-also-make-calls.

Episode 149: Daniel Agee on Glass Year 2

September 1st, 2023  |  40 mins 39 secs

apple, cameras, daniel agee, glass, glass photo, instagram, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, social media

In episode 111, we talked to the founders of the photo app and community Glass about their approach to making a social photo service that isn’t exhausting or frustrating like Instagram or many others. For this episode, we catch up with Daniel Agee, the head of Marketing and Community at Glass, to talk about Glass’s two year anniversary, eschewing VC funding, and how community is making such a difference.

Episode 148: Creativity with S J Watson

August 18th, 2023  |  33 mins 40 secs

apple, cameras, creativity, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, sj watson, writing

“With writing I’m trying to use a story to create images, and with photography I’m trying to use images to create a story.” That’s S J Watson, best-selling novelist of Before I Go to Sleep. In this episode we talk to him about how street photography feeds his writing and vice-versa, and the way different endeavors contribute to creative mindsets.

Episode 147: Is Photo Editing Too Difficult?

August 4th, 2023  |  31 mins 27 secs

apple, cameras, difficult, editing software, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast

Is photo editing too difficult? Layers and sliders and specialized apps and lots of options are available to us for processing our digital photos. How much is too much, and are we moving away from photography and getting lost in software?

Episode 146: Tea and Coffee

July 21st, 2023  |  40 mins 35 secs

apple, cameras, coffee, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, tea

When we record PhotoActive, Kirk is at the end of his day in the U.K. and Jeff has just begun in Seattle, which means we both start off with steaming mugs of our favorite caffeinated beverages. For a change, we thought we’d make this the tea and coffee episode, essential ingredients for any photographer.

Episode 145: Kirk Simplifies with One Camera

July 7th, 2023  |  35 mins 45 secs

apple, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, leica, leica q3, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, q3, simplify

He really went and did it. When Kirk decided to simplify his photography setup, he sold all of his Fujifilm cameras and lenses, put the Leica Q2 Monochrom up for sale, and bought a brand new Leica Q3. In this episode, we talk about the reasons behind such a drastic move and the advantages of simplifying your gear.

Episode 144: Wrangling Libraries with Matthieu Kopp

June 23rd, 2023  |  34 mins 33 secs

aperture, apple, avalanche, cameras, conversion, convert, cyme, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, lightroom, peakto, photo editing, photo libraries, photo organization, photography, podcast

If you’re like Jeff and Kirk, you probably have multiple photo libraries spread across your disks. Whether it’s because you use several editing apps, or some libraries are tied to outdated applications (RIP Apple Aperture), you don’t want to lose track of all those photos. This week, Matthieu Kopp of CYME joins us to talk about converting and managing multiple libraries using CYME’s utilities Avalanche and Peakto, and why both tasks aren’t as simple as you might think.

Episode 143: Mike Shaw Wants You to Enjoy the Stars

June 9th, 2023  |  37 mins 22 secs

apple, astrophotography, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, mike shaw, night sky, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, rocky nook

The weather is warming up, the skies are clearing, and we point our eyes and cameras to the sky. But capturing the night sky well requires more than just snapping a photo of the heavens. Mike Shaw, author of the new book The Beginner’s Guide to Astrophotography, joins us to talk about what gear you need—yes, you can do it with a smartphone!—and how to make stunning star photos.

Episode 142: Photomator

May 26th, 2023  |  36 mins 5 secs

apple, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, photomator, pixelmator pro, podcast, software

The folks behind Pixelmator Pro have just released Photomator for Mac, iPhone, and iPad, and it’s won us over. Designed as a straightforward photo editor (versus the can-do-everything that is Pixelmator Pro), Photomator is surprisingly deep for an app that on the surface is non-intimidating. In this episode, we look at the new Mac version and why it’s likely to become Kirk’s main photo editor.

Episode 141: You Say You Want a Resolution

May 12th, 2023  |  31 mins

apple, cameras, fujifilm, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, leica, lenses, megapixels, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, resolution, sensor

Camera resolution is easy, right? More pixels, more quality, more options, more better! But as soon as you start digging into it, from the iPhone 14 Pro’s 48 megapixels to Sony sensors with 60 megapixels, all sorts of considerations make themselves known. Do you need that much resolution? How did we survive with less than 20 MP in the recent past? We pixel-peep and also look at the big picture.

Episode 140: Denoise and Healing Tools

April 29th, 2023  |  29 mins 42 secs

apple, cameras, denoise, healing, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, lightroom, photo editing, photo organization, photography, photoshop, podcast, remove

Adobe added a new AI-assisted denoise feature to Lightroom and a Remove tool in the public beta of Photoshop, both of which are impressive. But how many photographers find themselves using these and other tools?

Episode 139: The Rant Episode

April 14th, 2023  |  32 mins 36 secs

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

It’s time to rant. Are photographers spending too much energy in front of the computer instead of behind the camera? Does posting a photo to a public forum make it an invitation for criticism? And is there actually a good street photo of a woman looking at her cell phone amid all the copycats out there? This isn’t just curmudgeonly banter—we dig into some photographic issues that have been gnawing at us.

Episode 138: DPReview and AI Photography

March 31st, 2023  |  32 mins 32 secs

ai photography, apple, cameras, dpreview, generative ai, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast

We had an entirely different topic planned for this episode and then learned just before recording that the website DPReview is being shut down after 25 years of covering digital photography and being the best resource for camera reviews. At about the same time, Adobe announced Firefly, its generative AI tool for making photos and artwork by typing text prompts. What does it all mean for photographers?

Episode 137: Zoom Lenses with Chris Niccolls

March 17th, 2023  |  34 mins 20 secs

apple, cameras, chris niccolls, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, zoom lenses

Chris Niccolls joins us this episode to talk about zoom lenses! Chris gets to shoot using most new cameras and lenses for DPReview TV, so we wanted to tap into his extensive hands-on experience with zooms. Do they require too many compromises? Why are some so expensive? And can we put to rest the idea that real photographers only shoot with prime lenses?