PhotoActive

Episode 103: Posing People with Lindsay Adler

October 15th, 2021  |  41 mins 29 secs

apple, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, lindsay adler, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, portraits, posing, posing people, rocky nook

Does the thought of posing subjects for portraits make you nervous? Our guest this week is fashion and portrait photographer Lindsay Adler, whose book The Photographer’s Guide to Posing will calm your nerves and give you the tools to make beautiful photos of people. Lindsay talks about how she prepares for a portrait shoot, techniques to encourage great poses, working with everyday people compared to working with models, and much more.

Episode 102: The iPhone 13 Pro Cameras

October 1st, 2021  |  37 mins 50 secs

apple, cameras, cinematic, iphone, iphone 13, iphone13pro, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, macro, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, proraw, raw

It’s Apple’s best iPhone ever! Well, yes, they say that every year, but this time around the camera improvements are more exciting than in the past. In this episode, we look at what’s new, from the sizes of the lenses themselves to the Cinematic and Macro modes, in the iPhone 13 Pro.

Episode 101: Practicing Photography with Ben Long

September 17th, 2021  |  42 mins 6 secs

apple, ben long, book, cameras, complete digital photography, inspiration, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, practice, practicing photographer

What does it mean to really practice your craft? In this episode we welcome photographer and educator Ben Long back to PhotoActive to talk about his wonderful new book The Practicing Photographer: Essays on Developing Your Photographic Practice. We talk about why practice involves more than grabbing your camera every once in a while, about getting out of creative ruts, and the value of studying other photographers’ works.

Episode 100: One Hundred

September 3rd, 2021  |  30 mins 55 secs

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

In the very early days of the PhotoActive podcast, when Jeff was a nervous first-time podcast host, Kirk said to him, “It’s OK. Once you do a hundred of these, you’ll be better.” Well, here we are! Episode 100! To celebrate, we’re showcasing some of our favorite episodes and sharing what we’ve learned from them.

Episode 99: Photo Storage

August 20th, 2021  |  33 mins 59 secs

apple, cameras, hard disk, iphone, iphone12pro, iphone12promax, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, lightroom, nas, photo editing, photo organization, photo storage, photography, podcast, proraw, raw, rawpower, ssd, storage, synology

Where are your photos stored? Internal disks, external drives, network-attached storage? In this episode, Kirk and Jeff talk about strategies for where to put and access all those digital files your cameras create.

Episode 98: Camera Accoutrements

August 6th, 2021  |  37 mins 41 secs

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

There are all sorts of camera accessories out there, but for this episode, Kirk and Jeff challenged themselves to consider only add-ons that stay affixed to a camera all (or most) of the time. From additional shutter buttons to thumb rests and screen protectors, we look at whether these items are worth consideration, and if they help or hinder one’s photographic experience.

Episode 97: William Neill's Landscape

July 23rd, 2021  |  41 mins 50 secs

ansel adams, apple, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, landscape photography, lenses, photo editing, photography, podcast, william neill, workshop, yosemite

William Neill’s photographic career began in the Ansel Adams Gallery and continues as a long-time resident near Yosemite, leading one-on-one tours and writing about the craft in columns and books. We talk about his latest book, Light on the Landscape, and how his vision of the splendor in his backyard has changed over the years.

Episode 96: Photographing Kids

July 9th, 2021  |  32 mins 38 secs

We’d bet that a sizable portion of the DSLR or mirrorless camera market wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for parents wanting to take photos of their kids. Too often, though, people think that just buying a “good camera” will ensure good photos. Then they discover just how fast kids move. In this episode, Kirk and Jeff talk about overcoming challenges unique to photographing children using traditional cameras. (And why using an iPhone instead can be a better option most of the time.)

Episode 95: Lens Filters Are Cool

June 25th, 2021  |  34 mins 10 secs

apple, cameras, filter, hoya, infrared, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lens filter, lenses, photo editing, photography, podcast

We’re talking filters in this episode—not the kind you apply in Instagram to make your photos look different, but actual glass filters that change how light passes through the lens. Neutral density (ND) filters, circular polarizing (CPL) filters, infrared (IR) filters, and the debate over whether ultraviolet (UV) filters are worthless junk or actually useful.

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.