PhotoActive

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.

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.