PhotoActive

Episode 71: The Exposure Square

July 3rd, 2020  |  36 mins 6 secs

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

You may be familiar with the Exposure Triangle for determining exposure in photos, which is made up of ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. In this episode, Kirk explains that it's actually an Exposure Square we need to consider. We also discover the limits of Jeff's knowledge of film photography terms, since his photographic experience is almost entirely digital.

Episode 70: One-Light Portraits with Sandra Coan

June 19th, 2020  |  36 mins 27 secs

apple, cameras, film photography, interview, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, light modifier, one-light, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, portrait photography, portraits, sandra coan, studio

Portrait photography can seem awfully daunting if you’ve never done it. How many lights do you use? Which modifiers are the best? Do you need a studio? How much money should you spend to get started? Oh, and how do you relate to the person in front of your camera? We talk with pro portrait photographer Sandra Coan about shooting with just one light and one modifier—using film!—and her book Crafting the Natural Light Look.

Episode 69: What to Print, with Rick LePage

June 5th, 2020  |  39 mins 34 secs

apple, cameras, interview, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photo printing, photography, podcast, printing, rick lepage

The last time we talked with Rick LePage, he gave us the basics of printing your own photos. We’re pleased to welcome him again as a guest to go deeper into the topic, starting with the question: How do you choose what to print? It sounds like an easy query, but we discuss not just what you put on your walls (and which walls), but also how printing helps define you as an artist.

Episode 68: Revisiting Geotagging with HoudahGeo 6.0

May 22nd, 2020  |  38 mins 26 secs

apple, cameras, geotag, houdah, houdahgeo, interview, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, location, photo editing, photo organization, photography, pierre bernard, podcast, software

With photographers finding themselves with unexpected time on their hands at home, it's a great time to update the location data in the photos in your library. Pierre Bernard joins us again to talk about the new features in his Mac app HoudahGeo 6.0, TKTK, and…how HoudahGeo supports scuba divers?

Episode 67: Chris Niccolls on Making Videos about Photography

May 8th, 2020  |  42 mins 26 secs

apple, cameras, chris niccolls, dpreview, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photography, podcast, video, youtube

This week we’re joined by Chris Niccolls, co-host (with Jordan Drake) of DPReview TV, one of our favorite video resources about photography. Yes, there are hundreds of photographers on YouTube, but we’ve long enjoyed Chris’s and Jordan’s friendly and knowledgable approach to reviewing photo gear and educating viewers about all aspects of photography and videography.

Episode 66: Manual Focus Lenses and Jeff's New Luminar Book

April 24th, 2020  |  33 mins 51 secs

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

The autofocus capabilities in today’s cameras are amazing, so why would anyone buy a lens that offers only manual focus? Jeff and Kirk talk about situations where autofocus isn’t a consideration, such as buying inexpensive fast lenses or using an adapter to mount one brand’s lenses on another brand’s camera (like Nikon lenses on a Fujifilm body). We also chat about Jeff’s just-released book, The Photographer’s Guide to Luminar 4. We’ll be giving away a few copies to subscribers of the PhotoActive mailing list, and we also have a 40% discount code to share.

Episode 65: Barney Britton on the Future of the Camera Industry

April 10th, 2020  |  49 mins 36 secs

apple, barney britton, camera industry, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast

Camera sales worldwide have steadily decreased over the past several years, and now COVID-19 has thrown everything into disarray. Where is the camera industry headed? Special guest Barney Britton, Senior Editor at DPReview, joins Kirk and Jeff to talk about the factors that are contributing to these shifts. It’s not all grim news, though, and we also talk about what changes and advancements we might see in the near future.

Episode 64: Creativity Is Problem Solving, with David duChemin

March 20th, 2020  |  41 mins 2 secs

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

A few months ago when we invited David duChemin to return as a PhotoActive guest to talk about his new book The Heart of the Photograph, we had no idea it would be at the disruptive beginning of a global pandemic. We talk with David about being creative in this new situation, and how creativity can translate into resiliency. Then focus on his book, and the questions it raises for how we approach making and working with photographs.

Episode 63: Sharing Photos

March 13th, 2020  |  32 mins 42 secs

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

Photos are meant to be shared, but with digital photos the options multiply. In this episode, Kirk McElhearn and Jeff Carlson look at several ways to share photos with friends and family.

Episode 62: Photos App Extensions with Nik Bhatt

February 28th, 2020  |  35 mins 47 secs

adjustments, apple, cameras, curves, guide, instruction, interview, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, levels, photo editing, photo guide, photo organization, photography, photos extensions, podcast, white balance

Gentleman Coder Nik Bhatt returns to help explain a complicated topic with Apple’s Photos app: Photos Extensions. If you want to use another tool to edit images beyond what Photos offers, you can load that software’s editing tools within Photos. It seems straightforward, but soon gets tricky if you want to go back and adjust some of your edit settings or even if you perform a minor edit in Photos first. If you’ve ever been confused about the differences between Photos Extensions and the “Edit with” feature (which do two very different things), especially for raw files, this is the episode for you.

Episode 61: Choosing What to Photograph

February 14th, 2020  |  40 mins 2 secs

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

A listener in the PhotoActive Facebook group asks a great question, “How do I choose a subject to shoot?” In this episode, Kirk and Jeff explore how they approach a scene, with groups of photos from deliberate photo shoots that seek to answer that question.

Episode 60: Machine Learning with Andrius Gailiunas and Pixelmator Pro

January 31st, 2020  |  35 mins 30 secs

andrius gailiunas, apple, cameras, interview, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, machine learning, ml, ml super resolution, photo editing, photo organization, photography, pixelmator, pixelmator pro, podcast

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Andrius Gailiunas of Pixelmator to talk about machine learning and how it powers some of the features in Pixelmator Pro. In particular, we’re impressed with ML Super Resolution, a way to enlarge photos beyond their original dimensions while retaining quality and crispness.

Episode 59: Luminar 4 and Its AI Emphasis

January 3rd, 2020  |  35 mins 52 secs

ai sky replacement, apple, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, luminar, machine learning, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, skylum

We’ve talked about several photo editing applications in the past, and in this episode we turn our attention toward Luminar 4 (and not just because one of us has a forthcoming book about it). Skylum has overhauled Luminar in significant ways for version 4, with an emphasis on AI features that save a lot of time and effort on your part.

Episode 58: Rule of Turds

December 20th, 2019  |  47 mins 51 secs

apple, cameras, instruction, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, myths, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, rule of thirds

At several points when recording the PhotoActive podcast, Kirk has said that the “Rule of Thirds” does not exist. Most books and articles about photography insist it does, that positioning objects at approximately one third distance from the edge of the frame leads to better composition. So in this episode, we get into it: Does the Rule of Thirds exist, and why?

Episode 57: Remote Triggered

December 6th, 2019  |  32 mins 57 secs

apple, apple watch, cameras, iphone, iphone camera app, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, miops, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, remote trigger, shutter

It’s time to step away from your camera. No, not put it away for the holidays—we’re talking about triggering the camera remotely! In this episode, Jeff and Kirk talk about various ways to trip the shutter from afar, such as using an Apple Watch to control the Camera app on an iPhone, remote cable releases, and products that control a mirrorless or DSLR via apps.

Episode 56: Considering a Second Camera?

November 22nd, 2019  |  36 mins 45 secs

With the holidays and Black Friday sales upon us, this is the time that photographers can often get good deals on equipment. In this episode, Kirk and Jeff ponder the reasons you might consider buying a second camera. Perhaps you want a backup for your regular camera, or maybe you want a smaller go-anywhere camera that might encourage you to take photos more often.