PhotoActive
A podcast about photography and the Apple ecosystem.
Displaying all 8 Episode of PhotoActive with the tag “book”.
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Episode 180: David Young’s Brief History of Photography
February 22nd, 2025 | 33 mins 25 secs
apple, book, brief history of photography, cameras, david young, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, rocky nook
On this week’s episode we welcome David Young, photographer and author of the new book A Brief History of Photography: From the Very Beginning to the Age of Digital. It may feel like photography is only a little more than a hundred years old, but the principles of the art, from lens design to chemistry, have been around for centuries. We had a great conversation about things that surprised David while researching the book, the long obsession with ultra-wide apertures, and more.
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Episode 109: Joe McNally Is The Real Deal
January 21st, 2022 | 32 mins 15 secs
apple, book, cameras, guest, interview, iphone, jeff carlson, joe mcnally, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, mcnally, photo book, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, rocky nook, the real deal
Joe McNally, who humbly refers to himself as a “working photographer,” has shot everything from high-concept editorial to the Olympic games, and established a reputation as one of the most generous photographers in the business. We talked with Joe about his dogged start on the streets of 1970s New York City and how he’s built his career, which he chronicles in his new book, The Real Deal: Field Notes from the Life of a Working Photographer.
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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.
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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 52: iPhones 11 and Semantic Rendering
September 27th, 2019 | 35 mins 20 secs
apple, book, cameras, guide, instruction, iphone, iphone11, iphone11 pro, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo guide, photo organization, photography, podcast, ultrawide camera
Kirk and Jeff both bought the latest models of Apple’s digital camera - sorry, we mean the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro. Does adding a third camera make a difference? Is the ultra-wide camera just a gimmick? And what is “semantic rendering” anyway? We explain why nothing is really real, and yet these might be the best-looking photos people create.
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Episode 48: Adventures with Dan Bailey
August 2nd, 2019 | 41 mins 50 secs
apple, book, cameras, dan bailey, fujifilm, guide, instruction, interview, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo guide, photo organization, photography, podcast, rocky nook
Photographer Dan Bailey is our guest this week to talk about his book FUJIFILM X Series Unlimited: Mastering Techniques and Maximizing Creativity with Your FUJIFILM Camera—though we’re not focusing on Fujifilm cameras. We’re more interested in questions such as how many of your camera’s features you should understand, whether technical details really matter, and how Dan became a pro photographer and expert in the first place.
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Episode 47: Jeff Becomes an Event Photographer
July 19th, 2019 | 30 mins 34 secs
apple, ben long, book, cameras, complete digital photography, creativepro, creativeproweek, event photography, guide, instruction, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo guide, photo organization, photography, podcast
Jeff was the event photographer for the CreativePro Week 2019 conference in Seattle, a task that requires a different approach to making photos. You've probably been asked to shoot some type of event, so we talk a little about specific gear to deal with low-light situations and catching candid shots in a crowded setting.
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Episode 34: Ben Long's Complete Digital Photography
January 18th, 2019 | 36 mins 7 secs
apple, ben long, book, cameras, complete digital photography, guide, instruction, interview, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo guide, photo organization, photography, podcast
Author, educator, photographer, and all-around knowledgeable guy Ben Long joins us this week to talk about the 9th — yes, ninth — edition of his comprehensive book “Complete Digital Photography.” We cover how photography and people’s expectations about photography have changed since the early versions of the book.