PhotoActive

Episode 25: Understanding iCloud Photo Library

November 16th, 2018  |  32 mins 17 secs

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

If you use Apple’s Photos app on your Mac or iOS device, are you also synchronizing your images via iCloud Photo Library? In this week’s episode, Jeff and Kirk talk about the pros and cons of Apple’s cloud service for photos. Why should you consider it? What are the downsides? And if your images are in the cloud, is that considered a backup? (No, it’s not. We explain why.)

Episode 24: Manual vs Automatic Camera Settings

November 9th, 2018  |  31 mins

aperture priority, apple, auto camera mode, cameras, f8 and be there, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, manual photography, manual shooting, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, program mode, shutter priority

We (good-naturedly) wade back into the question of “What makes a REAL photographer?” In this case, we’re talking about shooting using entirely manual controls or using the auto or semi-automatic modes on your camera. (Spoiler: Anyone with a camera is a real photographer.) We discuss when each approach works, and the advantages of knowing how shutter speed, aperture, and ISO all work together.

Episode 23: Printing Photos with Rick LePage

November 2nd, 2018  |  33 mins 10 secs

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

Do you print your photos? Although we know we should make prints, but getting from screen to paper isn’t always easy. It turns out, though, that printing is much easier today than it used to be. In this episode, we welcome photographer and publisher Rick LePage to talk about printing photos at home, from hardware to paper to inks.

Episode 21: High Dynamic Range (HDR) Photography

October 19th, 2018  |  32 mins 19 secs

apple, cameras, hdr, high dynamic range, iphone, iphone xs, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast

“HDR” used to bring to mind surreal landscapes with garish colors and very few shadows. Fortunately, high-dynamic range photography has matured beyond those early days, and is a useful technique for getting more detail out of any scene. The latest iPhone and other smartphone cameras use HDR liberally to create good shots in all types of situations. We talk about making HDR photos using traditional cameras and techniques and also the new iPhone's computational methods.

Episode 19: Michael Rubin and Classic Photos

October 5th, 2018  |  35 mins 36 secs

arnold newman, black and white, conversation, elliot erwitt, igor stravinsky, magnum photos, michael rubin, photo podcast, photography, podcast

Episode 14: Chris Marquardt Goes Wide-Angle

August 31st, 2018  |  40 mins 39 secs

chris marquardt, landscape photography, photo book, photo technique, photography, rocky nook, technique, wide-angle

Photographer, podcaster, and author Chris Marquardt just published Wide-Angle Photography (published by Rocky Nook), and he joins us to talk about the time he took only a 24mm lens on a photo tour and fell in love with wide-angle lens photography. We cover composition, thinking in wide-angle terms, and shooting with tilt-shift lenses.

Episode 13: Aspect Ratios and Why They're Important

August 24th, 2018  |  30 mins 3 secs

2x3, 4x3, 5x7, 8x10, aspect ratio, iphone, medium format, photo podcast, photography

Aspect ratios in photography are about more than making prints at 8x10 or 5x7 sizes. In fact, aspect ratio has been key in defining some of the best-known photos in the world. In this episode, Kirk and Jeff talk about why every photographer should understand the importance of aspect ratios.

Episode 9: Instagram for Photographers

July 27th, 2018  |  32 mins 43 secs

cats, instagram, photography

In this episode, we turn our attention to something that often takes too much of our attention: Instagram. It's an annoying time trap filled with hucksters, motivational imagery, and so, so many selfies—while also being one of the world's richest resources for experiencing all kinds of photography.