PhotoActive

Apple announced the Mac Studio, a brand new M1-based desktop Mac that smokes the performance of even the Mac Pro. But is it a good machine for photographers? Jeff and Kirk discuss what’s interesting about the Mac Studio and the new Studio Display. Hosts: Jeff Carlson: website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram , Jeff on Glass Kirk McElhearn: website , Kirk's photos , Kirk on Instagram , Kirk on G...

Dan Bracaglia joins us again to talk about that perennial problem: rekindling the joy of photography. Especially in winter, it’s easy to remain uninspired about photography, when in fact we know that there are image possibilities everywhere. We chat about some unusual steps to find fun in photography. Guest: Dan Bracaglia: Instagram , website Hosts: Jeff Carlson: website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on...

Tom Watson and Stefan Borsje created the Glass app as a way to get back to the experience of enjoying photography, without the endless pursuit of engagement metrics and traffic and all the things other apps ( cough Instagram cough ) do that detracts from it. We talk to them about the Glass approach, the new iPad app, and the upcoming web version. Guests: Tom Watson ( website ) Stefan Borsje ( webs...

What can you do when shooting with a wide lens introduces unwanted optical distortion in your photos? In this episode, Kirk and Jeff look at ways to correct for distortion, including correcting for horizontal and vertical planes, in apps such as Lightroom, Capture One, and Pixelmator Pro. Hosts: Jeff's website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram Kirk's website , Kirk's photos , Kirk on Instagram F...

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 No...

The new masking features in Adobe Lightroom and Lightroom Classic make it much easier to apply selective edits to areas such as skies or subjects, without a lot of manual fiddling. Hosts: Jeff's website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram Kirk's website , Kirk's photos , Kirk on Instagram Follow the PhotoActive Instagram account Show Notes: ( View show notes with images at PhotoActive.co ) Rate an...

You shot a lovely portrait and realized later that the background could benefit from some artistic blur. It used to be that if you didn’t get it in camera, you were stuck. But now it’s possible to recreate that blur using AI features in software later. Or, if you captured the shot using the iPhone’s Portrait Mode, you can edit the effect whenever you want. Is the software option really worth doing...

When they set out to produce a gift guide—the first one in three years—Kirk and Jeff chose items that really reflect how they approach photography, and items that hopefully aren’t on every other photo gift guide out there. This episode covers a gamut of price ranges and interests, so something is sure to appeal to you as the giver or the receiver this holiday. Hosts: Jeff's website , Jeff's photos...

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, computational photography…whichever term you use, the technologies are here and touching almost every part of the photos you’re making. Our guest this week is Aaron Hockley, author of the book The Computer Ate My Photos: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Photography, and he’s here to help us unravel this brave new world (and convince us that he’s...

The day has arrived: Kirk finally purchased his dream camera, the Leica Q2 Monochrom. Why would someone pay for a camera that shoots only in black and white? In this episode, we talk about the advantages of a sensor without RGB, how shooting with the Q2 Monochrom is changing the way Kirk shoots, and processing the images in Capture One. Hosts: Jeff's website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram Kir...

Does the thought of posing people 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 t...

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 and sensors themselves to the Cinematic and Macro modes, in the iPhone 13 Pro. Hosts: Jeff's website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram Kirk's website , Kirk's photos , Kirk on Inst...

What does it mean to really practice your craft? In this episode we welcome back photographer and educator Ben Long 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 o...

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. Hosts: Jeff's website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram Kirk's website , Kirk's phot...

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. Hosts: Jeff's website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram Kirk's website , Kirk's photos , Kirk on Instagram Subscribe to the PhotoActive Instagram account Show Notes: ( View show notes...

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. Hosts: Jeff's website ,...

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. Guest: William Neill: Instagram , website Hosts: Jeff's website , Jef...

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...

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. Hosts: Jeff's website , Jeff's photos...

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 c...

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. Hosts: Jeff's website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram Kirk's website , Kirk's photos , Kirk on Instagram Subscribe to the PhotoActive Instagram account Show...

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 s...

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? Hosts: Jeff's website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram Kirk's website , Kirk's photos , Kirk on Instagram...

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? Guest: Bryan William Jones: Instagram , website Flickr Hosts: Jeff's website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram Kirk's website , Kirk's photos ,...

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. Hosts: Jeff's website , Jeff's photos , Jeff on Instagram Kirk's website , Kirk's photo...