PhotoActive

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**PhotoActive**

Jeff Carlson and Kirk McElhearn discuss photography and the Apple ecosystem. We cover using an iPhone or any other camera with Apple hardware and software, and we welcome photographers to discuss their work.

Latest Episodes:

Episode 18: Katrin Eismann on Photographic Literacy Sep 28, 2018

Show notes

Guest:

Hosts:

Show Notes:

Kodak (Wikipedia)
Apple QuickTake (Wikipedia)
Renowned film director Wim Wenders hits out at 'phone photography'
Michael Kenna's photo of Stonehenge
Robert Capa: In Love and War Subscribe to the PhotoActive podcast mailing list at the bottom of any page at the PhotoActive web site to be notified of new episodes and be eligible for occasional giveaways. If you’ve already subscribed to the mailing list, you’re automatically entered.

Our snapshots:

Jeff: A Photojournalist's Field Guide: In the trenches with combat photographer Stacy Pearsall

Kirk: Paul Hart: Farmed

If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast. And don't forget to join the PhotoActive Facebook group to discuss the podcast, share your photos, and more.

Episode 17: Prime vs Zoom Lenses Sep 21, 2018

Show notes

Photographers often focus on cameras, but it’s the lens that can have the most impact on your photos. In this episode, Jeff and Kirk talk glass: lenses. When do you want a prime lens, which has a fixed focal length, and when does a zoom work better? Why are prime lenses often better? And why not just use one zoom lens that hits both wide and telephoto ranges? We sort out an often confusing topic.

Sponsor

Masters of Photography, online masterclasses with the greatest photographers in the world. Get 5% off any course with the code PHOTOACTIVE. https://mastersof.photography/ref/27/?campaign=PhotoActive

Hosts:

Show Notes:

Fujifilm X-T3
Episode #14 - Chris Marquardt Goes Wide-Angle
Fujinon XF18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS
Episode #16 - Buying and Selling Camera Gear
Episode #13 - Aspect Ratios and Why They’re Important
Subscribe to the PhotoActive podcast mailing list at the bottom of any page at the PhotoActive web site to be notified of new episodes and be eligible for occasional giveaways. If you’ve already subscribed to the mailing list, you’re automatically entered.

Our snapshots:

Jeff: Fall Foliage Maps, Clear Outside app

Kirk: Lensbaby Velvet 56

Episode 16: Buying and Selling Camera Gear Sep 14, 2018

Show notes

Do you have a pile of old cameras and lenses stashed in a closet somewhere? Or do you sell your used gear to make way for new goodies? What about buying previously-owned cameras and lenses? This week, Kirk and Jeff talk about buying and selling your photo gear: where to do it, pitfalls to avoid, and more.

Sponsor

Hosts:

Show Notes:

LensRentals.com
Borrow Lenses
Fujifilm Refurbished (UK)
Apple Refurbished
Lake in Catskill Mountains, 1971 (Woman Throwing Crutches), Joel Meyerowitz
MPB.com
Ebay
How to Make the Most Money Selling Your Camera Gear, Fstoppers
Tips for Buying Used Camera Gear, Digital Photography School
How to Buy Used Lenses, Photography Life
Subscribe to the PhotoActive podcast mailing list at the bottom of any page at the PhotoActive web site to be notified of new episodes and be eligible for occasional giveaways. If you’ve already subscribed to the mailing list, you’re automatically entered.

Our snapshots:

Jeff: Toffee & Honey

Kirk: Joel Meyerowitz: Taking My Time

Episode 15: Time-Lapse Photography Sep 07, 2018

Show notes

Time-lapse photography can create dramatic short videos - think about clouds zooming overhead throughout the course of a day or flowers blooming in seconds - but creating time-lapse videos turns out to be remarkably easy. In this episode, Jeff and Kirk walk through the process of using the Time-Lapse mode in the iOS Camera app as well as capturing time-lapse photos with traditional cameras.

Sponsor

Hosts:

Show Notes:

A Student Took a Selfie Every Day for Eight Years and It’s the Best Time-Lapse
The Longest Way, by Christoph Rehage
How Does the iOS 8 Time-lapse Feature Work?, Studio Neat blog
Hyperlapse app
Benny Hill - End Show Clip
Intervalometer example
Miops Mobile Dongle (be sure to pick the right model for your camera)
Sample Time-Lapse Shot with Miops Mobile Dongle, created by Jeff for a DPReview article
The Same Time-Lapse with a Push-In Camera Move
Sunset Hill 360-degree Time-Lapse, also by Jeff
The BEST way to make a TIME-LAPSE!, by Peter McKinnon
Adrift, a great time-lapse example
Sequence for Mac
Subscribe to the PhotoActive podcast mailing list at the bottom of any page at the PhotoActive web site to be eligible for a random giveaway of Photographer’s Ephemeris apps and all future prize drawings. If you’ve already subscribed to the mailing list, you’re automatically entered.

Our snapshots:

Jeff: Top Photographer
Kirk: Affinity Photo Workbook

Watch this video on YouTube

**Episode 14: Chris Marquardt Goes Wide-Angle** Aug 31, 2018
Show notes

Photographer, podcaster, and author Chris Marquardt just published the book *Wide-Angle Photography*, 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.

**Sponsor**

**The Photographer’s Ephemeris**: It’s all about the light. Plan your outdoor photography in natural light, at any location on the planet. Get 33% off the Photo Planning Tools bundle - three apps - at the App Store. https://www.photoephemeris.com

PhotoEphemeris.

**Guest:**

Chris Marquardt

Tips from the Top Floor podcast

Happy Shooting podcast (in German)

The Future of Photography podcast

**Hosts:**

Jeff's website, Jeff's photos, Jeff on Instagram

Kirk's website, Kirk's photos, Kirk on Instagram

**Show Notes:**

Wide-Angle Photography, by Chris Marquardt: Order from Rocky Nook, or use a PhotoActive Amazon affiliate link to help support the show.

Patients are desperate to resemble their doctored selfies. Plastic surgeons alarmed by ‘Snapchat dysmorphia.’, Washington Post

24mm Canon Tilt-Shift Lens

24mm Nikon Tilt-Shift Lens

24mm Rokinon Tiilt-Shift Lens for Sony mount

Lensbaby

**Subscribe to the PhotoActive podcast mailing list** at the bottom of any page at the PhotoActive web site to be eligible for a random giveaway of Photographer’s Ephemeris apps and all future prize drawings. If you’ve already subscribed to the mailing list, you’re automatically entered.

**Our snapshots**:

Jeff: RAW Power app

Kirk: The Photo Book

If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast. And don't forget to join the PhotoActive Facebook group to discuss the podcast, share your photos, and more.

**Episode 14: Chris Marquardt Goes Wide-Angle** Aug 31, 2018
Show notes

Photographer, podcaster, and author Chris Marquardt just published the book *Wide-Angle Photography*, 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.

**Sponsor**

**The Photographer’s Ephemeris**: It’s all about the light. Plan your outdoor photography in natural light, at any location on the planet. Get 33% off the Photo Planning Tools bundle - three apps - at the App Store. https://www.photoephemeris.com

PhotoEphemeris.

**Guest:**

Chris Marquardt

Tips from the Top Floor podcast

Happy Shooting podcast (in German)

The Future of Photography podcast

**Hosts:**

Jeff's website, Jeff's photos, Jeff on Instagram

Kirk's website, Kirk's photos, Kirk on Instagram

**Show Notes:**

Wide-Angle Photography, by Chris Marquardt: Order from Rocky Nook, or use a PhotoActive Amazon affiliate link to help support the show.

Patients are desperate to resemble their doctored selfies. Plastic surgeons alarmed by ‘Snapchat dysmorphia.’, Washington Post

24mm Canon Tilt-Shift Lens

24mm Nikon Tilt-Shift Lens

24mm Rokinon Tiilt-Shift Lens for Sony mount

Lensbaby

**Subscribe to the PhotoActive podcast mailing list** at the bottom of any page at the PhotoActive web site to be eligible for a random giveaway of Photographer’s Ephemeris apps and all future prize drawings. If you’ve already subscribed to the mailing list, you’re automatically entered.

**Our snapshots**:

Jeff: RAW Power app

Kirk: The Photo Book

If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast. And don't forget to join the PhotoActive Facebook group to discuss the podcast, share your photos, and more.

View larger image — **Episode 13: Aspect Ratios and Why They're Important** Aug 23, 2018
Show notes

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.

**Sponsor**

**Masters of Photography**, online masterclasses with the greatest photographers in the world. Get 5% off any course with the code PHOTOACTIVE. https://mastersof.photography/ref/27/?campaign=PhotoActive

**Hosts:**

Jeff's website, Jeff's photos, Jeff on Instagram

Kirk's website, Kirk's photos, Kirk on Instagram

**Show Notes:**

Aspect Ratio (image), Wikipedia

Harness the Creative Power of Aspect Ratio in Photography

Fujifilm GFX 50S Sample Images at DPReview

Pragmatics, Wikipedia

Why You Need To Grasp Social Media Image Aspect Ratio

Square, Andrew Gibson

**Our snapshots**:

Jeff: Gregory Heisler: 50 Portraits: Stories and Techniques from a Photographer's Photographer, by Gregory Heisler

Kirk: Spect

If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast. And don't forget to join the PhotoActive Facebook group to discuss the podcast, share your photos, and more.

Episode 12: David duChemin on the Long-Building Vision Aug 17, 2018

Show notes

"Gear is good, but vision is better," says photographer and educator David duChemin. This week, we talk to David about discovering and developing that vision.

Sponsor

Take Control Books. Get 30% off any Take Control Books purchase with the coupon code PHOTOACTIVE. Go to www.takecontrolbooks.com/photoactive

Hosts:

Show Notes:

See the full show notes, including photos, screenshots, and more, here.

David duChemin
The Compelling Frame
Master Your Craft course
Pilgrims and Nomads Limited Edition book by David duChemin
The Craft and Vision Field Cap
“The Helsinki Bus Station Theory”
David’s YouTube Channel
Leaving Dafen
Insta_repeat on Instagram
“Is it any good?”
Elliot Erwitt
Ernst Haas
Ernst Haas: Color Correction: 1952–1986
Alex Webb
The Suffering of Light, by Alex Webb
Wynn Bolluck

Our snapshots:

Jeff: From These Hands: A Journey Along the Coffee Trail, by Steve McCurry
Kirk: Hiroshige: One Hundred Famous Views of Edo

**Episode 11: Selective Editing** Aug 10, 2018
Show notes

Most photos can benefit from universal edits to tone and color, but what do you do if just a sky needs to be made more dramatic or you want to add a soft splash of light to a person’s face? In this episode, Jeff and Kirk talk about adjusting specific areas within an image using selective editing tools in apps such as Lightroom, Luminar, and Affinity Photo.

**Sponsor**

**Take Control Books.** Get 30% off any Take Control Books purchase with the coupon code PHOTOACTIVE. Go to www.takecontrolbooks.com/photoactive

**Hosts:**

Jeff's website, Jeff's photos, Jeff on Instagram

Kirk's website, Kirk's photos, Kirk on Instagram

Adobe Lightroom

Graduated neutral density filter

Snapseed

Skylum Luminar

Affinity Photo

Botched Restoration of Jesus Fresco Miraculously Saves Spanish Town

**Our snapshots**:

Jeff: Miops Mobile Dongle

Kirk: SHOOT Shutter Remote Release Switch Control Cord Trigger RR-90 for Fuji Fujifilm

If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast. And don't forget to join the PhotoActive Facebook group to discuss the podcast, share your photos, and more.

The (in)famous Jesus fresco in Borja, Spain.

Before

After

After making adjustments to the entire image, the sky is still lackluster and almost washed out.

To selectively edit the sky, I chose the Linear Gradient tool, dropped the Exposure value, and then dragged from the top of the screen to create the gradient. The sky gains definition, and the gradient blends in with the ocean area.

The gradient creates a problem with the rocks, however: they're too dark. So, I erase that portion of the gradient. (To make it easier to see, I've made the overlay visible, which appears as translucent red.)

The left side of the girl's face is in more shadow than I'd prefer, so it's time to apply a Radial Gradient.

This Radial gradient increases the exposure and the shadows to add some fill light to her face without affecting the rest of the image. And because it's a gradient, the light increases feathers around the middle of the oval to blend in.

Kirk applied a lens blur effect in Snapseed to draw attention to the gravestone in the foreground.

Originally, this natural pool was flat. The Brush tool is perfect for its irregular shape.

I painted the pool using the Brush tool (with the overlay visible here to make it easier to see).

The selective edit tools include most of the adjustment controls, so in this case I've increased the Whites value to make the pool a little more glossy, and boosted the Tint value to bring in some of the purple color that's in the edited sky. Neither are dramatic or overdone—just enough for a slight improvement.

Kirk's sunflower photo captured using the SHOOT shutter release.

**Episode 11: Selective Editing** Aug 10, 2018
Show notes

Most photos can benefit from universal edits to tone and color, but what do you do if just a sky needs to be made more dramatic or you want to add a soft splash of light to a person’s face? In this episode, Jeff and Kirk talk about adjusting specific areas within an image using selective editing tools in apps such as Lightroom, Luminar, and Affinity Photo.

**Sponsor**

**Take Control Books.** Get 30% off any Take Control Books purchase with the coupon code PHOTOACTIVE. Go to www.takecontrolbooks.com/photoactive

**Hosts:**

Jeff's website, Jeff's photos, Jeff on Instagram

Kirk's website, Kirk's photos, Kirk on Instagram

Adobe Lightroom

Graduated neutral density filter

Snapseed

Skylum Luminar

Affinity Photo

Botched Restoration of Jesus Fresco Miraculously Saves Spanish Town

**Our snapshots**:

Jeff: Miops Mobile Dongle

Kirk: SHOOT Shutter Remote Release Switch Control Cord Trigger RR-90 for Fuji Fujifilm

If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast. And don't forget to join the PhotoActive Facebook group to discuss the podcast, share your photos, and more.

The (in)famous Jesus fresco in Borja, Spain.

Before

After

After making adjustments to the entire image, the sky is still lackluster and almost washed out.

To selectively edit the sky, I chose the Linear Gradient tool, dropped the Exposure value, and then dragged from the top of the screen to create the gradient. The sky gains definition, and the gradient blends in with the ocean area.

The gradient creates a problem with the rocks, however: they're too dark. So, I erase that portion of the gradient. (To make it easier to see, I've made the overlay visible, which appears as translucent red.)

The left side of the girl's face is in more shadow than I'd prefer, so it's time to apply a Radial Gradient.

This Radial gradient increases the exposure and the shadows to add some fill light to her face without affecting the rest of the image. And because it's a gradient, the light increases feathers around the middle of the oval to blend in.

Kirk applied a lens blur effect in Snapseed to draw attention to the gravestone in the foreground.

Originally, this natural pool was flat. The Brush tool is perfect for its irregular shape.

I painted the pool using the Brush tool (with the overlay visible here to make it easier to see).

The selective edit tools include most of the adjustment controls, so in this case I've increased the Whites value to make the pool a little more glossy, and boosted the Tint value to bring in some of the purple color that's in the edited sky. Neither are dramatic or overdone—just enough for a slight improvement.

Kirk's sunflower photo captured using the SHOOT shutter release.

**Episode 10: Quintin Lake's Long Photo Walk** Aug 02, 2018
Show notes

Long walks are great opportunities to bring a camera and make photos—but what about 10,000 km of walking? In this episode, Kirk and Jeff welcome photographer Quintin Lake, who is walking the entire coastline of Britain and taking photos of what he discovers. Our interview talks about the motivation behind Quintin’s The Perimeter project, how it quickly made him realize what gear is essential and what can be left behind, and why ambitious projects like this are worth pursuing.

**Sponsor**

**Masters of Photography**, online masterclasses with the greatest photographers in the world. Get 5% off any course with the code PHOTOACTIVE. https://mastersof.photography/ref/27/?campaign=PhotoActive

**Hosts:**

Jeff's website, Jeff's photos, Jeff on Instagram

Kirk's website, Kirk's photos, Kirk on Instagram

**Show notes**:

See the full show notes, including photos, screenshots, and more, here.

Quintin Lake home page

Quintin Lake on Instagram

The Perimeter project

The Perimeter FAQ

Quintin’s Kit List

The Last Resort, by Martin Parr

Martin Parr on His Infamous Photo Series, The Last Resort

The Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE) app

Peak Design Capture Clip

**Our snapshots**:

Jeff: Verbatim USB-C Pocket Card Reader

Kirk: Retro Cameras, by John Wade

If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app, and please rate the podcast. And don't forget to join the PhotoActive Facebook group to discuss the podcast, share your photos, and more.

Episode 9: Instagram for Photographers Jul 27, 2018

Show notes

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.

Sponsor

Take Control Books. Get 30% off any Take Control Books purchase with the coupon code PHOTOACTIVE. Go to www.takecontrolbooks.com/photoactive

Hosts:

Show notes:

See the full show notes, including photos, screenshots, and more, here.