Show notes
This is The Digital Story Podcast 1,060, July 14, 2026. Today's theme is, "Pardon My LUTs" I'm Derrick Story.
Film simulations, photo styles, and LUTs aren't gimmicks. They are artistic tools to help photographers better match the mood of their images to the subject material they are capturing. This past weekend, I did exactly that during a visit to the classic baseball stadium, Oracle Park in San Francisco. The resulting images convey the feelings I had there spending time there with my family. I'll explain more, plus industry news, on this week's TDS Photography Podcast. I hope you enjoy the show.
Digital Photography Podcast 1060
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Pardon My LUTs
Surprise, surprise! No sooner did I publish last week's podcast that included a note about my delayed Panasonic L10, then I received a shipping notice from them and had the camera the next day. Maybe I should complain about not winning the Lottery as well.
The camera itself is fantastic, in part because Panasonic has created an entire ecosystem around it including the Lumix Lab app and its library of photo and video LUTs that we can download for free. I dug in right away.
We had a family gathering scheduled for Sunday at the beautiful Oracle Park in San Francisco. No doubt that the L10 would be hanging around my neck. But I wanted to create images with it that captured the warmth of the situation combined with the classic brick design of the ballpark.
I downloaded a dozen LUTs from Lumix Lab and transferred them to the L10. On of them in particular seemed perfect for the upcoming outing: Fresh Bright by Jiemo. Here's what the description said:
This Japanese-inspired bright and fresh LUT is specifically designed to create vibrant, light-hearted portraits. By brightening shadows, reducing contrast, and enhancing colour depth, it produces a clean, transparent visual quality. Whether capturing sunny outdoor scenes or well-lit interiors, it effortlessly infuses your work with a refreshing vitality and gentle atmosphere, effortlessly conveying a lively and soothing Japanese lifestyle aesthetic.
Perfect. Before I left the house, I set up the L10 with the Fresh Bright LUT in the HEIF format. No RAW+Jpeg. I wanted to be all in with my choices.
The SF Giants colors are orange and black. Those accents are everywhere around the park, including with the hats and shirts that the fans wear. This color palette is placed against the red brick design of the ballpark, and the blue, summer sky above.
Applying the Fresh Bright LUT to this setting produced a lovely Kodachrome-like color palette, but with shadows that had more detail and a luminosity that was cheerful and upbeat.
I took pictures of everything that grabbed my eye, the architecture of the stadium, the Jumbotron that showed a realtime wedding proposal, and of course my two boys and Theresa. The L10 performed well. It looked great around my neck. But the real joy was when I reviewed the pictures later that night.
The shots were exactly what I wanted: warm, cheerful, heartfelt. The color palette was finishing touch to the photographs.
At the same time, Theresa was taking pictures with her iPhone 17. This is something she's really good at: capturing the action from a different perspective. Her shot were bright and colorful, but completely different than mine. And by comparison, much cooler. It was amazing how different the two sets of photos felt.
Every camera I own has this ability in one form or another: OM System, Fujifilm, and Nikon. I also know that Sony and Canon have this capability. Generally speaking, you can download film simulations or photo styles and load them on your camera. I highly recommend this.
I know this is a priority for Panasonic because there is a dedicated LUT button on the back of the camera. It's a great call.
I'm going to print my favorite from the San Francisco series and hang it in the studio. It's a shot of Max, Zach, and Theresa, after the game while we were hanging out in the City. It has everything I want in that photo. And I'll be enjoying it for years to come. I'll share it in the Show Notes.
This Week in the News
Free Mac App Unravels All Your Annoying USB-C Cable Mysteries as featured on PetaPixel.com
A Fast, High-End Nikon Camera Is Reportedly Weeks Away as featured on FStoppers.com
Virtual Camera Club News
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