PhotoActive

PhotoActive

Jeff Carlson & Kirk McElhearn

Episodes 211
Avg. Duration 35m
Activity Highly Active
Apple Rating 4.7 (39)
Since May 2018
Latest Episode Jun 2026

Publishing Details

Schedule
Every 2 Weeks
Format
Episodic
Consistency
72%
Hosting
feeds.fireside.fm

Contact & Outreach

About This Podcast

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.

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Recent Episodes

Episode 211: Obsessive Isn’t a Bad Word

Jun 12, 2026 26m

We often talk about framing a photo to get the best composition, but sometimes we don’t nail it. Or we realize in editing that a tighter crop would be better. Or something crept into the edge of the…

Episode 210: Photo Scouting

May 26, 2026 28m

Before you go out to do some photography, how do you determine where to go? Jeff had a portrait session booked and discovered that the location was fenced and blocked -- but scouting in advance gave…

Episode 209: What If Apple Makes a Camera?

May 11, 2026 26m

Our conversation in this episode started with news of John Ternus becoming the next CEO of Apple as of September 1, but that led to an intriguing concept that isn’t as far-fetched as it might seem:…

Episode 208: DaVinci Resolve, Lightroom Killer?

Apr 27, 2026 30m

The well regarded video editor DaVinci Resolve just introduced a Photos module inside the app, making some people wonder whether the free software could replace traditional photography tools like…

Episode 207: Monochrome Sensors, DNG, and Apple 50th

Apr 12, 2026 31m

We remain fascinated by monochrome cameras, and this week we discovered just how tough it is to source the sensors used by the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome. We also talk about DNG, Adobe’s universal raw…

Episode 206: You Can’t Trust Photos Anymore

Mar 30, 2026 32m

So it’s come to this. Generative AI has quickly gotten so good that it’s hard to distinguish real photos from generated ones. So where do we go from here? We talk about C2PA authentication, trusting…

Episode 205: Spec Goblins and the MacBook Neo

Mar 15, 2026 28m

Apple has announced the MacBook Neo, a $600 laptop running on the same A18 Pro processor that was used in the iPhone 16 Pro. Oh, and it has 8GB of RAM and starts at 256GB of storage. Believe it or…

Episode 204: Storage Prices

Mar 02, 2026 28m

The prices of digital storage are set to climb this year because AI is eating up all the available inventory. And modern photography is entirely dependent on storage, whether it's the SD cards that…

Episode 203: Do You Have $10,000 to Spare?

Feb 14, 2026 31m

The best-selling compact camera in Japan is from... Kodak? We’ve talked about compact cameras in the past, but it remains a fascinating part of the photo marketplace as people look for something…

Episode 202: Pixelmator Pro Returns

Feb 03, 2026 30m

Now we know what Apple is doing with Pixelmator Pro after its acquisition of Pixelmator: it’s part of the new Apple Creator Studio bundle. Also, we celebrate the latest black and white camera to hit…

Episode 201: What’s Real

Jan 03, 2026 33m

Is your phone not accurately capturing the world around you? An article in the Guardian questions whether image processing in smartphones is making photos that aren’t genuine. Also, Leica released a…

Episode 200: All Our Cameras

Dec 23, 2025 39m

Two Hundred episodes! To celebrate roughly seven and a half years of the PhotoActive podcast, Kirk and Jeff picked some favorite photos from the digital cameras they’ve owned. Hosts: Jeff Carlson:…

Episode 199: Vroom Vroom

Dec 08, 2025 33m

We get views into two very different types of photography in this episode. Jeff travels to Nevada for the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix where the cars’ speed is a challenge to photograph... but not…

Episode 198: I’m Not an Animal

Nov 29, 2025 36m

We’ve got several things to discuss in this episode, from little-known settings in the iPhone Camera app, to shooting panoramas, to the Leica M EV1 and to Guillermo del Toro’s…

Episode 197: Overenthusiastic in Your Opinion

Nov 03, 2025 36m

What started with a couple of new settings related to the iPhone Camera app quickly devolves into a discussion of Apple’s Liquid Glass effect in iOS 26, changes and consistency in the Camera app’s…

Episode 196: Has Camera Tech Hit a Plateau?

Oct 20, 2025 34m

Has camera technology plateaued? We’re seeing technical advancements in image processing and autofocus, but what about the core parts like sensors? Also, we spend three hours talking about the Apple…

Episode 195: Hands On with the iPhone 17 Pro

Oct 03, 2025 36m

Fifty percent of the PhotoActive podcast got a new iPhone 17 Pro, which means one of us has been testing the new cameras and can report back with first impressions. Who could it be? However, fifty…

Episode 194: iPhone 17 and Apple’s Fall Event

Sep 12, 2025 41m

The new iPhone models are here, a yearly event that we look forward to mostly to see what Apple has done with the iPhone cameras. Does a 48 megapixel telephoto camera capable of 8x zoom appeal to you…

Episode 193: Photography Police and Google Pro Res Zoom

Sep 06, 2025 29m

Are you following the proper rules of photography, or are you at risk of being busted by the photography police? Maybe you’re shooting photos out of focus, or introducing light leaks, or using direct…

Episode 192: Process, Product, and Problem Solving

Aug 18, 2025 33m

Are you taking photos for yourself, or are you feeding the social media algorithms for brief dopamine hits when someone praises your images? In this episode, Kirk and Jeff ruminate on how the endless…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does PhotoActive have?

PhotoActive has published 211 episodes since May 2018, covering topics in Arts, Technology.

Is PhotoActive still active?

PhotoActive is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 35m.

How do I contact PhotoActive for sponsorship or guest appearances?

Sign up on Grep.FM to access contact details for PhotoActive, including email and social media links.

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