This week we’re joined by Nik Bhatt, former developer of Aperture and iPhoto at Apple and now a distinguished gentleman at Gentlemen Coders. Using his deep knowledge of how Apple’s raw photo editing engine works, Nik has just released RAW Power 2.0, an app for macOS and iOS. We talk about RAW Power’s unique features and learn some of the fascinating ins and outs of raw image processing.

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Gentlemen Coders, RAW Power 2.0 lets you process raw files on your Mac with full control over Apple’s raw engine, offering features previously available only in Aperture. It has exceptional highlight recovery, as well as noise reduction, capture sharpening, gamut mapping, and more. RAW Power also works with JPEGs, TIFFs, and other standard image formats. RAW Power 2.0 runs as an extension in Apple Photos or as a standalone app. RAW Power 2.0 for iOS is a full photo library app that offers the same features, and works with your existing Photos library. Learn more at rawpower.app.

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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 you have your images in the cloud, is that considered a backup? (No, it’s not. We explain why.)

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

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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.

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.

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.

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

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(View show notes with images at PhotoActive.co)

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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.

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.

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

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(View show notes with images at PhotoActive.co)

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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.

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.

We’ve talked about using an iPhone as a camera, but what about as a photo editor? The iPhone and iPad have come a long way since the early models, and they’re now quite capable digital darkrooms. But can you do “real” editing on them? Jeff and Kirk reveal how they use their devices with their photos, and cover some of the top editing apps for iOS.

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

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“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.

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

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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.

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 recent release of iPhones that improve Portrait mode spurred us to talk about bok... Kirk can’t say the word. That’s okay, because neither can Apple VP Phil Schiller (correctly, anyway). Yes, we’re discussing background blur and shallow depth of field, how to get the effect with traditional cameras and lenses as well as the faux version in some smartphones, and why you’d want to in the first place.

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

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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.

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.

Conversations about photography can lead to unexpected places. Although Jeff has known Michael Rubin since the days when they were both writing technology books for Peachpit Press, it wasn’t until recently that he learned about Michael’s extensive collection of fine-art photography. Of course, he had to introduce Michael to Kirk, which resulted in this episode where we enjoy an enthusiastic conversation with Michael about two prints in his collection: Arnold Newman’s “Igor Stravinsky, 1946” and Elliot Erwitt’s “New York City, 1950.”

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Neomodern treats your photos like art, offering simple, affordable concierge printing and framing. Neomodern works with you to make gorgeous work from your images that you'll be proud to hang on your walls. Go online or drop in to the gallery at 1898 Union Street in San Francisco. https://www.neomodern.com

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

Kirk: Paul Hart: Farmed

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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.

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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

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Jeff: Fall Foliage Maps, Clear Outside app

Kirk: Lensbaby Velvet 56

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.