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.

What does it mean to really practice your craft? In this episode we welcome photographer and educator Ben Long back 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 setting realistic goals for your photography.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 cameras. (And why using an iPhone instead can be a better option most of the time.)

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.

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 card slots, do you write to them sequentially or for simultaneous backup? And how in the world did Jeff manage to shoot a Hawaiian sunset and end up with zero images?

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.

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 sizes and megapixels affect the way you shoot photos.

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?

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?

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.

How has the past pandemic year affected or changed your photography? Kirk and Jeff discuss not just cancelled trips and lost opportunities, but also the process of getting back into the habit of photography as we hopefully head toward a vaccinated, post-Covid reality.