This is The Digital Story Podcast #906, August 1, 2023. Today's theme is "The Autofocus Mental Block." I'm Derrick Story.

Opening Monologue

How many times have you had the absolutely incorrect autofocus mode for the subject at hand? Chances are very good more than once. We're such funny creatures, we photographers. We'll double-check our exposure mode, make sure white balance is adjusted, we'll even tap into exposure compensation. But that AF button on the back of the camera... it might as well read "only push in an emergency." Why is that? I have a theory that should improve the situation. I hope you enjoy the show.

Tune-In Via Your Favorite Podcast App!

---

Apple Podcasts -- Spotify Podcasts -- Stitcher

Podbean Podcasts -- Podbay FM -- Tune In

The Autofocus Mental Block

The promise of technology sometimes falls short. We're told that these improvements will save us time, and they may, but it feels like solving one problem often creates 5 new ones.

I'm not saying that autofocus falls into that category. But I will say that life was certainly more simple before it. With manual focus you turn a ring on the lens until the picture looks sharp in the viewfinder. That's it. One sentence.

In contrast, I'm going to spend the next 15 minutes talking about the various different autofocus settings your camera most likely supports and how to use them. See what I'm saying?

Basic Autofocus Modes

Let's start with a review of the basic AF modes offered on most modern mirrorless cameras.

• Single AF (S-AF) - The default setting for many photographers. Press the shutter button halfway, focus is locked, press further to make the exposure. Designed for static subjects, but we all know this gets pressed into service more than that.
• Continuous AF (C-AF) - The camera starts focusing when the shutter button is pressed, and keeps focusing until the picture is recorded. When you're trying to follow a subject with C-AF, you may or may not get a sharp picture of it. You may get the background, another person, or a light post.
• Continuous AF + Tracking (C-AF+TR) - This mode was designed to correct the shortcomings of regular C-AF. The thinking is that if you start by focusing on a subject, the camera will continue to track it regardless of how poorly you follow it.
• Automatic AF (AF-A) - Camera switches between AF-S and AF-C depending on if your subject is stationary or if it starts moving.
• Subject Detection AF - The camera can identify certain subjects - cars, motorcycles, planes, helicopters, trains, birds, dogs, and cats - and will automatically focus on them.
• Face Detection AF - The camera will identify human faces and focus on one or many automatically. And it can often even focus on the eyes, or just the right or left eye.
• Manual Focus - The photographer determines the focus by turning the lens ring.

One of the challenges of all these settings is finding them in your camera. On my OM-1, for example, the standard AF modes are on AF-Screen 1. Starry Sky AF is there also. Face and Eye Detection are on Screen 2, as is Subject Detection.

Once you figure all of that out, then you need to choose a Target Mode. On the OM-1, you press and hold the multi-selector on the back of the camera and use the front dial to cycle through all of the Target Mode configurations.

You can choose ALL (1,053 targets), Single, Small, Cross, Middle, or Large depending on your style, the subject, and how much you trust your camera.

A Practical Approach to Surviving Autofocus

First of all, it's imperative that you learn the quick settings for AF functions without having to rumble around in the Menu. If you have to search the Menu in the field, you probably won't do it.

On my OM-1, I press the AF button on the top/left of the camera and use the back dial to scroll through the focus modes. For the Target Mode, press and hold the multi-selector on the back of the camera and use the front dial to cycle. Other settings, such as Subject Detection, work great as My Menu items.

Next, while at home, practice switching between AF and Target modes so that it becomes second nature. If you know you're going to be shooting a certain type of subject before you head out the door, then you can set your camera accordingly. You can also use Custom Modes that combine a variety of settings.

With a little pre-practice, you can master all of the AF settings on your camera and never get caught with your guard down again.

Canon Warns Discarding Its Printers May Pose a Wi-Fi Security Risk

You can read the entire article on Petapixel.com

The number of printers this vulnerability affects is massive and encompasses 196 total models. It includes the home and business E, G, GM, GX, iB, iP, MB, MG, MX, TR, TS, and XK inkjet series as well as the Pro series photo printers (which includes everything from the Pro-10 through the Pro-1000 printers). It also affects some large format printers including Canon's Pro line (Pro-520 through Pro-6100S) as well as the TM, TX, GP, and TC series printers. The full list of all affected printers can be found on Canon's website.

When one of these printers comes into the hands of a third party (such as in the case of repair, loaning it out, or when throwing it away), Wi-Fi connection information is still stored on the device even if it has been initialized through the normal process.

Bleeping Computer notes that those who are aware of the vulnerability could pull the information off the printers which would give them access to the a home Wi-Fi network. The exact information that is stored on the device varies per printer, but it will usually include network SSID, the password, network type, assigned IP address, MAC address, and network profile.

Basically, the printers typically retain all the information a malicious third party would need in order to gain access to a private network. From there, they could access shared resources, steal data, or launch any number of attacks on a user's privacy.

Make sure you reset all settings before handing the printer off to another party.

What's In The Night Sky for August 2023 Including the Perseid Meteor Shower

You can read the entire article on Fstoppers.com

August is upon us and it is going to be an action-packed month for astrophotographers. So what have you got to look forward to? The peak of the brilliant Perseid meteor shower, two supermoons and there is still plenty of Milky Way core action to be had as the nights begin to get darker for those in the higher latitudes of the northern hemisphere.

August also means that, as the nights begin to get longer and the midnight sun comes to an end, for those in the higher northern latitudes this will create more opportunities to photograph the Northern Lights. Be sure to click the link later on for my best tips on how to capture the Aurora Borealis. We are fast approaching Solar Maximum, so I highly recommend chasing the Northern Lights over the next few years.

With the two supermoons being at the beginning and end of the month, the new moon will fall during the middle of the month, just in time for the peak of the Perseid meteor shower around the 12th to 14th of August. The Perseid meteor shower is one of the best meteor displays of the year with many meteors per hour. On a clear night, it is an amazing spectacle for you and your family or friends to enjoy, and even better if you can combine it with some amazing photography.

It's official: new cameras are not getting any better

You can read the entire article on DigitalCameraWorld.com

What do you think is the best full-frame camera currently available, when judged purely on its stills image quality? The Canon EOS R3, a Nikon Z9? Wrong. According to DxOMark, it's a tie between the Nikon D850, and Sony a7R III - two aging cameras launched back in 2017!

Since then several newer cameras have achieved equal overall DxOMark scores; cameras like the Nikon Z7 II, Leica M11, and the Sony a7R V. But in the case of the a7R V, you've got a camera that is five years newer than the Mark III, with an entirely different sensor, but still delivers pretty much the same overall image quality.

This plateau in sensor performance is something I've also observed when lab testing new cameras for Digital Camera World. There's inevitably some difference between rival cameras in a particular segment of the market, but on the whole, a new camera will rarely - if ever - noticeably out-perform its predecessor when judged upon image quality attributes like dynamic range or noise levels. The only area where a new sensor can significantly boost image quality is resolving power, as inevitably a 60MP camera can capture more fine detail than one equipped with a 45MP sensor.

But should we be all that surprised at this lack of recent sensor improvement in interchangeable lens cameras? If we consider the 'peak' of sensor performance to be around 2017, this coincides almost perfectly with the explosion of phone photography, the relentless push towards the 200MP camera phone sensors we have today, and the stunning image quality the latest smartphones can produce. And that's not stunning "for a phone", but stunning, period. However much we may love 'proper' cameras, it's phones that capture the vast, vast majority of images now, so it makes sense that this is where you'll now find the big advances in image sensor development.

So while that new interchangeable lens camera you've been lusting after is unlikely to give you appreciably better image quality than a slightly older model, look on the bright side: you could instead pick up a used camera like a D850 and potentially get equally good images, for a fraction of the price.

Virtual Camera Club News

The Nimble Photographer Newsletter is now publishing every Thursday. Readers will enjoy a variety of content spanning from short photo essays, to commentary on weekly events, to reviews of the latest and coolest photo gear.

TDS Workshops! - You can sign up for available workshops by visiting The Nimble Photographer. Inner Circle Members receive a 10-percent discount on all events.

Inner Circle Members: A big thanks to those who support our podcast and our efforts! We are having a blast at our new Inner Circle hangout, the private group I've set up at DerrickStoryOnline. We'd love it if you join us. You can become an Inner Circle Member by signing up at our Patreon site. You will automatically be added to the new hangout.

Great Photography Articles on Live View - If you check out our publication and appreciate what you see, be sure to follow us and clap for those authors. You can find us at medium.com/live-view.

If you're interested in writing for Live View, drop me a line at dstory@gmail.com.

The New Donation Kit for Carefree Shipping of Found Film Cameras - If you've discovered a film camera that's no longer being used, our new Donation Kit makes it easy to pack and ship. Just visit the Contact Form on thenimblephotographer.com, click the box next to Donating a Film Camera, and let me know what you have. In your note, be sure to include your shipping address.

Affiliate Links - The links to some products in this podcast contain an affiliate code that credits The Digital Story for any purchases made from B&H Photo and Amazon via that click-through. Depending on the purchase, we may receive some financial compensation.

Red River Paper - And finally, be sure to visit our friends at Red River Paper for all of your inkjet supply needs.

See you next week!

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

This is The Digital Story Podcast #905, July 25, 2023. Today's theme is "Why Take-and-Bake When You Can Eat Right Now?." I'm Derrick Story.

Opening Monologue

RAW files remind me of take-and-bake pizza. You have all the ingredients, but you don't get to eat a slice until you take it home, fire up the oven, and wait 40 minutes. Not exactly instant gratification. Jpegs, on the other hand, are piping hot and ready to go. No waiting. No baking. Seems like no contest. So why do so many of us torture ourselves with take-and-bake? I'll explain how to have your pizza and eat it too on this week's TDS Podcast. I hope you enjoy the show.

Tune-In Via Your Favorite Podcast App!

---

Apple Podcasts -- Spotify Podcasts -- Stitcher

Podbean Podcasts -- Podbay FM -- Tune In

Why Take-and-Bake When You Can Eat Right Now?

Think about your favorite pizza restaurant. Why do you prefer their pies over the other guys. Everyone uses the same basic ingredients, right? Yet, there just something a little better about the takeout from your preferred restaurant.

It's the recipe, right? A little more basil, a better mozzarella, a sweeter tomato sauce all add up to an experience that's better than the others.

Camera manufacturers feel the same way about their Jpeg recipes. They have evolved over decades and are closely guarded secrets. A Canon Jpeg looks different than one from a Nikon camera, and Fujifilm files have a different vibe than those from a Sony.

All of this care put into these Jpegs only to be overlooked because we insist on take-and-bake RAW files. Yes, we would rather spend an additional 40 minutes on a photo that may or may not look as good as what the camera can make for us.

Now I know the situations when RAW files are beneficial. We all do. Extreme lighting conditions and weird lighting are at the top of the list. But a lovely Summer morning by the lake isn't one of them, and yet we still shoot RAW.

I have five reasons why you may want to embrace the moment and just shoot Jpegs. You might find that you're just as happy with the pictures, and even more pleased that you could enjoy all those wonderful flavors immediately.

• Automatic Optical Correction - Who knows better than the camera manufacturer how to correct any optical imperfections in its lenses? And they build that correction right into the Jpeg file.
• Film Simulations - These aren't hackish filters like we see in some editing apps. Film simulations built into cameras are often based on serious color science. They allow you to match the mood of your capture with the essence of your subject.
• Sharpness and Clarity - Many mirrorless cameras provide us with the ability to tweak the sharpness and clarity of our images. Crank it up for urban architecture, tone it down for portraits.
• Highlight and Shadow Tones - Did you think that the only way you can compensate for highlights and shadows is in post production? You might want to revisit your camera's menu.
• Custom Settings - Most cameras have at least four custom settings. That means you can quickly address your most common lighting scenarios and subjects with just the twist of a dial.

I also recommend in setting the camera to SuperFine, or whatever the highest quality Jpeg setting is available. This provides you with even more data to work with if you ever need to.

Now all you have to do is get out there and enjoy photography. And when you get home, put your feet up, enjoy a slice of leftover pizza, and revel in the fact that you don't have to start working on those RAW files.

The Best Lenses Available for Under $400

You can read the entire article on LensRentals.com

Finding affordable lenses in the photography marketplace has become more and more of a challenge over the last few years. Where a $2,000 price tag was once considered expensive, has now become normalized. There are plenty of lists online recommending expensive lenses, heck, we posted our list of the most expensive lenses just a few weeks ago. But what about those of us who are on a limited budget? Who are just getting started in photography or videography, and don't yet have the means to build a 5-figure kit of lenses at our disposal? Well, we're going to try to get you covered here as well.

Before we drop into the list of recommended lenses, it's important to note some things about the state of the photography and videography market. If you're looking to save on costs and are just getting started, your best bet might be to look at DSLR systems, as opposed to mirrorless platforms. Canon and Nikon both have decades of incredible lenses and cameras that are now being unloaded in the used market for bottom dollar prices and a Canon 5D Mark III, despite being ten years old, is still a rock-solid camera. While it doesn't have the features that the most modern mirrorless camera has and is bulky in comparison, it's a great place to start if you're looking to build out a professional kit without a lot of money.

I discuss the specific lenses in the podcast.

Want to Write About Your Photography Experiences?

Our photography publication, Live View has a couple of spots open for aspiring photography writers. Our mission statement is: "If we were to sum up Live View in one word, it would be passion. Our writers are here because they want to share articles about topics that inspire them. This is the space to explore their discoveries." So if you want to write to a large audience and share images too, please contact me at: dstory@gmail.com.

Kodak Specially Manufactured Black and White 70mm Film for Oppenheimer

You can read the entire article on PetaPixel.com

As "Barbenheimer" sets records at the box office this weekend, Kodak has revealed it manufactured a special black and white film stock for use in Oppenheimer.

The Eastman Double-X Black and White film in 65mm was specifically created for use with the IMAX and Panavision System 65mm film cameras.

Oppenheimer tells the story of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, known as the father of the atomic bomb. The movie follows a non-linear narrative and director Christoper Nolan and cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema use black and white to distinguish between two time periods.

"It was a gutsy choice. One of my very first phone calls was to Kodak, enquiring if they had any 65mm large-format black and white films tock," van Hoytema tells the Kodak website.

"But they had never made that before, and early on it was uncertain as to whether they would or could achieve it in time for this production. But they stepped up to the plate and supplied a freshly manufactured prototype Double-X 5222 65mm film stock, delivered in cans with handwritten labels on the outside."

But even though Kodak made the working prototype, the film stock had never been run through an IMAX camera before and it required a reconfiguration of the laboratory film processor.

"It became quite a complex engineering process -- encompassing things like the thickness of the backing for the film emulsion, and making new gates and pressure plates in the cameras so as to avoid scratches," says van Hoytema.

The final film reel for Oppenheimer weighs 600 pounds and is 11 miles long. The movie is in cinemas now.

Virtual Camera Club News

The Nimble Photographer Newsletter is now publishing every Thursday. Readers will enjoy a variety of content spanning from short photo essays, to commentary on weekly events, to reviews of the latest and coolest photo gear.

TDS Workshops! - You can sign up for available workshops by visiting The Nimble Photographer. Inner Circle Members receive a 10-percent discount on all events.

Inner Circle Members: A big thanks to those who support our podcast and our efforts! We are having a blast at our new Inner Circle hangout, the private group I've set up at DerrickStoryOnline. We'd love it if you join us. You can become an Inner Circle Member by signing up at our Patreon site. You will automatically be added to the new hangout.

Great Photography Articles on Live View - If you check out our publication and appreciate what you see, be sure to follow us and clap for those authors. You can find us at medium.com/live-view.

If you're interested in writing for Live View, drop me a line at dstory@gmail.com.

The New Donation Kit for Carefree Shipping of Found Film Cameras - If you've discovered a film camera that's no longer being used, our new Donation Kit makes it easy to pack and ship. Just visit the Contact Form on thenimblephotographer.com, click the box next to Donating a Film Camera, and let me know what you have. In your note, be sure to include your shipping address.

Affiliate Links - The links to some products in this podcast contain an affiliate code that credits The Digital Story for any purchases made from B&H Photo and Amazon via that click-through. Depending on the purchase, we may receive some financial compensation.

Red River Paper - And finally, be sure to visit our friends at Red River Paper for all of your inkjet supply needs.

See you next week!

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

This is The Digital Story Podcast #904, July 18, 2023. Today's theme is "Creativity Also Grows in the Garden." I'm Derrick Story.

Opening Monologue

Summer travel is fun. But if we limit our photography to a week or two of vacation, we're not going to add much to the image library. Fortunately, one of the best and infinitely entertaining photo destinations is often right under our nose: the backyard garden. And on today's TDS Photography Podcast, I'll explain how you can reap a bountiful harvest without ever getting your hands dirty. I hope you enjoy the show.

Tune-In Via Your Favorite Podcast App!

---

Apple Podcasts -- Spotify Podcasts -- Stitcher

Podbean Podcasts -- Podbay FM -- Tune In

Creativity Also Grows in the Garden

I think it's safe to say that we spend most of our time looking at gardens from a distance. And why not? It's quite beautiful to gaze out the back window and see all of those beautiful colors and textures.

But if the back patio is as close as you get, you're missing out on some great photo opportunities. Here are five things that you could probably explore right now and create beautiful imagery doing so.

• Flowers and Blossoms - I love eating fresh squash from the garden. But I like those bodacious blossoms just as much. Squash holds nothing back: giant green leaves, booming flowers, and ultimately the vegetable itself. And that's just one item of many in the garden.
• Insects and Bugs - Time to get out the close-up lens for these little critters - Bees, spiders, wasps, and various other busy inhabitants in your garden make great macro subjects. And if you happen to photograph a butterfly or two, all the better.
• Birdbath in the Morning - A birdbath and accompanying feeder is a great way to attract our feathered friends to the outdoor studio. Most of the bathing at my place happens in the morning before the water gets too warm. The post-bath preening is also a great photo opp.
• Webs and Things - Spider webs are fascinating in the right light, and they are both challenging and fun to photograph. Pay extra attention to their surroundings so that you can get an overall interesting shot.
• Timelapse, Infrared, and Other Special Techniques - Notice a flower on the verge of opening up? Try your hand at timelapse. Have some interesting hardscape and plant combinations? Consider experimenting with infrared photography. Have frequent visitors that would be good movie subjects? Try slow motion video.

The garden is an amazing wonderland for photography experiments. Plus it's easy to use larger accessories such as tripods and flashes because, well, you're at home.

Maximize your creative photography all summer, not just on vacation, by spending some time in the garden. You might be surprised and delighted by what you discover.

See a Rock Cairn? Push It Over, Yosemite National Park Says

You can read the entire article on Petapixel.com

Landscape photographers or visitors to national parks might feel bad about knocking over rock cairns since it likely took someone a bit of time and effort to get them into place. But in a post on Facebook this week, Yosemite National Park officials are encouraging visitors to knock over rock cairns as part of the "Leave No Trace" ethics of visiting national parks.

"Why did Wilderness Restoration Rangers dismantle this rock cairn? According to Leave No Trace ethics when we recreate in wilderness spaces, our goal is to leave no signs of our impact on the land and respect other creatures living in it," Yosemite explains.

"Unfortunately, this dramatically oversized cairn is a mark of human impact and is distracting in a wilderness setting. Building rock cairns also disturbs small insects, reptiles, and microorganisms that call the underside home!" the national park continues.

"When used appropriately, rock cairns are great for navigation, safety, and delineating a new or hard-to-follow trail. In general, rock cairns should only be constructed by rangers and trail workers. Please dismantle and refrain from building rock cairns when you visit Yosemite."

So, photographers, have no qualms about toppling rock cairns that are interrupting a landscape scene. They don't belong and are not only visually disruptive, but ecologically damaging.

Best Mac for photo editing

You can read the entire article on Macworld.com

One reason why Macs are a great choice for today's photographers is their excellent color accuracy and display quality. For example, there is a 4.5K display on the 24-inch iMac. There was a 5K display on the 27-inch iMac, but Apple discontinued that model in March 2022 and it's not yet clear if there will ever be another iMac with a larger screen.

The great quality displays aren't only reserved for the iMac though. If you want a Mac you can carry around with you - so that you can edit photographs when you are out in the field - then you will want to consider a MacBook Pro.

The 14-inch MacBook Pro that was introduced in 2021 and updated in 2023 offers an excellent 3,024 by 1,964 screen (that's 5.9 million pixels). The 16-inch MacBook Pro offers even more pixels - 7.7 million. In fact, Apple claimed that the screen on the 2021 MacBook Pro was the world's best notebook display when it launched.

It is a Liquid Retina XDR display with an extreme dynamic range of, according to Apple: 1,000 nits brightness and 1,600 nits of peak brightness. There is also a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, which should make it possible to see detail in shadows, deeper blacks and more vivid colors.

But the big deal about the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro screens is that these were the first, and so far only, Macs with ProMotion. ProMotion first arrived on the iPad Pro and the iPhone 13 Pro and it offers an adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz (which means it can refresh images 120 times a second). However, it can also vary this refresh rate depending on what's required - saving battery life.

As for the best machines themselves, I cover those in the podcast.

Virtual Camera Club News

The Nimble Photographer Newsletter is now publishing every Thursday. Readers will enjoy a variety of content spanning from short photo essays, to commentary on weekly events, to reviews of the latest and coolest photo gear.

TDS Workshops! - You can sign up for available workshops by visiting The Nimble Photographer. Inner Circle Members receive a 10-percent discount on all events.

Inner Circle Members: A big thanks to those who support our podcast and our efforts! We are having a blast at our new Inner Circle hangout, the private group I've set up at DerrickStoryOnline. We'd love it if you join us. You can become an Inner Circle Member by signing up at our Patreon site. You will automatically be added to the new hangout.

Great Photography Articles on Live View - If you check out our publication and appreciate what you see, be sure to follow us and clap for those authors. You can find us at medium.com/live-view.

If you're interested in writing for Live View, drop me a line at dstory@gmail.com.

The New Donation Kit for Carefree Shipping of Found Film Cameras - If you've discovered a film camera that's no longer being used, our new Donation Kit makes it easy to pack and ship. Just visit the Contact Form on thenimblephotographer.com, click the box next to Donating a Film Camera, and let me know what you have. In your note, be sure to include your shipping address.

Affiliate Links - The links to some products in this podcast contain an affiliate code that credits The Digital Story for any purchases made from B&H Photo and Amazon via that click-through. Depending on the purchase, we may receive some financial compensation.

Red River Paper - And finally, be sure to visit our friends at Red River Paper for all of your inkjet supply needs.

See you next week!

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

This is The Digital Story Podcast #903, July 11, 2023. Today's theme is "Capture One Pro Power Tips with Alex on RAW." I'm Derrick Story.

Opening Monologue

We may think we know the ins and outs of Capture One Pro, that is, until comparing notes with someone who's a true expert. This week I interview Alex on RAW who taught me a bunch of stuff I didn't know, and I have the feeling you'll be impressed as well. Informative for both existing C1P users, and for those curious about its hidden magic. I hope you enjoy the show.

Tune-In Via Your Favorite Podcast App!

---

Apple Podcasts -- Spotify Podcasts -- Stitcher

Podbean Podcasts -- Podbay FM -- Tune In

Capture One Pro Power Tips with Alex on RAW

Last Friday, Alex and I connected online to discuss all things magic with Capture One Pro.

Alex is a portrait and event photographer based in Tallinn, Estonia. As a professional photographer, he has been using Capture One for 16 years, since Capture One version 3. He's also a Phase One Certified Professional and a Capture One trainer. Eight years ago, he started his blog about Capture One -- AlexOnRAW, which now has more than 30 000 followers and newsletter subscribers.

You can visit his website, AlexOnRAW to discover all the helpful information that's available. Also for convenience, here are some direct links to topics we discussed during the interview.

TDS listeners can benefit from the 80 percent summer sale that will be available till July 15. Also, the TDS discount code THEDIGITALSTORY gives 10 percent OFF all my products. And for products on sale, it will provide an additional 10 percent OFF on top of the existing discount.

• Save 80 percent on the Complete Bundle of Capture One Tools and Styles.
• Download four sample chapters from the Capture One Hidden Features eBook.
• Download 20 sample Film Styles for Capture One.
• Download 5 sample Ready Looks for Capture One.

Note: In accordance with Google Safe Browsing, Google Safe Search and Symantec, alexonraw.com is a safe domain.

Satechi Mac mini Stand and Hub Review

The Apple Mac mini M2 Pro ($1,149) is a wonderful machine that muscles through my photography work without even working up a sweat. My only real complaint with it is the backside location of the ports. Fortunately, the Satechi Stand and Hub for the Mac mini ($99) solves that problem... and more.

The accessory works with the Mac mini M1 and M2, and the Apple Studio 2022. It matches the Apple hardware perfectly and expands its usability.

• USB-C Host Connection
• 3 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A Ports
• 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C Port
• SD / microSD Card Readers
• Internal M.2 SATA Drive Enclosure

It plugs into one USB-C port in the back of the Mac mini, and provides loads of connectivity on the front where it's easy to access.

But the real kicker is the M.2 SATA drive enclosure underneath. I added a Western Digital 2TB WD Blue 3D NAND Internal PC SSD ($125) that augments the 512GB internal drive on the Mac mini. Note: the hub only supports SATA M.2 drives. I've tested the WD Blue, and it works great.

This works like a charm. I keep the system software and applications on the Mac mini internal drive, and the master images, catalogs, and movies on the WD Blue. Performance is blazing fast. And the entire set up (Satechi hub plus 2TB SSD = $225) costs one third of the price compared to upgrading the Mac mini to a 2TB internal drive ($1,899).

The Satechi hub is port-powered, so it doesn't need any external power. Its design allows for ventilation. And it looks great. In fact, it feels a bit like having a Mac Studio at a bargain price.

If you're working with a Mac mini M1 or M2, and want to improve its flexibility affordably, you can't miss with the Satechi Stand and Hub for the Mac mini. I like it almost as much as the mini itself.

Virtual Camera Club News

The Nimble Photographer Newsletter is now publishing every Thursday. Readers will enjoy a variety of content spanning from short photo essays, to commentary on weekly events, to reviews of the latest and coolest photo gear.

TDS Workshops! - You can sign up for available workshops by visiting The Nimble Photographer. Inner Circle Members receive a 10-percent discount on all events.

Inner Circle Members: A big thanks to those who support our podcast and our efforts! We are having a blast at our new Inner Circle hangout, the private group I've set up at DerrickStoryOnline. We'd love it if you join us. You can become an Inner Circle Member by signing up at our Patreon site. You will automatically be added to the new hangout.

Great Photography Articles on Live View - If you check out our publication and appreciate what you see, be sure to follow us and clap for those authors. You can find us at medium.com/live-view.

If you're interested in writing for Live View, drop me a line at dstory@gmail.com.

The New Donation Kit for Carefree Shipping of Found Film Cameras - If you've discovered a film camera that's no longer being used, our new Donation Kit makes it easy to pack and ship. Just visit the Contact Form on thenimblephotographer.com, click the box next to Donating a Film Camera, and let me know what you have. In your note, be sure to include your shipping address.

Affiliate Links - The links to some products in this podcast contain an affiliate code that credits The Digital Story for any purchases made from B&H Photo and Amazon via that click-through. Depending on the purchase, we may receive some financial compensation.

Red River Paper - And finally, be sure to visit our friends at Red River Paper for all of your inkjet supply needs.

See you next week!

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

The Apple Mac mini M2 Pro ($1,149) is a wonderful machine that muscles through my photography work without even working up a sweat. My only real complaint with it is the backside location of the ports. Fortunately, the Satechi Stand and Hub for the Mac mini ($99) solves that problem... and more.

Mac mini M2 Pro 2023 on top of the Satechi Mac mini Stand and Hub.

The accessory works with the Mac mini M1 and M2, and the Apple Studio 2022. It matches the Apple hardware perfectly and expands its usability.

• USB-C Host Connection
• 3 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A Ports
• 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C Port
• SD / microSD Card Readers
• Internal M.2 SATA Drive Enclosure

It plugs into one USB-C port in the back of the Mac mini, and provides loads of connectivity on the front where it's easy to access.

But the real kicker is the M.2 SATA drive enclosure underneath. I added a Western Digital 2TB WD Blue 3D NAND Internal PC SSD ($125) that augments the 512GB internal drive on the Mac mini. Note: the hub only supports SATA M.2 drives. I've tested the WD Blue, and it works great.

This works like a charm. I keep the system software and applications on the Mac mini internal drive, and the master images, catalogs, and movies on the WD Blue. Performance is blazing fast. And the entire set up (Satechi hub plus 2TB SSD = $225) costs one third of the price compared to upgrading the Mac mini to a 2TB internal drive ($1,899).

The Satechi hub is port-powered, so it doesn't need any external power. Its design allows for ventilation. And it looks great. In fact, it feels a bit like having a Mac Studio at a bargain price.

If you're working with a Mac mini M1 or M2, and want to improve its flexibility affordably, you can't miss with the Satechi Stand and Hub for the Mac mini. I like it almost as much as the mini itself.

Author's Note: Product links are affiliate. Same price for you, but they help support this site.

This is The Digital Story Podcast #902, July 4, 2023. Today's theme is "Photoshop's Generative Fill - AI for the Rest of Us." I'm Derrick Story.

Opening Monologue

In the current Photoshop beta, Adobe is featuring a new tool called Generative Fill. It taps their Firefly technology, a set of creative, generative AI models designed to be commercially safe. How does this all hang together, and in what ways can it improve our images? Find out on today's TDS Photography Podcast. I hope you enjoy the show.

Tune-In Via Your Favorite Podcast App!

---

Apple Podcasts -- Spotify Podcasts -- Stitcher

Podbean Podcasts -- Podbay FM -- Tune In

Photoshop's Generative Fill - AI for the Rest of Us

Photographers who have the $9.99 a month Creative Cloud plan that includes Lightroom and Photoshop, also have access to the latest Photoshop beta that features Generative Fill. It's a revealing peek into the future of imaging.

Experimenting with Generative Fill in the current Photoshop beta.

What You Can Do with Generative Fill

With Generative Fill, you can accomplish four impressive edits:

• Generate objects: Select an area in your image, then describe what you'd like to add/replace through a text prompt.
• Generate backgrounds: Select the background behind your subject, then generate a new scene from a text prompt.
• Extend images: Extend the canvas of your image, then make a selection of the empty region. Generating without a prompt will create a harmonious extension of your scene. Generating with a prompt will add content to your image while extending the rest of your scene.
• Remove objects: Select the object you want to remove, then generate without a prompt to let the Generative AI technology make it disappear. 

Why Use Adobe's Technology for AI Image Generation?

One of the selling points of Adobe's version of this technology is the design of Firefly itself. Its generative AI models are designed to be commercially safe. Firefly is trained on Adobe Stock's hundreds of millions of professional-grade, licensed, high-resolution images that are among the highest quality in the market. This helps ensure Firefly won't generate content based on other people's work, brands, or intellectual property.

Another selling point for Adobe's approach is Firefly's integration into the Photoshop workspace. This allows you to explore freely while still maintaining complete control over your creative process and outputs, all inside the Photoshop app.

The newly generated content is created in a generative layer, enabling you to exhaust a myriad of creative possibilities and to reverse the effects when you want without impacting your original image.

So, How Do You Use Generative Fill?

Let's start with creating an object since that's probably what most folks are curious about. It's quite simple.

Use any selection tool in Photoshop to make a selection around a desired object or an area in your image. Select the Generative Fill button in the contextual taskbar that appears. Type your text prompt. Click the Generate button.

You'll be offered a handful of images that you can cycle through. If none of them grab you, you can generate again for additional options.

Whatever you choose, it will be seamlessly blended into the background image, but on its own layer so you can continue to tweak it as necessary, such as tapping different blending options.

Generative Fill makes removing objects easy. All you do is make a wide selection of the object you want removed, don't enter anything in the text field, and click on the Generate button. poof!

If you like your subject, but not the background, you can create a new one. To do so, choose Select > Subject, then choose Select > Inverse. Then enter your text prompt and click on Generate.

And finally, if you want to extend your image in any direction, Extend the Canvas on that side and select the open area. Apply Generative Fill without a prompt will create a seamless extension of your image.

What I Like About the Adobe Approach

While I was working with Generative Fill, I felt like it was another tool in my image editing bag of tricks, albeit a very powerful one. Yes, I can have fun and do crazy things, such as add flying saucers to a Tahoe sunset. But for the most part, I was enhancing images that I had already created, but yet wasn't fully satisfied with.

And I think that's the magic of Adobe's approach. I still felt like a photographer, an artist, a technician. And now instead of having just a crescent wrench and a tire jack, I had a compressor-powered socket wrench with a hydraulic lift.

Can't wait to see what this all looks like in the next version of Photoshop.

Landscape Photographer Says People Don't Believe His Pictures Are Real

You can read the entire article on Petapixel.com

An award-winning photographer who has people doubting whether his work is genuine tells PetaPixel that he does not use composites and the otherworldly landscapes he visits is partly to blame.

Aytek Cetin won the International Landscape Photographer of the Year award in 2021 for a series of amazing photos shot in Cappadocia in Turkey, a place famous for its "fairy chimneys" and hot air balloons.

"I had questions about the fairy chimneys photographs with some people saying they can't be real, and I replied to these people that the rock formations in those photographs were genuine," he says.

"I regularly organize photography tours to that region. The lighting conditions and the atmosphere can vary, but I'm thinking that it wouldn't be fair to take people to a place that doesn't look like the one in the photo."

Cetin says that he doesn't use composites but will employ different shooting techniques to get the best results.

"In most of my photos, I use focus stacking for maximum clarity. Sometimes if I'm photographing a mountain in the background, it looks much smaller and farther away than with the effect of the ultra-wide angle lens, in this case, I use the focal blending technique," he says.

"For example, I shoot the flowers in the foreground at 15mm and the mountain in the background at 30mm and then combine them with Photoshop. Of course, apart from these shooting techniques, I love editing photos and adding my artistic perspective to the images."

The Most Expensive Lenses Currently in Production

You can read the entire article on LensRentals.com.

When you start your photo or video career, you'll likely find several lists containing the best bargain lenses available for your interested style. These lenses often include the nifty 50, cheap but sharp zoom lenses, and various other lenses that are considered staples within their focal length. But what about expensive lenses? Sure, all quality lenses usually come with a financial cost, but a few thousand dollars in a digital shopping cart at B&H Photo can net you a great, well-rounded kit for your career. But if you were to outfit the most expensive camera bag, do you know what lenses it would contain?

Here is that list...

Virtual Camera Club News

The Nimble Photographer Newsletter is now publishing every Thursday. Readers will enjoy a variety of content spanning from short photo essays, to commentary on weekly events, to reviews of the latest and coolest photo gear.

TDS Workshops! - You can sign up for available workshops by visiting The Nimble Photographer. Inner Circle Members receive a 10-percent discount on all events.

Inner Circle Members: A big thanks to those who support our podcast and our efforts! We are having a blast at our new Inner Circle hangout, the private group I've set up at DerrickStoryOnline. We'd love it if you join us. You can become an Inner Circle Member by signing up at our Patreon site. You will automatically be added to the new hangout.

Great Photography Articles on Live View - If you check out our publication and appreciate what you see, be sure to follow us and clap for those authors. You can find us at medium.com/live-view.

If you're interested in writing for Live View, drop me a line at dstory@gmail.com.

The New Donation Kit for Carefree Shipping of Found Film Cameras - If you've discovered a film camera that's no longer being used, our new Donation Kit makes it easy to pack and ship. Just visit the Contact Form on thenimblephotographer.com, click the box next to Donating a Film Camera, and let me know what you have. In your note, be sure to include your shipping address.

Affiliate Links - The links to some products in this podcast contain an affiliate code that credits The Digital Story for any purchases made from B&H Photo and Amazon via that click-through. Depending on the purchase, we may receive some financial compensation.

Red River Paper - And finally, be sure to visit our friends at Red River Paper for all of your inkjet supply needs.

See you next week!

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.