This is The Digital Story Podcast 1,040, Feb. 24, 2026. Today's theme is, "Snapseed Sprouts a New Camera, and It's Beautiful" I'm Derrick Story.

Just when you think it's dead, Snapseed springs to life with additional editing tools, a refreshed UI, and a new camera app. And just like with some of our favorite mirrorless brands, we can capture images choosing from a variety of film simulations. And just like that Snapseed is relevant again. More about that, plus other interesting stories, on today's TDS Photography Podcast.

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Snapseed Sprouts a New Camera, and It's Beautiful

I think we'll start out by taking a look at this article on PetyaPixel.com, titled, Snapseed's New Built-In Camera Has Film Simulations, Including Portra and Superia by Jaron Schneider. He provides an excellent overview. Then I will dig in with my own experiences using this latest version of Snapseed.

Sky Replacement Follow Up, What Our Listeners Say

In last week's podcast, Is Sky Replacement OK If It's Your Sky?, I said that I was going to pose this question to our Inner Circle Members. Here's what they had to say.

• 36 percent said: For artistic images, I'm fine. But I use my sky pictures.
• 26 percent said: No problem at all. I will use whatever I can find.
• 21 percent said: I'm against it, and I would never engage in such activity.
• 15 percent said: I've never really thought about it much.

Some comments included:

"I don't have any problems with sky replacement using personal or 3rd party asset... go for it, use what you like. But I think the photographer should disclose the modification, if/when selling the image. I would refer to the modified photograph as photo art. Similar to the 60s/70s photo art that was created by artists that painted highlights on monochrome photos. I have not done any sky replacement, might give it a go one day." Darin.

"I think it's fine if you want to do it, but I feel strongly that it needs to be labeled as such - as a photo collage, or something similar. To not mention that your image is a composite of multiple images is deceptive in my book." Lawrence.

"I have used it once, to replace a blank sky on a drone shot of a mountain valley. My instinct is not to use it, but if I do, I would use whatever appropriate sky I could find. That's mainly because I haven't made a collection of my own. In theory, it's hard to find a logical reason to be against it. Landscape painters have always been free to interpret all aspects of an image, and we alter the other aspects of photographic landscapes unrealistically all the time ( white balance, contrast, dodging and burning), so why draw a line here? Yet most of us do. A conundrum." Michael A.

"I don't think I've ever replaced a sky in my personal/ artistic work. I think of a photo as capturing a particular moment, and I work with what was there. I don't have any particular judgement about the process, it's just not something I do for my images. Commercial work is another story... for real estate, advertising, etc, anything is fair game. The final product for the client is the point, and I use all the tools at my disposal to get the desired results. Replacing the sky can mean the difference between a drab exterior shot of a house and a dramatic image that stops buyers in their tracks." Rob

"I have numerous opinions and thoughts on this, but the one that I keep coming back to lately is this.... If I have to think about replacing the sky to make a photo more interesting, perhaps that photo is not worth the effort and I should just work on making a better photo, or at least figure out what my subject really is and compose for that." Michael B.

This Week in the News

Tamron's latest F2.8 zoom resurrects an idea from the 90s as featured on DPReview.com

The Depth of Field Advantage No One Mentions About Micro Four Thirds as featured on FStoppers.com

Zeniko ZA12 Dual Dial Flash review - clever auto metering for any camera as featured on AmateurPhotographer.com

Virtual Camera Club News

Workshops!

The 2026 TDS Photography Workshop Season. We are featuring webinars, online workshops, and in-person events focused on creating impactful images in the company of those who love photography as much as you. Our workshops are like no others, and we think you will throughly enjoy the camaraderie and the tips and techniques.

We now have the dates set for the Hot Air Balloon Classic and Micro Brewery Photography Workshop that begins on July 17th and ends on July 20th. We'll go behind the scenes at the Balloon Classic for an inside look at how these beautiful aircraft are designed, maintained, and piloted. We'll photograph the Dawn Patrol launch, the big bash, and even rise up in a balloon if you want. We'll also explore the vibrant Micro Brewery culture in Sonoma County, home for Russian River Brewery, Lagunitas, and more. And if you add on to your adventure, there are days and days of photographic opportunities from majestic redwoods, to rugged coasts, to hillside vineyards. What a wonderful getaway. Place your deposit today!.

This week I want to feature the Becoming a More Creative Photographer online workshop. It's easy to study the technical aspects of photography to improve your camera skills. There are endless books, videos, classes, etc that cover aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, but what about creativity? What techniques can we employ in order to create more compelling and expressive photos? This course will seek to answer those questions. The first session is on March 5, 2026. Online participation begins a week before that.

Stop by The Nimble Photographer Workshop Page and reserve your spot today.

Inner Circle Bold. Sign up for the Annual Membership that's only $75.60 a year, you will receive all of the regular Inner Circle benefits, plus a coupon for your choice of a 2026 Online workshop hosted by me.

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 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.

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.

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 1,039, Feb. 17, 2026. Today's theme is, "Is Sky Replacement OK If It's Your Sky?" I'm Derrick Story.

The Sky AI tool in Luminar Neo is sooo tempting to tap. With it, you can replace the drab no clouds background in your landscape images with any type of heavenly image. The question is: should you? I'll answer the question with an another question: Is it OK if it's your sky you're using to replace it? I'll grapple with this nebulous issue in today's TDS Photography Podcast. I hope you enjoy the show.

Tune-In Via Your Favorite Podcast App!

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Apple Podcasts -- Spotify Podcasts -- Stitcher

Podbean Podcasts -- Podbay FM -- Tune In

Is Sky Replacement OK If It's Your Sky?

Let's start out by setting a few ground rules. First, we're not talking about photo journalism, documentation, or any type of realistic representation. In those instances, sky replacement is a no-no, as is any other type of replacement.

But what about artistic endeavors? If the goal is to create a pleasing images that viewers will respond to, is sky replacement still frowned upon. Indeed, this is a hazy area. And to puff up the issue even more, is it more acceptable if you use sky images that you personally photographed?

I'll give you a few minutes to mull over the options while I describe how the Sky AI feature works in Luminar. You can access this tool in the standalone version of the app, or as an editing extension for Photos.

In Edit mode, Sky AI is near the top of the right-hand panel of tools. Click on it and your first task is to choose a look from the available options. Click on Sky Selection and Luminar shows you all of the available options. You can click on the drop down menu for various categories such as Blue Sky, Dramatic Sky, Sunset, etc. You can buy collections from Skylum and add them to your list of options.

Once you choose a look, the app uses its intelligence to place it via a sophisticated mask in the proper area of your composition. At this point, you have a number of options that include Sky Orientation, Mask refinement, Scene Relighting, Reflection, and Sky Adjustments. Using those tools, you can tailor the sky to the rest of the photo making it look very natural.

If you've been collecting your own shots of interesting skies, those can be added here as well. Choose Show Custom Skies and copy your own JPEG files into the folder that opens. Skylum recommends that you limit your additions to 50 to maintain good performance. I have more than that now, and everything is still running fine. Once you've added your new sky, you can keep editing the image as you normally would.

The difference can be incredible. For example, we had outstanding fall foliage color during last year's Eastern Sierra Workshop, but mostly plain blue skies. I enhanced a few of those images with my own skies, and it was transformative. Still the same location, trees, and lakes, just with a few lovely clouds added.

If this is interesting to you, I have a few suggestions:

• Comb through your current library and gather up a collection of interesting skies to add to Luminar, or whatever app you use for this type of editing.
• As Spring approaches, begin taking pictures of pure skies that you can add to your library.
• Pay attention to light direction and other elements in your composition when adding a sky. Luminar can help you adjust these elements for a natural looking, including adding sky reflections to lakes.

So what's your verdict? As you can probably tell by now, I'm fine with sky replacement when I've photographed all elements in the composition and have tried to maintain a realistic rendering of the scene.

If you're in that camp as well, I highly recommend playing with Sky AI in Luminar Neo. It's beautiful.

This Week in the News

AI Has Made It Absurdly Expensive to Capture and Store Your Photos as featured on PetaPixel.com

The Most Disruptive Photography Company of 2025 Isn't Who You Think as featured on DigitalCameraWorld.com

OM‑3 Astro: OM System's classic body gets a cosmic upgrade as featured on DPReview.com

Virtual Camera Club News

Workshops!

The 2026 TDS Photography Workshop Season. We are featuring webinars, online workshops, and in-person events focused on creating impactful images in the company of those who love photography as much as you. Our workshops are like no others, and we think you will throughly enjoy the camaraderie and the tips and techniques.

We now have the dates set for the Hot Air Balloon Classic and Micro Brewery Photography Workshop that begins on July 17th and ends on July 20th. We'll go behind the scenes at the Balloon Classic for an inside look at how these beautiful aircraft are designed, maintained, and piloted. We'll photograph the Dawn Patrol launch, the big bash, and even rise up in a balloon if you want. We'll also explore the vibrant Micro Brewery culture in Sonoma County, home for Russian River Brewery, Lagunitas, and more. And if you add on to your adventure, there are days and days of photographic opportunities from majestic redwoods, to rugged coasts, to hillside vineyards. What a wonderful getaway. Place your deposit today!.

This week I want to feature the Becoming a More Creative Photographer online workshop. It's easy to study the technical aspects of photography to improve your camera skills. There are endless books, videos, classes, etc that cover aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, but what about creativity? What techniques can we employ in order to create more compelling and expressive photos? This course will seek to answer those questions. The first session is on March 5, 2026. Online participation begins a week before that.

Stop by The Nimble Photographer Workshop Page and reserve your spot today.

Inner Circle Bold. Sign up for the Annual Membership that's only $75.60 a year, you will receive all of the regular Inner Circle benefits, plus a coupon for your choice of a 2026 Online workshop hosted by me.

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 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.

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.

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 1,038, Feb. 10, 2026. Today's theme is, "Lightroom Mobile's Insane Scene Enhance Tool for Auto Masking." I'm Derrick Story.

Regardless of which Lightroom you have, it has impressive auto masking features. Classic and Desktop versions let you choose between basic elements like Subject, Sky, and background. But the Mobile version simplifies this even more with its Scene Enhance feature. And that's our top story for this week. I hope you enjoy the show.

Tune-In Via Your Favorite Podcast App!

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Apple Podcasts -- Spotify Podcasts -- Stitcher

Podbean Podcasts -- Podbay FM -- Tune In

Lightroom Mobile's Insane Scene Enhance Tool for Auto Masking

I stumbled into Scene Enhance on my iPad mini by tapping on the Magic Wand and exploring the panel that appeared after doing so. It had the auto-masking categories that I knew from Desktop and Classic. But there was a category that I did not recognize: Enhance.

I tapped on it, and the application commenced to analyze my photo, then presented me with categories based on its analysis. Things like Subject, Background, Sky, Water, Architecture, Natural Ground, and more depending on the elements in the picture.

With each element there was an accompanying enhance slider that allowed for adjustment in either direction. For example, I could deepen the sky color and contrast, or I could wash it out.

Lightroom automatically created a mask for each of these elements. Adjusting each one individually provided me with a quick start to the picture edit. After hitting the Apply button, I could move on to other adjustments, such at Texture, Clarity, Sharpening, etc.

What's really interesting, however, is that if I tap on the Masking icon in the toolbar, all of those masks are available there for further editing. So for the water element, I could decrease the Clarity for a more dreamy effect.

I could also fine-tune the mask with a brush, and apply any number of other effects. What's equally impressive, is that I can hop over to Lightroom Desktop and continue working on the image, with all of my masks present.

This is just crazy stuff. And for those of us who enjoy image editing on the iPad with an Apple Pencil, this is remarkably powerful.

This Week in the News

You Won't See Another Super Bowl Ad Like This One as featured on PetaPixel.com

Birdfy Feeder Rookie review: light in weight and price, but not in features as featured on DigitalCameraWorld.com

15 Pancake Lenses That Make Your Camera Pocket-Friendly as featured on FStoppers.com

Virtual Camera Club News

Workshops!

The 2026 TDS Photography Workshop Season. We are featuring webinars, online workshops, and in-person events focused on creating impactful images in the company of those who love photography as much as you. Our workshops are like no others, and we think you will throughly enjoy the camaraderie and the tips and techniques.

This week I want to feature the Becoming a More Creative Photographer online workshop. It's easy to study the technical aspects of photography to improve your camera skills. There are endless books, videos, classes, etc that cover aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, but what about creativity? What techniques can we employ in order to create more compelling and expressive photos? This course will seek to answer those questions. The first session is on March 5, 2026. Online participation begins a week before that.

Stop by The Nimble Photographer Workshop Page and reserve your spot today.

Inner Circle Bold. Sign up for the Annual Membership that's only $75.60 a year, you will receive all of the regular Inner Circle benefits, plus a coupon for your choice of a 2026 Online workshop hosted by me.

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 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.

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.

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 1,037, Feb. 3, 2026. Today's theme is, "The 5 iPad Photo Apps That I Depend On." I'm Derrick Story.

I love my laptop, but I don't want to take it everywhere! Many times these days, I'm toting an iPad mini, compact camera, and my iPhone. Does that mean I can't edit and organize on the go? It does not! And thanks to these 5 mobile apps, I'm fully functional wherever the road takes me. I'll cover them today, and more, on this week'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

The 5 iPad Photo Apps That I Depend On

For most photographers, who don't write about the craft of host a podcast, the first decision to consider is ecosystem: Adobe, Apple, or none. I think Cloud connectivity is important for mobile workflows, so I suggest figuring out which online storage option works best for you - Creative Cloud, iCloud, or something else. That decision also drives your software choices.

For Adobe users, Lightroom Mobile is head and shoulders above the competition. It plugs into a great ecosystem that also includes Lightroom Classic and Desktop, has amazing editing tools, and the organization is solid.

And even for iCloud users, Lightroom Mobile plays nice and lets you send your favorited edited images to Apple Photos.

Speaking of Apple Photos, it is solid, smart, and an excellent hub for iCloud users. The addition of Clean Up brings sweet AI magic to the editing suite, and the app plays very well with many of my favorite programs.

One of the application is Nitro that fills the gaps a few notable gaps in Photos, primarily RAW processing. I can open RAW files in Nitro that aren't supported by Apple, edit them, then save them to my Photos library. Nitro had a comprehensive array of editing tools. And if you don't want to be tied to iCloud and the Photos library, it will let you work directly with the Files app that gives you complete control of organization, but is still sharable across devices.

If I need top notch noise reduction or sampling up to increase the resolution on the iPad, I turn to Photomator with its sophisticated Denoise and Super Resolution tools. Plus it has a comprehensive editing suite that includes adjustments like Channel Mixer, LUTs, and Monochrome. And like Nitro, Photomator gives you the option to work with the iCloud Photo Library or the Files app.

And finally, the Luminar Mobile App has continued to evolve at a rapid pace. In addition to its robust editing tools, it now has AI Enhance, AI Structure, AI Relight, AI Skin and Body, plus Sky Replacement and amazing presets. Full sized edited images can be saved to the Photos Library or smaller versions shared with other apps.

I pair these apps with theOM System Tough TG-7, my trusty OM System OM-3, and Fujifilm X100V.

So regardless if you have the latest iPad mini, or a larger Apple tablet, these apps are sure to impress, especially when you add an Apple Pencil Pro to the mix.

This Week in the News

Laowa has a new macro option for Micro Four Thirds users as featured on DPReview.com

This TED Talk hilariously shows that the best way to make people care about wildlife is to make them laugh at comedy photos as featured on DigitalCameraWorld.com

Can a Pocket-Sized Telescope Be a Real Astrophotography Tool? as featured on FStoppers.com

Virtual Camera Club News

Workshops!

The 2026 TDS Photography Workshop Season. We are featuring webinars, online workshops, and in-person events focused on creating impactful images in the company of those who love photography as much as you. Our workshops are like no others, and we think you will throughly enjoy the camaraderie and the tips and techniques.

This week I want to feature the Becoming a More Creative Photographer online workshop. It's easy to study the technical aspects of photography to improve your camera skills. There are endless books, videos, classes, etc that cover aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, but what about creativity? What techniques can we employ in order to create more compelling and expressive photos? This course will seek to answer those questions. The first session is on March 5, 2026. Online participation begins a week before that.

Stop by The Nimble Photographer Workshop Page and reserve your spot today.

Inner Circle Bold. Sign up for the Annual Membership that's only $75.60 a year, you will receive all of the regular Inner Circle benefits, plus a coupon for your choice of a 2026 Online workshop hosted by me.

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 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.

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.

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.