This is The Digital Story Podcast #795, June 15, 2021. Today's theme is "The Breathtaking Perspective of Ultra-Wide Lenses." I'm Derrick Story.

Opening Monologue

We all have our favorite optics, and often we begin a photoshoot with our comfortable old friend of lens. But, before you pack up and move on to the next location, I encourage you to break out your widest optic as well. In today's TDS Photography Podcast, I'll tell you why and an easy way to bring ultra wide into you life. I hope you enjoy the show.

Tune-In Via Your Favorite Podcast App!

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The Breathtaking Perspective of Ultra-Wide Lenses

Last week, Olympus announced their new Digital ED 8-25mm f/4 PRO Lens ($1,099). At its widest end, this zoom gives you an effective focal length of 16mm. And that's a perspective worth exploring.

Why, you might ask? I'll share a real life example. We had some beautiful clouds this morning in Sonoma County, and I've had my eye on this barn I wanted to photograph when the conditions were right. Today was that day.

Fujifilm GFX 100S with GF 50mm lens. Photos by Derrick Story.

So I dashed out the door with the Fujifilm GFX 100s with the GF 50mm lens and my iPhone in my pocket.

After about 15 minutes of intense photography, I took a deep breath knowing that I had captured some frames that I was going to really like. The 40mm equivalent of the GF 50mm was a comfortable focal length for composition. And with the great lighting and active sky, I was feeling a definite "mission accomplished" sense of well being.

But before I left the site to return to the studio, I pulled out my iPhone 12 Pro Max and fired up the Ultra Wide camera. It has an equivalent focal length of 13mm, and I thought I might be able to capture something wonderful with it as well.

The Ultra-Wide Camera on an iPhone 12 Pro Max.

After reviewing the entire shoot on my MacBook Pro, I was indeed happy with the Fujifilm shots. But my eye kept wandering back to the two ultra wides I had captured as well. I opened up my favorite of the two and spent a couple minutes enhancing it. And lo and behold, I sprang to life.

So much so, it's my favorite of the shoot. That is the breathtaking perspective of an ultra wide lens.

So, what do I look for in these optics? Three things:

• A focal length of at least 20mm.
• Size that is compact enough to always have with me.
• I prefer that it not be a fisheye, but I don't rule those out either. In other words, I prefer rectilinear and distortion mild.

Before I had the iPhone 12, I carried the Olympus Fisheye Body Cap 9mm f/8 Lens ($99). Even though it's a fisheye, I used that rendering to my advantage and have come away with some wonderful images over the years.

I also have the Samyang 7.5mm f/3.5 UMC Fisheye MFT Lens ($229). It's a very nice manual focusing lens for MFT that provides a very wide perspective.

So dig around in your lens stash and retrieve the widest optic that you have available. On your next shoot, pull it out, try to keep the subject plane and camera plane parallel, and add an entirely new perspective to the shoot.

You just may find the results: breathtaking!

Venus Optics' new $549 7.5mm F2 MFT lens now has electronic aperture control

You can read the entire article on DP Review.

Venus Optics has announced an updated version of its Laowa 7.5mm F2 Micro Four Thirds (MFT) lens that has electronic aperture control and an onboard chip for transferring metadata from the lens to the camera.

As for dimensions, the lens comes in at 3mm (.12") larger in diameter and 7mm shorter (.28") than the manual version. Also, despite adding the electronic aperture control and onboard CPU chip, Venus Optics managed to reduce the lens' weight to 150g (5.3oz), down from the 170g (6oz) weight of the manual version.

The Laowa 7.5mm F2 lens with electronic aperture control is available to order on Venus Optics' website for $549. You can view a gallery of full-sized sample images on Venus Optics' Flickr album.

New Release: Capture One Pro 21 Essential Training

Capture One Pro is a complete digital photo management and editing application for professional photographers and serious enthusiasts. Photographers who appreciate outstanding RAW processing, expert color control, and logical organization should consider Capture One Pro for its comprehensive feature set. In this course, professional photographer and instructor Derrick Story helps you learn the basics quickly, then takes you deeper into the application to master its finer points. For seasoned users, Derrick also covers all the new features in version 21, including Speed Edit, the Dehaze slider, and Style Brushes that allow you to enhance specific areas of a photo. To wrap up, he shares tips and techniques that can help you ensure your workflow is as efficient as possible.

You can check it out now by visiting LinkedIn Learning.

The New Donation Kit for Carefree Shipping of Found Film Cameras

Greg Croasdill recently wrote me this: "My father-in-law passed away recently and I would like to donate his film cameras to the Film Camera Shop. I've heard you speak of this for years on your podcast and now finally I have some good equipment to send you way."

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.

If it's a camera we can use for the shop, I'll send you a Donation Kit that includes a USPS Priority Mail shipping box and prepaid label. All you have to do is tape it up, insert the camera, and add the label. USPS will pick up your shipment from the front door of your house during their regular mail delivery. It's that simple!

Your donation help get analog gear in the hands of aspiring fine art photographers, and the proceeds help support this podcast.

Virtual Camera Club News

0 Seats Remaining for Our Ultimate B&W Photography Workshop - July 2021.

Inner Circle Members: A big thanks to those who support our podcast and our efforts! (And welcome to our new members.)

My Writing on Medium.com: I now have more than 25 published articles on Medium.com. And if you haven't visited the site, and enjoy good writing on a variety of topics, I suggest that you may want to take a look. You can just go to the home page and enter "Derrick Story" in the search field. And if you like what you read, then follow me!

EV Explorers for Those Who Are Interested in Electric Cars: I've created a new group on DerrickStoryOnline titled EV Explorers. The tagline for this group is: "Bringing Curiosity and Nimbleosity to the World of Electric Vehicle Transportation." Here we can share information, tips, discoveries and more about using electric vehicles for our photography adventures. If you want to join this group, click on this link for an invite. We're going to keep this as a private group for now, but you are invited to join us.

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.

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

See you next week!

Product Links and Comments

There are product links in this article that contain affiliate tags. In some cases, depending on the product, The Digital Story may receive compensation if you purchase a product via one of those links. There is no additional cost to you.

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

I'm celebrating my first year anniversary on Medium.com, where I've published 34 articles in the last 12 months. I enjoy writing for this site. With expert authors covering practically every topic imaginable, I'm thrilled to be a Top Writer in both Photography and Art. It's a wonderful publishing environment.

As part of the festivities, I'm sharing my Top 5 articles from 2020-21. I hope you enjoy them.

#1 Article

The Case Against Full Frame - If we've learned nothing else from the surge of smartphones in photography, we've seen that size doesn't matter, brains do.

Quite honestly, I'm disappointed in the camera industry as a whole. They are lumbering down a path of expensive full frame cameras and exotic optics when they should be innovating in the opposite direction.

#2 Article

Replace the Bag, Not the Camera - Combining a smartphone with a well-thought-out camera provides me the options that I need in a kit that can always be with me. In this age of smartphones, my camera isn't going anywhere. As for my camera bag...

#3 Article

The Unforgotten - DSLRs are not as hip as film cameras nor as compelling as mirrorless, hence nobody knows what to do with them. They are auctioned off on eBay for cheap or simply sit in the back of the photo cabinet with their lithium batteries trickling down.

This was the reality facing mine a year ago. I was digging around for a lens and caught a glimpse of its prism hump in the darkened corner. I pushed a few items aside to reveal its full presence. "Still looks pretty good," I thought.

#4 Article

The Heartbreak That Was Aperture - I remember when I received the news from Apple: they were discontinuing their professional photo application, Aperture. The phone call was a heads up before the official press release broke. I thought it was a joke.

#5 Article

Photographers - Don't Be an Easy Mark - Photography is not a contact sport. Yet these days, a camera bag in public feels like an invitation to conflict. We're seeing photographers robbed in parks and confronted on downtown sidewalks. Their backpacks are being ripped from vehicles during smash and grab robberies, sometimes while the owners are still in the car.

None of these victims "were asking for it." They were going about their craft with cameras, lenses, and accessories they believed were helpful to produce the images they desired. But do they really need all that gear with them?

Thanks to All of Those Who Have Followed Me on Medium

I want to express my gratitude to everyone who follows me on Medium. I truly appreciate it.

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

On today's TDS Photography Podcast, we sit around the audio interface and share stories of cheer and disappointment from my birthday.

Tune-In Via Your Favorite Podcast App!

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New Release: Capture One Pro 21 Essential Training

Capture One Pro is a complete digital photo management and editing application for professional photographers and serious enthusiasts. Photographers who appreciate outstanding RAW processing, expert color control, and logical organization should consider Capture One Pro for its comprehensive feature set. In this course, professional photographer and instructor Derrick Story helps you learn the basics quickly, then takes you deeper into the application to master its finer points. For seasoned users, Derrick also covers all the new features in version 21, including Speed Edit, the Dehaze slider, and Style Brushes that allow you to enhance specific areas of a photo. To wrap up, he shares tips and techniques that can help you ensure your workflow is as efficient as possible.

You can check it out now by visiting LinkedIn Learning.

The New Donation Kit for Carefree Shipping of Found Film Cameras

Greg Croasdill recently wrote me this: "My father-in-law passed away recently and I would like to donate his film cameras to the Film Camera Shop. I've heard you speak of this for years on your podcast and now finally I have some good equipment to send you way."

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.

If it's a camera we can use for the shop, I'll send you a Donation Kit that includes a USPS Priority Mail shipping box and prepaid label. All you have to do is tape it up, insert the camera, and add the label. USPS will pick up your shipment from the front door of your house during their regular mail delivery. It's that simple!

Your donation help get analog gear in the hands of aspiring fine art photographers, and the proceeds help support this podcast.

Virtual Camera Club News

0 Seats Remaining for Our Ultimate B&W Photography Workshop - July 2021.

Inner Circle Members: A big thanks to those who support our podcast and our efforts! (And welcome to our new members.)

My Writing on Medium.com: I now have more than 25 published articles on Medium.com. And if you haven't visited the site, and enjoy good writing on a variety of topics, I suggest that you may want to take a look. You can just go to the home page and enter "Derrick Story" in the search field. And if you like what you read, then follow me!

EV Explorers for Those Who Are Interested in Electric Cars: I've created a new group on DerrickStoryOnline titled EV Explorers. The tagline for this group is: "Bringing Curiosity and Nimbleosity to the World of Electric Vehicle Transportation." Here we can share information, tips, discoveries and more about using electric vehicles for our photography adventures. If you want to join this group, click on this link for an invite. We're going to keep this as a private group for now, but you are invited to join us.

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.

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

See you next week!

Product Links and Comments

There are product links in this article that contain affiliate tags. In some cases, depending on the product, The Digital Story may receive compensation if you purchase a product via one of those links. There is no additional cost to you.

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

I've always been a fan of using fill flash, but over the last couple years I've fallen into the habit of using exposure compensation instead, rotating the adjustment ring until my subject appeared properly exposed in the electronic viewfinder. This approach works fine, but there are definitely some tradeoffs.

Fill flash used with an Olympus compact camera, Kodak Portrait 400 35mm film. Photo by Derrick Story.

With backlighting, for example, I often lost almost all the background detail. And sometimes that information contributes to the overall context of the shot. The above image is a good example.

The background setting is important. It lets us know that we're in a family environment and at a home. If it went pure white, as it would with exposure compensation on the child, I would be left with the boy and the basketball hoop, but not much else.

Plus, fill flash adds a twinkle to the eyes and a flattering exposure of the face. Most photo subjects benefit from the front lighting that evens out features and brightens the eyes.

What reminded me of all these benefits was my compact Olympus 35mm film camera. I had it with me for a family gathering and was using it to grab a few memories. We were congregated in a nice shady patio with bright midday light outside.

My little 35mm Olympus has an optical viewfinder, and that's it. No LCD screen, no EVF, no realtime exposure compensation feedback. But what it does have is an intelligent popup flash. That's what I used. And I love the results!

Without it, the bulk of my exposures would have had underexposed subjects and nicely lit backgrounds. Not exactly what I was looking for. But using fill, my subjects look great, and I sill have some nice context for the environment - a lovely balance.

As a result, fill flash is back on my radar. I can (and should) use it on my Fujifilm X100V and the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III, both with built-in flash units.

All of this is thanks that great looking roll of film that came back from the lab. Go figure.

Product Links and Comments

There are product links in this article that contain affiliate tags. In some cases, depending on the product, The Digital Story may receive compensation if you purchase a product via one of those links. There is no additional cost to you.

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

This is The Digital Story Podcast #793, June 1, 2021. Today's theme is "Get Serious: The Fujifilm GFX 100S Medium Format Mirrorless." I'm Derrick Story.

Opening Monologue

When you first pickup the GFX 100S, you know you're playing in a different league. Its heft combined with confidence-inspiring specification builds anticipation that something wonderful is about to happen. And the pictures do not disappoint. The question is: Is this camera for you? We'll explore that topic on today's TDS Photography Podcast.

Tune-In Via Your Favorite Podcast App!

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Podbean Podcasts -- Podbay FM -- Tune In

Get Serious: The Fujifilm GFX 100S Medium Format Mirrorless

The Fujifilm GFX 100S ($5,999) is a 102MP mirrorless camera featuring a 43.8 x 32.9mm BSI CMOS sensor. It produces files that measure 11,648 X 8,736 pixels, yet feels like a pro caliber DSLR in the hands.

I've been shooting with the hefty but amazing GF 80mm f/1.7 R WR lens ($2,299) that provides an effective focal length of 63mm, and the relatively compact Fujifilm GF 50mm f/3.5 R LM WR lens ($999) with a 40mm effective focal length. Both optics are outstanding.

Basic specs for the GFX 100S include:

• 102MP 43.8 x 32.9mm BSI CMOS Sensor
• X-Processor 4 Image Processor
• 4K 30fps Video; F-Log Gamma, 12-Bit Raw Out
• 3.69m-Dot OLED EVF
• 3.2" 2.36m-Dot Tilting Touchscreen LCD
• 5-Axis Sensor-Shift Image Stabilization
• 425-Point Phase-Detection Autofocus
• ISO 100-12800, Up to 5 fps Shooting
• 400MP Pixel Shift Multi-Shot
• 19 Film Simulation Modes
• 16-bit RAW files
• Dual Slot SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) memory

In so many ways, it feels like a mirrorless camera. What I thought was interesting was that since I shoot regularly with a Fujifilm X100V, I felt right at home with the GFX 100S. The menu system, controls placement, and general behavior are very similar. Honestly, the GFX felt like its bigger brother.

There are differences of course. The GFX tops out at 5 fps burst mode, the picture taking experience is more sounds and feels more like a DSLR, and the lenses are much larger as well.

The camera's interaction with the Fujifilm Cam Remote app was just as sure-footed as with the X100V. I especially appreciated the realtime geotagging that the tandem accomplishes with ease.

In terms of shooting experience, the autofocusing was both responsive and accurate with both the 50mm and 80mm optics. In addition to click aperture settings, each lens sports the "A" and "C" options that allow you to use automatic mode or customize the aperture changes with the front dial on the camera. Very nice!

The camera is very comfortable to hold, especially if you have large hands. The grip is deep and is complemented by an excellent thumb rest on the back. You could hold the camera with one hand and shoot, which is saying something for a medium format machine.

I love the back LCD. Not only is it sharp and bright, but it tilts both up and down, and sideways. Very clever and useful. Once again, the camera behaves like a modern mirrorless allowing for easy and fast composition on the back LCD. In fact, it's really fun to shoot this way.

The top LCD is also wonderful. You have your choice of white lettering on a black background, or black lettering on a light gray background. So you can use it in any type of lighting.

As you might suspect, image quality is outstanding for both Jpegs and RAWs. I very much enjoy editing the files in Capture One Pro 21. So much data to work with!

Is this camera for you? I discuss this in the podcast.

Capture One announces native M1 support, promises significant performance improvements

You can read the entire article on DP Review.

Add another high-end photo editing application to the list for Apple M1 Macs. Capture One has announced that Capture One 21 is now ready for Apple Silicon. A new update, available now, allows the popular editor to run natively on the M1 chip.

When Apple announced its silicon and the new M1 Macs, which currently comprise MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac mini and iMac models, Apple remarked how simple it was for software to be ported from Intel to Apple's silicon. It was a far deal more complicated for some software, such as Capture One.

Capture One says that given the power of Apple's M1 chip, and the 'seismic shift' the new technology represented, it was time to 'completely rethink' its software. To get Capture One running natively on M1 Macs and for it to take full advantage of the hardware, Capture One had to go further than ever before.

Capture One had to be rearchitected from the ground up. Today's update a fundamental redesign of the software and one that Capture One believes is well-positioned for the future. As Capture One writes, 'the future looks fast.' Capture One on an M1-powered Mac has many impressive performance improvements. The new Advanced Imported is 50% quicker. Key tools such as Crop and Rotate are twice as fast. Making local edits with brushes and using Style Brushes is smoother than ever.

The new Capture One 21 update is available now to all existing users.

Editor's note: I've seen tests that report that importing is 30 percent faster with this version of C1P on an M1 compared to the previous version.

New Release: Capture One Pro 21 Essential Training

Capture One Pro is a complete digital photo management and editing application for professional photographers and serious enthusiasts. Photographers who appreciate outstanding RAW processing, expert color control, and logical organization should consider Capture One Pro for its comprehensive feature set. In this course, professional photographer and instructor Derrick Story helps you learn the basics quickly, then takes you deeper into the application to master its finer points. For seasoned users, Derrick also covers all the new features in version 21, including Speed Edit, the Dehaze slider, and Style Brushes that allow you to enhance specific areas of a photo. To wrap up, he shares tips and techniques that can help you ensure your workflow is as efficient as possible.

You can check it out now by visiting LinkedIn Learning.

Did You Shoot the Lunar Eclipse?

I had clear skies last Wednesday morning allowing me to shoot the lunar eclipse with my Olympus 40-150mm PRO lens and an OM-D E-M5 Mark II camera. You can see the shot here. It made Flickr Explore.

Using OI Share made it a wonderful experience. I'll discuss it on the podcast.

The New Donation Kit for Carefree Shipping of Found Film Cameras

Greg Croasdill recently wrote me this: "My father-in-law passed away recently and I would like to donate his film cameras to the Film Camera Shop. I've heard you speak of this for years on your podcast and now finally I have some good equipment to send you way."

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.

If it's a camera we can use for the shop, I'll send you a Donation Kit that includes a USPS Priority Mail shipping box and prepaid label. All you have to do is tape it up, insert the camera, and add the label. USPS will pick up your shipment from the front door of your house during their regular mail delivery. It's that simple!

Your donation help get analog gear in the hands of aspiring fine art photographers, and the proceeds help support this podcast.

Virtual Camera Club News

0 Seats Remaining for Our Ultimate B&W Photography Workshop - July 2021.

Inner Circle Members: A big thanks to those who support our podcast and our efforts! (And welcome to our new members.)

My Writing on Medium.com: I now have more than 25 published articles on Medium.com. And if you haven't visited the site, and enjoy good writing on a variety of topics, I suggest that you may want to take a look. You can just go to the home page and enter "Derrick Story" in the search field. And if you like what you read, then follow me!

EV Explorers for Those Who Are Interested in Electric Cars: I've created a new group on DerrickStoryOnline titled EV Explorers. The tagline for this group is: "Bringing Curiosity and Nimbleosity to the World of Electric Vehicle Transportation." Here we can share information, tips, discoveries and more about using electric vehicles for our photography adventures. If you want to join this group, click on this link for an invite. We're going to keep this as a private group for now, but you are invited to join us.

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.

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

See you next week!

Product Links and Comments

There are product links in this article that contain affiliate tags. In some cases, depending on the product, The Digital Story may receive compensation if you purchase a product via one of those links. There is no additional cost to you.

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

On Tuesday's TDS Podcast, I talked about techniques for photographing the May 2021 lunar eclipse. I went with the method I discussed using the Olympus PRO 40-150mm lens and manual exposure (ISO 1600, 1/1.3, f/2.8).

I had also discussed using the Olympus OI Share app on my iPhone as the remote release. This is what made the shoot so enjoyable. Instead of craning my neck to peer though the electronic viewfinder or fiddle with the LCD, I had the entire show right there on my iPhone. Plus I could use the device to adjust shutter speeds, recompose the frame, set focus, and of course, take the actual shot.

Plus, being able to review my work in the field on the iPhone was also a real confidence booster. That way I knew for sure that I was getting what I thought I had photographed. (And what a lovely celestial show it was!)

You can listen to the podcast here.

Product Links and Comments

There are product links in this article that contain affiliate tags. In some cases, depending on the product, The Digital Story may receive compensation if you purchase a product via one of those links. There is no additional cost to you.

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

This is The Digital Story Podcast #792, May 25, 2021. Today's theme is "How to Photograph the Upcoming Lunar Eclipse." I'm Derrick Story.

Opening Monologue

Photographing celestial events is a wonderful way to add variety to your photography. No matter what your thing is (unless you're an astrophotographer), capturing a comet or an eclipse in your viewfinder can add a dash of enthusiasm to your creative endeavors. If you agree, then I have a great opportunity for you in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, a total lunar eclipse. And on today's show, I'm going to discuss how to make the most of it.

Tune-In Via Your Favorite Podcast App!

---

Apple Podcasts -- Spotify Podcasts -- Stitcher

Podbean Podcasts -- Podbay FM -- Tune In

How to Photograph the Upcoming Lunar Eclipse

In this first segment, I cover everything you need to know to photography the upcoming lunar eclipse. If you want to read more about it, check out this great article, How to Photograph a Total Lunar Eclipse on Petapixel that I used for reference.

Adobe update brings camera phone 'portrait mode' to Photoshop

You can read the entire article on Digital Camera World.

The latest update to Adobe Photoshop will give desktop photo editors an instant portrait effect similar to that of the 'Portrait Mode' found on camera phones. The update includes a new Neural Filter called Depth Blur that lets photographers choose different focal points in their images and blurs the background intelligently, in doing so creating a bokeh effect similar to using a fast portrait-length lens.

It is already possible to create this effect in Photoshop by using various blurs and manually masking subjects, but the process can be tedious and time consuming, especially for beginners. The Depth Blur feature automates the process and, although not instant, makes achieving sharp subjects and blurred backgrounds much easier.

The new tool is part of a May 2021 update to Adobe Photoshop and can be found in the 'Filters' drop-down menu, under 'Neural Filters'. It works by creating a depth map of your image which can be adjusted with an artificial depth of field. The effect can give images that were not taken with a wide-open fast lens the appearance of one (giving you the option to focus on foreground or background objects and blur out the background or foreground respectively).

There is plenty of room for altering the strength of the effect, with Blur Strength, Focal Range, Focal Distance, as well as Haze, Warmth, and Brightness adjustment available before applying the filter. You can preview the effect these adjustments will make as well as changes to the desired focal point in the image.

New Release: Capture One Pro 21 Essential Training

Capture One Pro is a complete digital photo management and editing application for professional photographers and serious enthusiasts. Photographers who appreciate outstanding RAW processing, expert color control, and logical organization should consider Capture One Pro for its comprehensive feature set. In this course, professional photographer and instructor Derrick Story helps you learn the basics quickly, then takes you deeper into the application to master its finer points. For seasoned users, Derrick also covers all the new features in version 21, including Speed Edit, the Dehaze slider, and Style Brushes that allow you to enhance specific areas of a photo. To wrap up, he shares tips and techniques that can help you ensure your workflow is as efficient as possible.

You can check it out now by visiting LinkedIn Learning.

Photoshop's Brand New Depth Blur Feature Needs a Lot of Work

You can read the entire article on stoppers.

With the latest batch of updates, Photoshop has added a new feature to its array of neural filters: depth blur. Very much in beta, this tool has potential, but there's clearly a lot of improvements required before it becomes worth using.

Unmesh Dinda of PiXimperfect runs you through the new feature that arrived in the latest update of Photoshop, and while the depth mapping functionality will bring lots of possibilities, it's clear from this beta version of Depth Blur that Photoshop has a lot of work to do before it becomes useful to photographers working with high-resolution images. Dinda shows that existing tools within Photoshop can create far better results, and it's possible that Adobe's engineers will seek to merge these techniques to create improvements.

While Dinda's experiences show the current limitations, Adobe's potential to harness machine learning will only expand, particularly as more images become available. If you're wondering why Adobe has decided to roll out a beta feature that is still so far from producing good results, it's probably because its machine learning needs to figure out what works and what doesn't -- notice how the dialog box asks you each time if you're happy with the results. The neural filters depend on this feedback to improve.

While it's easy to scoff at these early efforts, it's quite possible that in five years you will struggle to differentiate between an image shot at f/1.4 and the same scene shot at f/5.6 with some depth blur applied. Whether this will merely increase the number of images with an insanely shallow depth of field or if it has a practical application for photographers remains to be seen.

The New Donation Kit for Carefree Shipping of Found Film Cameras

Greg C. recently wrote me this: "My father-in-law passed away recently and I would like to donate his film cameras to the Film Camera Shop. I've heard you speak of this for years on your podcast and now finally I have some good equipment to send you way."

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.

If it's a camera we can use for the shop, I'll send you a Donation Kit that includes a USPS Priority Mail shipping box and prepaid label. All you have to do is tape it up, insert the camera, and add the label. USPS will pick up your shipment from the front door of your house during their regular mail delivery. It's that simple!

Your donation help get analog gear in the hands of aspiring fine art photographers, and the proceeds help support this podcast.

Virtual Camera Club News

0 Seats Remaining for Our Ultimate B&W Photography Workshop - July 2021.

Inner Circle Members: A big thanks to those who support our podcast and our efforts! (And welcome to our new members.)

My Writing on Medium.com: I now have more than 25 published articles on Medium.com. And if you haven't visited the site, and enjoy good writing on a variety of topics, I suggest that you may want to take a look. You can just go to the home page and enter "Derrick Story" in the search field. And if you like what you read, then follow me!

EV Explorers for Those Who Are Interested in Electric Cars: I've created a new group on DerrickStoryOnline titled EV Explorers. The tagline for this group is: "Bringing Curiosity and Nimbleosity to the World of Electric Vehicle Transportation." Here we can share information, tips, discoveries and more about using electric vehicles for our photography adventures. If you want to join this group, click on this link for an invite. We're going to keep this as a private group for now, but you are invited to join us.

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.

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

See you next week!

Product Links and Comments

There are product links in this article that contain affiliate tags. In some cases, depending on the product, The Digital Story may receive compensation if you purchase a product via one of those links. There is no additional cost to you.

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

Now that client work is returning, I thought this would be a good time to take a look at Fujifilm's latest medium format offering, the GFX 100S.

It is a handsome 102 MP mirrorless camera with a whopping 43.8mm x 32.9mm BSI CMOS sensor. It supports most of the features that we would want in an everyday camera such as 5-Axis Sensor-Shift image stabilization, 3.2" 2.36m-dot tilting touchscreen LCD, 3,690,000 dot electronic viewfinder, and an ISO range from 100-12800.

Indeed, it is a handful by mirrorless standards - 5.9" x 4.1" x 3.4" and weighing in at 2 pounds without lens - but fairly svelte in the world of medium format. Realativity speaking, it's also affordable at $5,999 for the body.

I'm starting my journey using the GF 80mm f/1.7 R WR lens ($2,299) that provides a 35mm equivalent of 63mm with a fast maximum aperture of f/1.7. I will also be testing the compact GF 50mm f/3.5 R LM WR lens ($999) that is essentially a medium format pancake lens with a wider 35mm equivalent of 40mm. You know how much I love 40mms! I'm hoping this lens makes the GFX 100S a bit more nimble.

Assignment 1 - Client Shoot Downtown San Jose

I had an interior portrait shoot for a client in downtown San Jose. I thought this would be a perfect first trial of the GFX 100S. The camera handled the mixed lighting (widows and artificial) very well rendering excellent color. I played with the Skin Smoothing feature and was impressed with its rendering.

At 5 frames per second, it's a bit slower in burst mode than I'm used to. But for this assignment it was enough. As you can imagine, depth of field falloff was wonderful.

And interestingly enough, since I shoot with an X100V, I was able to navigate the very similar interface of the GFX 100S. That was a nice bonus on a first shoot. Other than its larger size, it was very much like shooting with any other Fujifilm camera.

I can't share the client shots yet, but I did take a few snaps in the off moments.

Inside Decoration - ISO 500, f/4, 80mm lens.

Fresh Air Outside - ISO 100, f/3.6, 80mm lens.

Thoughts After Day 1

For a hardcore cropped-frame mirrorless photographer like me, the Fujifilm GFX 100S with the GF 80mm f/1.7 R WR lens is certainly a handful. But it is well-balanced and very comfortable to hold.

It also inspires confidence. As long as my shutter speeds stayed reasonable, I never worried about image quality. I shot SuperFine Jpegs in a variety of lighting conditions inside and out, and I could use those images right out of the camera.

Between the large sensor size, image stabilization, primo prime lens, and Fujifilm technology, I had a huge safety net that let me focus on the compositions and subject, and not really concern myself with camera settings. And the pictures look great.

In future installments, I'll explore the RAW files, different subjects, and the 50mm lens. I'll wrap it all up with a podcast in the future. But we're off to a great start!

Product Links and Comments

There are product links in this article that contain affiliate tags. In some cases, depending on the product, The Digital Story may receive compensation if you purchase a product via one of those links. There is no additional cost to you.

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

This is The Digital Story Podcast #791, May 18, 2021. Today's theme is "It's Spring! 5 Tips to Clean Up Your Photography Act." I'm Derrick Story.

Opening Monologue

Spring cleaning shouldn't be limited to our yards, garages, and closets. We get behind on photography-related tasks as well. It's not that we're lazy or distracted (OK, well maybe distracted), it's just that we forget to do certain things that may really help us in the long run. Consider today's show a handy checklist for those springtime tasks. Look at it this way, everyone of these is more fun than cleaning the garage. I hope you enjoy the show.

Tune-In Via Your Favorite Podcast App!

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Podbean Podcasts -- Podbay FM -- Tune In

It's Spring! 5 Tips to Clean Up Your Photography Act

I remember that I once saw a pie chart of how a professional photographer's time was spent each week. Ironically, on about 15 percent was actually taking pictures.

Fortunately, as enthusiasts, we have far fewer business chores to attend to. But that doesn't mean we're off the hook entirely.

Take a look at this checklist and start mapping out your plan.

• Firmware Updates - I had missed one for my X100V only to discover that it added webcam ability to my camera. That's a pretty big deal these days. Be sure to review your firmware status for both camera bodies and lenses.
• Equipment Inventory - I'm sure I just did one not too long ago. I looked it up, and yes, more than 5 years had passed. Wow! Time flies. And boy has my gear changed a lot since then. Be sure to record pictures, serial numbers, and any purchase information you may have.
• Get Rid of Gear that You're Not Using - It's amazing how fast we can accumulate new gear. And many times those new pieces render stuff we already have as obsolete. You can tie this project to your inventory efforts and get bonus points for efficiency.
• Test Your Backup - I know you're already backing up your valuable images. But when was the last time you tested your system for integrity? Now would be a good time to ensure you can actually restore.
• Clean Off Your Laptop Hard Drive - Now that the sun is shinning for those of us North of the equator, you'll probably be adding many more pictures to your photo catalogs. Clean off those laptop drives now!

You may not have time for all of these. But accomplishing just one or two can pay off big up the road.

News Corp Australia Has Laid Off the Last of Its Photographers: Report

You can read the entire article on Petapixel.

News Corp Australia has reportedly laid off the last of its staff photographers and converted fully to using freelancers according to a new report. The last eight photographers were informed last week that their positions were being made redundant.

According to The Guardian, the Rupert Murdoch-owned publication giant called the last photographers who worked for the Geelong Advertiser, the NT News, the Hobart Mercury, Townsville Bulletin, the Gold Coast Bulletin, and the Cairns Post into a management meeting and were told them that they would be replaced by freelancers.

The report also states that those eight staff members -- the last of a full-time staff that once numbered over 100 -- were given the opportunity to purchase their staff photography equipment at discounted prices and come back as outsourced, freelance labor.

News Corp has been moving towards a freelancer model when it comes to photography for several years. Last year, the company let its chief photographer Gary Ramage go, and in November it cut 16 photography positions out of 25 total jobs it eliminated.

New Release: Capture One Pro 21 Essential Training

Capture One Pro is a complete digital photo management and editing application for professional photographers and serious enthusiasts. Photographers who appreciate outstanding RAW processing, expert color control, and logical organization should consider Capture One Pro for its comprehensive feature set. In this course, professional photographer and instructor Derrick Story helps you learn the basics quickly, then takes you deeper into the application to master its finer points. For seasoned users, Derrick also covers all the new features in version 21, including Speed Edit, the Dehaze slider, and Style Brushes that allow you to enhance specific areas of a photo. To wrap up, he shares tips and techniques that can help you ensure your workflow is as efficient as possible.

You can check it out now by visiting LinkedIn Learning.

The 5 favorite camera brands in Japan (and you won't believe who's first!)

You can read the entire article on Digital Camera World.

Japan's favorite camera brand isn't Canon. It isn't Nikon. It isn't Sony, or Olympus or Fujifilm. No, Japan's favorite camera brand is Pentax / Ricoh.

That's according to the latest results in a survey being conducted by IT Media, asking Japanese consumers to choose their favorite digital camera maker. And despite the best Pentax cameras all being DSLRs, and facing quite a technological disparity compared to the likes of the best Canon cameras and best Sony cameras, that hasn't stopped Ricoh being Japan's most beloved brand in the camera industry.

The survey (spotted by Pentax Rumors) still has another ten days to run, closing on 27 May, but so far the results are pretty eye-opening. Almost a quarter of Japanese users say that Pentax / Ricoh is their favorite brand, with nearly a fifth pledging allegiance to Nikon.

The New Donation Kit for Carefree Shipping of Found Film Cameras

We have more time around the house than ever. And you finally dove into that bedroom closet that's been begging for some organization.

If you found a film camera that you're no longer using, 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.

If it's a camera we can use for the shop, I'll send you a Donation Kit that includes a USPS Priority Mail shipping box and prepaid label. All you have to do is tape it up, insert the camera, and add the label. USPS will pick up your shipment from the front door of your house during their regular mail delivery. It's that simple!

Your donation help get analog gear in the hands of aspiring fine art photographers, and the proceeds help support this podcast.

Virtual Camera Club News

2 Seats Remaining for Our Ultimate B&W Photography Workshop - July 2021.

Inner Circle Members: A big thanks to those who support our podcast and our efforts! (And welcome to our new members.)

My Writing on Medium.com: I now have more than 25 published articles on Medium.com. And if you haven't visited the site, and enjoy good writing on a variety of topics, I suggest that you may want to take a look. You can just go to the home page and enter "Derrick Story" in the search field. And if you like what you read, then follow me!

EV Explorers for Those Who Are Interested in Electric Cars: I've created a new group on DerrickStoryOnline titled EV Explorers. The tagline for this group is: "Bringing Curiosity and Nimbleosity to the World of Electric Vehicle Transportation." Here we can share information, tips, discoveries and more about using electric vehicles for our photography adventures. If you want to join this group, click on this link for an invite. We're going to keep this as a private group for now, but you are invited to join us.

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.

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

See you next week!

Product Links and Comments

There are product links in this article that contain affiliate tags. In some cases, depending on the product, The Digital Story may receive compensation if you purchase a product via one of those links. There is no additional cost to you.

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

Capture One Pro 21 includes many terrific new tools, including Speed Edit, Dehaze, and HEIC support. But the feature I've been enjoying most is the Import Browser that makes it easy for me to decide what I want to bring into the catalog, and what to leave behind.

The Capture One Pro 21 Import Browser

In my latest training for LinkedIn Learning, titled Capture One Pro 21 Essential Training, I cover not only Capture One Pro 21, but the new things added with the point 1 update, including the fabulous Import Browser.

Here's an overview of the training to whet your appetite.

Getting to know Capture One Pro 21 from Capture One Pro 21 Essential Training by Derrick Story

Capture One Pro is a complete digital photo management and editing application for professional photographers and serious enthusiasts. Photographers who appreciate outstanding RAW processing, expert color control, and logical organization should consider Capture One Pro for its comprehensive feature set. In this course, professional photographer and instructor Derrick Story helps you learn the basics quickly, then takes you deeper into the application to master its finer points. For seasoned users, Derrick also covers all the new features in version 21, including Speed Edit, the Dehaze slider, and Style Brushes that allow you to enhance specific areas of a photo. To wrap up, he shares tips and techniques that can help you ensure your workflow is as efficient as possible.

I hope you enjoy the show!

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