Roberto Valenzuela is an accomplished wedding, fashion and portrait photographer, author, and educator. His command of artificial light and dogged pursuit of meticulously-crafted portraits make him an authority on flash photography. In his new book, Picture Perfect Flash, he shares his secrets to success and in this episode we talk with Roberto about his work and how noobs like us can create captivating portraits.

As 2023 winds down, we look back at our photographic year and ahead to the next. We also tackle two listener questions as we discuss staying safe when out and about with camera gear and how we’d digitize old print photos and keep them safe for future generations. In this our 34th episode, we’d like to thank you for your support and assure you that despite our irregular episode schedule, Photocombobulate has a strong future filled with engaging episodes, exciting guests and lots of fun. Stay tuned in 2024!

Most of us have used smartphone apps that help photographers determine sun and moon positions for spectacular outdoor images. These tools have been great scouting resources for planning shoots when moments are fleeting and camera position is critical, but they haven’t been much help when it comes to predicting the weather or reminding you to wake up and get the shot. All that changes today with the launch of Photo Scout, a new iPhone app by Daniel Kennett that can help you plan difficult photo opportunities and then prompt you to see them through. Leveraging cloud-based atmospheric and space weather forecasting services with device-based sun and moon position data, Photo Scout allows you to build photo recipes with multiple factors and then set up push notifications to alert you when your conditions are lining up. For example, if you are hoping to capture the rising full moon behind a certain skyline in clear conditions that will make that shot spectacular, Photo Scout will tell you when the moon will be where you want it, then check the weather when that moments comes, and then send you an alert so you’ll have time to get into position to capture the decisive moment. In this episode, we talk with Daniel Kennett to find out how Photo Scout came to be and what it takes to build an innovative app with complex functions. Check below for a link to download Photo Scout. It’s worth noting that Daniel and Photo Scout are not sponsors of this podcast, but Mason and Jeff did receive early access to the app for evaluation. Our strong positive impressions of the app resulted in this episode, not any kind of sneaky financial arrangement.

Anyone who has travelled by air lately has probably noticed that things have changed. Flights are chronically overbooked and flight crews are running out of patience with passengers dragging massive bags they insist are carry-ons. For those of us traveling with camera gear, it’s a great time to plan ahead for less room in overhead bins. In this episode Mason and Jeff discuss several things they’ve started doing differently when they fly. In an age of diminishing space, there are several strategies you can employ to make travel easier. Jeff and Mason talk about luggage considerations, packing hacks, and how to pare down one’s camera kit for a more enjoyable adventure.

Storm chasing has become a spectator sport in the United States. When colossal supercell thunder storms spin up in the U.S. Midwest, dozens of amateur and professional meteorologists tear after then in hopes of capturing images and video of intense lightning, hail, rain, and of course, tornadoes. Many of these storm chasers live-stream their pursuits on YouTube and other social media platforms, garnering some celebrity status with millions of viewers wing their exploits. Mason’s 12 year-old son, Cooper, has been closely following storm chasers and the severe storms they capture on video. These videos and the stories of the thousands of tornadoes that have ravaged parts of North America have become an obsession for him and he hopes to one day become a meteorologist who works to predict these storms and help people stay out of their way. Motivated by Cooper’s passion for severe weather, Mason promised him that if he got good grades this school year, they’d go storm chasing. This episode is the story of that adventure.

It’s no stretch to say that Lightroom is the most feature-rich environment for managing and processing your digital images. Jeff and Mason have been using Lightroom for years, and now Jeff has just completed a massive tome of Lightroom knowledge with Rocky Nook’s Lightroom Course & Compendium. In this episode Jeff explores the growing capabilities of Lightroom and shares his thoughts on how to best use the program to organize and edit your images. It’s also worth mentioning that Mason and Jeff’s opinions on Lightroom and Adobe are their own and Adobe has no editorial influence on this podcast. In the spirit of transparency, however, we do need to disclose that Jeff does occasional content creation and editing work for Adobe and Mason owns a handful of Adobe stock shares. I guess that means Jeff sort of works for Mason. Interesting.

The future of photography has arrived—in the form of text! Now anyone with access to the internet can create eye-popping digital images with just a handful of keyword prompts into generative AI tools such as Adobe Firefly, Midjourney, and DALL-E. The onset of generative AI imaging has some people ringing alarm bells, but maybe just maybe these advances in computational photography are some of the best tools in our creative arsenals. We sat down with Mark Heaps, senior VP of brand and creative at Groq Inc., to toss cold water on the growing panic around generative AI and ponder the possibilities of AI as a creative toolset. We also talk about the oft-overlooked topic of powering all of the image processing, which is a massive undertaking. If you’ve been confused and concerned about the impact Artificial Intelligence is going to have on photography, this episode will Photocombobulate the subject for you.

For most of us, it's pretty hard to see all of the amazing images on our social media feeds and not feel like our work just doesn't measure up. When Imposter Syndrome takes hold of your creativity and keeps you from picking up your camera, it's time to move past insecurity toward confidence. Easier said than done. In this episode we confess our Imposter Syndrome and share some of our methods of combatting it.

Adobe Lightroom (in its myriad versions) has become the industry standard for image management and processing, and as the programs have grown and evolved over the years, Julieanne Kost has been there to make sense of it all. As Adobe's Digitial Imaging Evangelist Director, she has a distinct knack for making the complex and often-confusing process of turning piles of pixels into works of art as easy as possible. In this episode we pepper Julieanne with our most pesky questions about Lightroom, and she blows our minds with insider tips, new approaches and fresh perspectives on software we thought we knew well.

Jeff gets really excited each autumn. No, it’s not the football or the Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks. He’s crazy for fall color and Mason’s too quick to encourage his obsession. You need look no further than our recent 1,000 mile quest to find fantastic fall foliage in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State. Over a three-day weekend we drove winding mountain roads with heads on swivels looking for swaths of yellow, orange and red trees bursting with color. What we found was thick wildfire smoke, crowded trails and a light smattering of color. In this episode we talk about chasing down compelling images of fall color and what you can do when you don’t find them. We share the lessons we’ve learned and our tricks for finding great images in less than ideal conditions. Join us!

Pete Souza served as President Barack Obama's Chief White House Photographer for eight years, churning out over two million images in an unprecedented accounting of a historic administration. His iconic images, shared in almost real-time via the burgeoning social media movement, propelled the daily workings of the White House into the public eye. He's parlayed his incredible knack for visual storytelling into three best-selling books and now he's back with a final look at the Obama White House with "The West Wing and Beyond: What I Saw Inside the Presidency." Pete joins us to talk about the book, his time in the White House and after, and how long he would have lasted in the Trump White House. Enjoy.

Valérie Jardin pulls no punches when talking about photographing strangers, and she’s made a career out of helping people capture the world around them with respect, kindness and audacity. In this episode we explore our apprehension around taking photos of strangers and Valerie steps in to offer some of her tips, tricks and even a few secrets. If you want to truly experience a place, even your home town, you need to get out there and make photos of strangers. If you’re like us, that sounds daunting; but with Valerie’s gentle prodding, enthusiastic coaching and inspirational images you’ll leave this episode ready to hit the streets.

To celebrate one year of Photocombobulate, we discuss joy and how we find it in photography. It’s easy to lose sight of the reasons we originally picked up a camera, and from time to time it’s important to ask ourselves if there’s joy in our process. This episode is all about re-centering our focus and appreciating the things about photography that fulfill us.

Mason climbed behind the wheel of his new camper van and drug his wife and kids up into Canada where they camped and explored the Canadian Rocky Mountains of Jasper and Banff National Parks. Jeff hopped a jet to Europe where he traipsed about with his wife and kid in France and Italy. Mason sipped glacial meltwater while Jeff sampled wine, and both of them did their best to make some photos in between. In this episode, they talk about their trips and what they learned during their first international forays in a post-pandemic world. Despite rain (for Mason) and sweltering heat (for Jeff), the hosts made some images they are happy with, but compromises were made and plans were abandoned. Listen in as they discuss their adventures.

This episode is a love letter to camping. When the clamor and stresses of life leave you twitchy, sitting by a crackling camp fire with people you love may be just the thing you need to put you back in touch with your creative and happy self. As we embark on a fresh summer, we’re talking about the things we do when we camp. From tips for sleeping in a tent to the joys of cooking over a camp stove, we hit the high notes of living a life outdoors, even if only for a weekend. While it may seem off-topic for a photography podcast, we think camping goes hand-in-hand with chasing incredible images in places of remarkable natural beauty. Oftentimes, camping is how we stage ourselves to be in the right places at the best times for awesome landscape and wildlife photography. Sit back and enjoy this conversation about getting out and staying out in style.

Maybe you’ve been there. The light on the landscape is eye-popping as storm clouds streak across the sky sending the awesomeness factor soaring. You’re there with your camera ready to make some of the best images of your life and you could not care less because your feet have gone numb, your knees are knocking from the cold and the damp shirt that was mildly annoying an hour ago has become an bone-chilling cloak of suffering. Your hands have become useless claws and you’re dreaming about hot showers and fluffy dry socks, not snapping photos. It’s these moments that illuminate the brutal truth that your outdoor clothing may be the most important camera gear you own. In this episode we’re talking about the latest technology in outdoor clothing, with an emphasis on what works best for outdoor photographers, because we have unique needs. From the bottoms of your feet to the top of your head, we detail the best gear to keep you comfortable and undistracted from your creative process.

Are you concerned that your iPhone may be better at photography than you are? Does the idea of pain-free sky replacements in your images make you want to make a tin foil hat? The introduction of computational photography, machine learning and (gasp!) artificial intelligence in our cameras and image processing software has some photographers up in arms, while others are welcoming the time-saving tech with open arms. In this episode we seek to terminate the hype around these advances in technology and embrace the future. Come with us if you want to live.

When you cameras produce millions of bits of data, the computer you use to process those bits plays a massive part in your creative process. In this episode we talk about the 16-inch Apple MacBook Pros we have been using for the past few months. Both of our machines sport M1 Max processors and the revolutionary technology in the new chips have dramatically changed how we manage and process our photo, video and audio projects. With massive boosts in processing speed and bandwidth, work that used to bring spinning beach balls and screaming fans now breezes through at staggering speeds. Hear how the new technology has opened doors to new tools and techniques that have us very excited for the future.

Forgotten memory cards, fudged settings and sloppy file management can turn the most confident photographers into raving babies. These “oh my god!” mistakes are incredible learning opportunities once the cursing and stomping has faded to furrowed-brow contemplation. In this episode we share some of our best flops and the lessons we’ve learned from them. We’re happy to share our heaping helping of humble pie in hopes that our mistakes can be instructive. Who knows, maybe you’ve made the same gaffes we have. Visit our show page for notes and links, plus an opportunity for your to share stories of your mishaps. www.photocombobulate.com/episodes/17

Scott Kelby is known for many things: he’s The PhotoShop Guy who’s been leading workshops and classes for years as part of KelbyOne, he’s a talented photographer with a wide-ranging focus including sports, portraiture, automotive, travel and landscapes, and he’s a prolific author with well over 100 books to his name. The latest of his books is “The Travel Photography Book” has just been published by Rocky Nook and is packed with practical tips and a wealth of wisdom from decades of adventures. In this episode we have a nice long talk with Scott about travel, photography and the joys of mixing the two. It’s our longest episode yet, but we think you’ll appreciate how much fun it is to chat with a great photographer-educator who just can’t wait to help other people enjoy photography and travel as much as he does.