PhotowalksTV Podcast with Jefferson Graham

I’m Jeff, a Los Angeles writer-photographer, host of the PhotowalksTV series and former USA TODAY columnist, with my photo meets tech meets travel newsletter. As always, the edition is free, and supported by our friends at SmugMug, which hosts my photo website and allows me to sell prints to clients. Get access to our full archive of posts with a paid subscription. Apple touts how “water resistant” the iPhone is, good for droplets falling on the device without ruining it. But in its fine print, it cautions against taking the iPhone for a swim, a bath or anything like that. Jefferson Graham's PhotowalksTV newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. I’ve taken the iPhone 14 Pro Max into fountains and under rainfalls, dunked it in a river during a rafting trip and in the water on the Narrows hike in Zion National Park without any issues. I filmed my friends Zadie, Maia and Esme Kruglov swimming with their dad’s iPhone. I’ve shown the footage. People chalked it up to AI, or something like that. They didn’t believe it was real. So I met up with the girls and their parents again recently at a Los Angeles backyard pool (more on that in a minute,) and gave them my iPhone 14 Pro Max to work with, to see how it would fare for a more extended time in the pool. Would the iPhone recharge afterwards, or would the charging port fall victim to water damage? Were there any other issues that would come up? The answers, dear readers, are all revealed in the latest video. And yes, the downsides are addressed as well. (Click the link to find out how we fared!) Swimply For this shoot, I tried getting into a public pool first, but in my area of Los Angeles, they all tended to be closed on the weekend (!$#@!!!) for swim meets. That they were closed was probably for the better, as I needed to find a pool I could bring the girls to, without someone screaming at me to put the phones away—i.e., a no photography rule. Luckily, there was an app for this. Swimply is an AirBNB of sorts for local pool rentals. I found one near the Kruglov’s home and was able to nab it for an hour, which is all I needed. For the purposes of this project, $50 an hour was rather pricey, but having the pool to ourselves made it a lot easier for me to have my subjects photographed without worry of getting other people in the shot or lifeguards yelling at us. For the $50, we got private use of the pool, beach chairs and inflatables and private area to change. The service is available in hundreds of locations—way too numerous for me to even list highlights. Fees are set by the local pool owner. SmugMug and Swimming After the pool shoot, I came home and had all the photos and videos ready to work with for the edit—SmugMug’s app automatically uploads everything shot. In the case of my iPhone 14, it’s a wifi phone—I only have service on my iPhone 15 Pro Max—so everything uploaded when I got home, put the phone down and sat down to work a little later. Unlike Big Tech, SmugMug doesn’t have storage limits on the uploads or send me nag messages that I’ve run out of room. I use the site as a virtual hard drive to back up everything, run my photo centric website and sell prints to clients. (Not the Kruglovs though—they get prints for free, for life!) New Macs in the works This shouldn’t exactly be a surprise, but Apple has some new, even more powerful Macintosh laptops in the works, per Bloomberg. The current flavor of the chip maxes at M3, but a new breed of AI-powered M4 chips are coming later this year to new 14 and 16 inch MacBook Pros, an iMac and the Mac Mini. NAB! Hey I’ll be speaking over the next few days at the NAB convention in Las Vegas. NAB (the National Association of Broadcasters) was always a place where local stations used to come every year to shop for new, huge TV cameras. Now, reflecting the changes in the world, the show seems more tailored towards the...

Eclipse selfies, analog locks, Siri photo tip, how to get Peacock free and YouTube thumbnail fun. Get full access to Jefferson Graham's PhotowalksTV newsletter at jeffersongraham.substack.com/subscribe

Join us on a road trip up and down 363 miles of the rugged, rocky Oregon Coast, from the top of the state near Astoria down to the state line, near Brookings, with stoops in Cannon Beach, Newport and Bandon, in search of the best photo spots. Get full access to Jefferson Graham's PhotowalksTV newsletter at jeffersongraham.substack.com/subscribe

Post-pandemic Travel season is now officially here again, and to celebrate, Jefferson Graham offers his top 10 ways to get dramatically improved travel photos on your iPhone, Galaxy, Pixel or camera. Get full access to Jefferson Graham's PhotowalksTV newsletter at jeffersongraham.substack.com/subscribe

The Highway 1 series continues on the audio companion to the PhotowalksTV series, exploring the idyllic coastal town of Carmel-by-the-Sea. Jefferson Graham explains why Carmel is so special, and points out five key photo highlights. Get full access to Jefferson Graham's PhotowalksTV newsletter at jeffersongraham.substack.com/subscribe

There are many stops to the awesome Big Sur drive, but four key ones for photos. Jefferson Graham points them out in this audio companion to the PhotowalksTV episode; Ragged Point, Pfeiffer Beach, Nepenthe and Bixby Bridge. Get full access to Jefferson Graham's PhotowalksTV newsletter at jeffersongraham.substack.com/subscribe

In the audio companion to the PhotowalksTV series on YouTube, Jefferson Graham offers his top reasons to get off Highway 1 and explore the tiny coastal town of Cambria on the central California coast. He also talks with Lorienne Schwenk of the Cambria Chamber. http://www.youtube.com/photowalksTV Get full access to Jefferson Graham's PhotowalksTV newsletter at jeffersongraham.substack.com/subscribe

Jefferson Graham explains why pulling off Highway 1 on the Central California coast for a visit to tiny Cayucos is worth your time for great photos: historic western-styled downtown, beach with dramatic rocky scenery and those amazing butter cookies. Get full access to Jefferson Graham's PhotowalksTV newsletter at jeffersongraham.substack.com/subscribe

The little town with the giant rock on the central California coast is the focus of the latest PhotowalksTV companion podcast, with Jefferson Graham and Charlotte “Ginger” DiNunzio talkin’ Morro Bay. http://www.youtube.com/photowalksTV Get full access to Jefferson Graham's PhotowalksTV newsletter at jeffersongraham.substack.com/subscribe

Jefferson Graham tells why San Luis Osbipo is such a cool spot for photos. Guests include local photographer Renoda Campbell and KEVC’s Andy Morris. Watch the PhotowalksTV episode on YouTube. Get full access to Jefferson Graham's PhotowalksTV newsletter at jeffersongraham.substack.com/subscribe

Why Pismo Beach is one of the great California beach towns, thanks to the Dunes, caves, rock formations and amazing sunsets. Jefferson Graham tells all, in this companion to the PhotowalksTV Pismo Beach episode from #Highway1. Includes chats with photographer Amy Joseph and Cindy Parkhurst, the co-owner of Old West Cinnamon Rolls. Get full access to Jefferson Graham's PhotowalksTV newsletter at jeffersongraham.substack.com/subscribe

Apple reportedly is looking to a new way of selling iPhones in the fall, as a lease, like new cars, but bundled with other subscription services. Jefferson Graham explains why he’s all for it on the podcast edition of the PhotowalksTV newsletter. Get full access to Jefferson Graham's PhotowalksTV newsletter at jeffersongraham.substack.com/subscribe

Apple, Amazon, Google, SmugMug or Microsoft? With thousands of photos and videos snapped daily, you will be paying for online photo backup. Where to spend your dollars? Jefferson Graham runs down the options. Get full access to Jefferson Graham's PhotowalksTV newsletter at jeffersongraham.substack.com/subscribe

Apple will delete your photos from iCloud if you kill them off your iPhone, unless you turn to workarounds outlined here by Jefferson Graham. Other backup solutions? He’s got some ideas. http://jeffersongraham.substack.com Get full access to Jefferson Graham's PhotowalksTV newsletter at jeffersongraham.substack.com/subscribe

When we shoot thousands of photos yearly, finding them on our devices can be tough. Jefferson Graham offers tips on how to locate them by taking a few minutes and tagging them on Apple’s iPhone Photos app and Google Photos. Get full access to Jefferson Graham's PhotowalksTV newsletter at jeffersongraham.substack.com/subscribe

Santa Fe based photographer Nevada Wier talks the art of travel photography, the secrets to great portraits, infrared photography and her love of San Miguel del Allende in Mexico on this PhotowalksTV podcast. From the New Mexico Photowalks series. Get full access to Jefferson Graham's PhotowalksTV newsletter at jeffersongraham.substack.com/subscribe

Jefferson Graham talks the best photo spots in New Mexico capital city Santa Fe, where to stay and eat on your next visit to “The City Different.” Get full access to Jefferson Graham's PhotowalksTV newsletter at jeffersongraham.substack.com/subscribe

The photographer’s paradise of Arizona Route 66 is explored in the latest podcast episode, which winds through Flagstaff, Oatman, Williams, Lupton, Holbrook, Winslow and Seligman. Get full access to Jefferson Graham's PhotowalksTV newsletter at jeffersongraham.substack.com/subscribe

One of the most beautiful cities of the world has became a haven for thieves to steal expensive cameras. On today’s PhotowalksTV podcast episode, we point out some of the most common areas for thieves to haunt, and suggest alternatives. http://www.photowalkstv.com Get full access to Jefferson Graham's PhotowalksTV newsletter at jeffersongraham.substack.com/subscribe

Talkin’ turkeys on the KNX Los Angeles “What the Tech” segment with hosts Mike Simpson and Karen Adams. Get full access to Jefferson Graham's PhotowalksTV newsletter at jeffersongraham.substack.com/subscribe