Skip to content
Thoughtful, detailed coverage of everything Apple for 33 years
and the TidBITS Content Network for Apple professionals
Jeff Carlson

Jeff Carlson

Jeff Carlson is an author, photographer, and freelance writer. Among many other projects, he publishes the Smarter Image newsletter, which explores how computational photography, AI, and machine learning are fundamentally changing the art and science of photography. He’s covered the personal technology field from Macs and PalmPilots to iPhones and mirrorless cameras, publishing in paper magazines, printed books, ebooks, and websites. He’s also the co-host of the podcasts PhotoActive and Photocombobulate, and has spoken at several conferences and events. He lives in Seattle, where, yes, it is just as gray and wet and coffee-infused as you think it is.

Jeff Carlson 3 comments

Filling Out Your Cookbook Shelves with ckbk

Do you want the experience of cooking from a cookbook alongside the convenience of pulling up recipes online? ckbk’s collection of 700 books and 120,000 recipes makes that possible. And a new collaboration with Eat Your Books expands the offerings.

Jeff Carlson 53 comments

Amazon Shutters Photo Resource Website DPReview

The essential photography resource DPReview is closing in April as part of parent company Amazon’s efforts to cut costs. The culling includes decades of in-depth product reviews, vibrant community forums, and the DPReview TV YouTube channel.

Jeff Carlson 36 comments

Use the Web to Cook Your Books

Are your shelves groaning with cookbooks that you pull down only for a recipe or two? All sorts of culinary riches are tucked between beautifully printed pages in Jeff Carlson’s kitchen, but when he was looking for a recipe, he used to revert to a random Google search. No more, thanks to the Eat Your Books website that helps you find recipes in your cookbook collection.

Jeff Carlson 4 comments

Editing RAW and ProRAW Photos Using RAW Power 3

Every photo editing app can edit RAW files, but most of them apply the same controls to every image, regardless of format. RAW Power 3.3—on macOS, iOS, and iPadOS—features RAW-specific adjustments, the capability to work with proprietary RAW files that aren’t supported at the system level, and more. It also enables you to edit images in the Apple ProRAW format in ways that Apple’s own Photos app doesn’t.

Jeff Carlson 9 comments

Refresh Your Old AirPods with a Podswap

If the batteries in your first- or second-generation AirPods are suffering from massively reduced battery life, you don’t have to pay full price for a new set (and throw away the old ones). For half the cost, Podswap will exchange your expired ones for a set of refurbished, genuine Apple AirPods with new batteries.

Jeff Carlson 17 comments

Inside iOS 12: Photos Encourages More Engagement

Are you overwhelmed by the hundreds or thousands of photos you’ve taken with your iPhone, or imported into your iPad? Apple has several ideas for how the Photos app in iOS 12 can help, starting with new features that encourage you to revisit your images, share them with friends in a new way, and edit raw files natively on some devices.

Jeff Carlson 16 comments

NAS: What You Need to Know before Buying

NAS (network-attached storage) can be a great way to expand your available data storage, but buying a NAS device involves wading into a lot of technicalities. In this article, adapted from his book Take Control of Your Digital Storage, Jeff Carlson breaks down the NAS buying process.

Jeff Carlson 24 comments

What APFS Does for You, and What You Can Do with APFS

macOS High Sierra switched to APFS (Apple File System) for Macs with solid-state storage, but what does it do? Jeff Carlson explains why Apple made the change, how APFS works, and what it can do for you.

Jeff Carlson 32 comments

Why Lightroom CC Is a Big Step Up from Apple’s Photos

Adobe’s release of Lightroom CC, a new Lightroom application that exists alongside the existing version, has enthusiasts and everyday photographers wondering if it’s time to change photo tools. Jeff Carlson looks at Lightroom CC and explains why it’s a compelling step up from Apple’s Photos.

Jeff Carlson 4 comments

Using Long Exposure in iOS 11’s Photos App

iOS 11’s Long Exposure effect for Live Photos captured using an iPhone or iPad is impressive. Jeff Carlson compares what you would have to do to get the same shot with the iPhone and a traditional camera.

Jeff Carlson 5 comments

Photo Editing as One with Luminar

Luminar is a new app from Macphun that combines technologies the company developed in stand-alone apps into one photo editing environment. Is it good enough to stand up to Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, or Apple’s Photos?

Jeff Carlson 15 comments

How to Identify High-Performance GPU Apps on the MacBook Pro

Is your MacBook Pro with Touch Bar getting less battery life per charge than you think it should? The culprit could be applications that are forcing it to use the high-performance graphics processor. Here’s how to tell which GPU is in use and which applications to close to switch to the integrated processor.

Jeff Carlson 4 comments

Lightroom for iOS 2.4 Changes Mobile Photo Workflow

Lightroom for iOS 2.4 adds two significant features to the mobile photo editing app for iPad and iPhone: support for raw format images and local selections for adjusting specific areas of a photo. This means photographers who shoot in raw can import, edit, and sync their photos between mobile and desktop Lightroom libraries without annoying workarounds.

Jeff Carlson 2 comments

Complicating Details: Notable New Features in watchOS 2

The operating system for the Apple Watch, watchOS 2, adds important improvements such as native apps and custom complications. Jeff Carlson reveals some of the lesser-known features and details that enhance the Apple Watch experience.

Jeff Carlson 3 comments

Apple Watch Gains New Bands, watchOS 2 Ship Date

The next version of the Apple Watch software, watchOS 2, is arriving soon, and new bands and aluminum finishes are available now.