#297: The BEST discreet photo set up and the 500mm BEAST!

Neale invites Kev to street photograph and adventure with him in Kolkata and Varanasi as he prepares for the next 2026 Photowalk adventure in India, but will he say yes. Also on the show a VERY special offer from our wonderful sponsor Pictime, called 72, plus an invite to come and join us on a special Pictime Zoom show on Wednesday 14th May at 6pm UK time, invite URL below. Questions into the show about lost custom settings, website picture layout nightmares, finding a discreet camera system for shooting unobtrusively, the classic Fujinon lens line-up for the X-system, protecting gear from bangs and knocks in the bag, ChatGPT accuses Neale of stealing Kev’s 35mm, a 500mm beast, and battery talk.  THE BIG ZOOM INVITE for 14th March 6pm UK time: https://www.fujicast.co.uk/pictime  Email the show with your questions: [email protected]  Pic Time: https://www.pic-time.com/ - use FUJICAST when creating an account for discount offers to apply For links go to the showpage.

Neale’s getting nervous about the footie and Kev’s celebrating picture sales to clients who forgot to order ANY pictures when they got married almost a decade ago! Also on the show, trading in all the lenses you don’t use for one excellent lens you will, more on the GFX IBIS-gate story and cropping in camera, being honest in reviews, wedding-centric glass, learning to shoot candidly for day-in-the-life shoots, and what is your camera doing while it’s sat in your camera bag?!? The book of the week is Queer Happened Here by Marc Zinaman. Email the show with your questions: [email protected]  Pic Time: https://www.pic-time.com/ - use FUJICAST when creating an account for discount offers to apply For links go to the showpage.

When we recorded this episode, the tariff situation was locked in, firm as a rock, ‘You know who' said absolutely no U-turns. So naturally, by the time you hear it, the rock's done a cartwheel and landed in a hedge. All the same, just in time for Easter, questions in to the show include how to egg collect and take pictures at the same time, although all is not as it seems! Also on the show, can Pictime be a replacement for your website, are mentors important to your development as a photographer, and should you pay for their services? Touch screen controls, do they drive you bonkers too? We talk about eye-tracking, a new pancake lens for the system and how to respond to unhappy clients. Email the show with your questions: [email protected]  Pic Time: https://www.pic-time.com/ - use FUJICAST when creating an account for discount offers to apply For links go to the showpage.

Kev’s talk at The Photography Show draws more than a few admiring glances, and it’s now a film! The GFX 100RF has been announced and we ask, is it a camera you need for your kitbag? Who is this camera really for, and why does it leave some photographers vacillating between curiosity and a quiet sense of unease? Kev answers these questions and more, whilst attempting to keep his blood pressure within safe limits. Also on the show, finding a small interchangeable lens camera for street work in the Fujifilm range, manual focusing for astro photography, a documentary magazine collection introduced to us by Ashton Zala, sneak peaks of galleries for clients, and a new genre possibly: chicken dinners!? Email the show with your questions: [email protected]  Pic Time: https://www.pic-time.com/ - use FUJICAST when creating an account for discount offers to apply For links go to the showpage.

Kev’s been to Cheltenham to take pictures of people losing money at the races, although he has a secret, not-so-secret strategy! Also, on the show today, do you do colour calibration (?!?), back-button focus-gate, what’s happening with my X-T5’s ISO on all-auto, is there a good free alternative to Adobe products, there’s a hole in my lens hood - what should I do, and how do I cope with guests at weddings instructing me not to take pictures of them? Plus, dealing with working outside your style for clients, the fabled 18mm f2 lens, and should you use your own name as your business identity. Email the show with your questions: [email protected]  Pic Time: https://www.pic-time.com/ - use FUJICAST when creating an account for discount offers to apply For links go to the showpage.

Kev returns from Spain and seems to have found a new career as a handyman, finding a particular passion for cutting stuff down to size with a chainsaw!!! Also on the show today from the mailbag, Neale and Kev answer questions about photographing solo professionally, shooting video alongside stills, showing unedited material to clients, posing v doc, choosing email and mailing list providers, Substack, invoicing software, and why do people think Kev looks like David Brent??!? Email the show with your questions: [email protected]  Pic Time: https://www.pic-time.com/ - use FUJICAST when creating an account for discount offers to apply For links go to the showpage.

Kev is wondering who sent red roses last Friday, was it you? On the show today, recommendations for a good zoom lens sub £400, just how good is the new Fujifilm X-M5, starting from scratch as a photographer, X100V as a powerhouse, audio kit to accompany your photo storytelling, perfect lenses for travel photography, Kev’s post-retirement plans, can you become a pro wedding photographer in your 50s, and a peak inside Neale and Kev’s kit bags. Plus there’s a bonus question on Judo! Email the show with your questions: [email protected]  Pic Time: https://www.pic-time.com/ - use FUJICAST when creating an account for discount offers to apply For links go to the showpage.

Don’t tell Kev, but Wales lost the rugby - at the time of recording, he was completely unaware! Shhh. Neale finds himself on a commercial shoot where things go bump in the night. Also, on the show, why are so many pictures shot in a vertical fashion? Kev isn’t convinced the world needs vertical images AT ALL! We talk about the number of pictures shot at weddings, gallery stats, the best time to send images to a client, taking a tripod v shooting using IBIS, updating your website to court search engines, showing pictures online that have feeling, understanding how to use ai and upselling social photography packages. Email the show with your questions: [email protected]  Pic Time: https://www.pic-time.com/ - use FUJICAST when creating an account for discount offers to apply For links go to the showpage.

Kev gets dewy-eyed over the music of Ralph McTell, remember the Streets of London, and Neale is feeling hopeful and buoyant about people and business in 2025. Questions today about the best camera for sports photography from the Fujifilm range, the quirks of Auto ISO, content insurance for kit away from home, more issues, photo challenges for 2025, content creators snapping your original ideas, and what software the boys use for editing video. Email the show with your questions: [email protected]  Pic Time: https://www.pic-time.com/ - use FUJICAST when creating an account for discount offers to apply For links go to the showpage.

The boys hit the resolutions road running and answer questions about their photographic callings and choices in life and ‘employing’ your partner as a second shooter. Also, today, should you let your camera choose ISO for every condition, facial recognition and battery drainage, focusing on eyes through reading glasses, Squarespace websites, HEIF format speed issues in post-production, the pictures that affected us from 2024, battling muddy images and how do you squish photos for optimal web use? Email the show with your questions: [email protected]  Pic Time: https://www.pic-time.com/ - use FUJICAST when creating an account for discount offers to apply For links go to the showpage.