He’s become one of my favorite people to listen to when it comes to photography, and so it was a great pleasure to be able to fire off a few questions to him and get some insight into his view of the world of modern photography, with its abundance of changes and permutations thanks to the digital revolution. Here is that interview.

What initially got you interested or excited in photography?

In high school I worked on a project with a very beautiful girl in a photo darkroom. It was the first time I had been exposed to the photographic process and I fell in love with photography from that moment. Don’t know what happened to that beautiful woman other than she became my favorite subject for a number of years.

What was your first camera?

A Konica T3 Auto-reflex followed shortly by a Nikon F.

You’ve shot both commercial and photojournalism work, as well as all kinds of other stuff. Do you consider yourself a “generalist”? Do you have a preferred genre of photography, or do you like the freedom of shooting in multiple forms?

I love photography. It is not only my profession but my passion and hobby. I don’t think a “generalist” is a good term for me as it makes me think of average or boring, I would prefer to be known as a “specialist in many subjects”. There are three aspects to photography today really when you think about it… form, light and technology. The bulk of my work outside of digital imaging consulting is photojournalism and commercial work but the work I love is the self driven stuff I do for clients and for me.

I guess, to answer the question, the camera has always been the key that has opened doors to opportunities, travel and meeting people and the photographic process has always been a set of problems that has made all this a very exciting career. If you press me for a favorite subject it would be really big fly-caught fish in a very remote wilderness setting.

What sort of equipment do you shoot with currently?

It’s all digital Nikon and some Canon digital. Equipment is really a set of tools and I think a good photographer should be able to use any camera to make a commercial picture and needs to understand and work with the characteristics of that set of tools. Too many photographers get hung up in the tools and forget the creative process photography really is.

You began your career as a photojournalist, beginning with a small weekly paper and eventually shooting for Reuters. During this time you covered a lot of ground, visiting locations and shooting at events all over the world. Did you have a favorite location to shoot in?

My favorite location would be one I have never been to before. Photographically it would be all about light and I think some of the best light I have is seen far North and far South, Iceland for instance has this different angle and quality of light that changes with the seasons. If I had to pick a location to shoot in it would probably be Cape Town or Tierra del Fuego, both of which I have never been to before.

Privacy and personal space is becoming an issue these days and a lot of photographers have run into legal problems when they shoot in public. Have you ever been stopped or found yourself in danger because you wanted to photograph something where you didn’t have permission or that sort of thing was frowned upon?

Generally no, these legal issues are normally caused by photographers who are looking for, or forcing a subject into an “exclusive” shot to then sell to a speciality magazine or newspaper, these people rarely work in a group unless they team up as if 50 photographers have the same picture they value of that picture is diminished. I have photographed many people where they thought they had legal rights over the pictures I have taken but they didn’t.

As far as being in danger, yes, I have been assaulted twice, shot at once and threatened many times at the scenes of disasters and public disturbances. When I talk to students about photojournalism I always tell them they must be always aware of their surroundings and be conscious of what is happening outside of their camera viewfinders and it doesn’t matter if they are covering a football game or a riot. Two reasons for this first is their own personal safety and the second is some great pictures happen behind the photographer.

How do you feel about the state of photography today? What is digital technology doing to the professional photography landscape?

Ahhhh now the hard questions. Digital Imaging is a blip in the history of photography. I don’t think it is much different that what we have experienced in the past. Think of the switch from large format photography to 35mm photography in the professional area, and then think of the point and shoot 126 format, 110 format and Polaroid cameras that consumers had in the 60’s and 70’s. The photographic landscape has always been changing and affecting what professionals do.

I feel the same way about professional photography today as I did when I started there is always much to learn and there are good photographers and average photographers. The real change is in the way consumers of photography look at the product we produce. Advertising and the manipulation of images has affected photojournalism, the web and television have affected the way people see and feel about images. Companies and personalities understand the power of images and have moved to control their images and the use of them.

So I think that photography and digital photography is the most exciting time for photographers to date, and for the profession its always been the same there are good and bad photographers.

What about software? Do you do much post processing in general?

This depends, the goal is and always has been to try and shoot a perfect image in the camera. Some assignments I do no post processing on, others require a lot of time in post processing. As a business model if a shoot takes an hour then I plan generally on 1 hour of post processing and I charge for this. If a client has more defined needs it can take up to 1 hour of shoot time and 4 hours of post processing. This post processing might not be Photoshop work but could be output specific things like web galleries, image sizing, etc.

You teach classes on photography now. What is the number one question or concern your students approach you with, and what is your response?

Q: What equipment or camera settings did you use to get that shot!
A: The equipment and settings are not the most important thing that went into that shot, it was the visualization in the mind of that shot that was the most important single thing. Don’t get hung up on the technical aspects of a picture first, see the picture in your mind and then set about thinking of the technical aspects you need to capture that image.

Did you have a teacher that really helped you understand something new or exciting about photography, or were you entirely self-taught?

I am completely self taught, which means I made just about every mistake possible. Being a professional means you never talk about these mistakes. I do many hours of reading and learning each month, and I have other photographers that made impressions on me, like Bert Stern, Duane Michaels and Dean Collins.

Weigh in on this loaded question, Nick. Film versus Digital?

This isn’t really a loaded question anymore. Film is really an emotional output source, as is black and white photography. Digital is the choice for many reasons when it comes to photography and output. When we got 6 megapixel digital cameras I could make better looking prints than from 35mm negatives and at 10mp I could get better looking prints than from 35mm Kodachrome images.

The Film v Digital question today is an emotional one. And those that are stuck on film are there either because they like the “look of the film process”, which is a valid reason. Or they don’t understand the digital hardware and software needed and they are unwilling to retool or more importantly learn the new processes needed to make this change in the history of photography.

For the last number of years I haven’t been thinking of film versus digital, I’ve been thinking “what is next”?

Trey specializes in HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography, and as you would expect, he’s quite good at it. His photographic exploits span the world, from Chernobyl to Dresden, from Mumbai to Amish country.

In his “other” life Trey works as the CEO for John Galt Games, but on the web, he’s become the poster child for HDR… so much so that he’s created a popular tutorial regarding HDR (which he wanted me to share).

Despite his busy schedule, we were fortunate enough to have a quick conversation with Trey Ratcliff about his photography. Here’s that interview.

(Fotohacker) Before we get into your photography… you’re the CEO for John Galt Games. How long have you been with them, and what does your role there consist of?

(Trey Ratcliff) I’ve been with John Galt Games for a few years. My main role is more on the creative and team leadership side. We have several games in development, most notably WebWars, and working with the team on the design and execution occupies about 95% of my non-family day.

For those of us who are Eve Online fanatics… how awesome can we expect WebWars to be?

WebWars is awesome. It really, really is – and I can say that objectively. We are still in private beta and I was up at 4 AM the other night overseeing the servers as we had testers connecting from all over the world. It’s a new fresh game in a world of copy-cats, and I know people will have a blast with WebWars: EVE. Feel free to send your readers to sign up for the beta at www.webwars.com!

You have a lot of travel photography. What has been your favorite place to visit so far? Do you ever feel nervous or apprehensive about shooting in a foreign place?

Iceland is the best. I keep saying that, but maybe I shouldn’t because I don’t want people going there and getting in the way of my shots. I hate that… oh god it is so annoying when clueless tourists are walking around with their little cameras using a flash to shoot a mountain range. Anyway, besides the lack of people, there is a raw beauty that I have not found anywhere else. It’s like Yellowstone on geothermal steroids. I rarely get nervous when walking around foreign places like dark alleys in Mumbai or back streets of Bangkok. I carry around a huge tripod slung over my shoulder. I have a gait like Jason Bourne and I’ve learned to flip my tripod around (I carry it SO much) like a nunchaku, so I am sure that this bizarre ensemble intimidates or at least causes a moment of pause for the local ne’erdowells.

How and when did you start taking photographs? Did you begin using film, or digital? When did you get your first digital camera?

I’ve taken photographs my whole life, so I’ve always been learning composition and those sorts of basics. I did not get an SLR until just a few years ago.

Did you get any formal training as a photographer, or have you been self-taught?

I am totally self-taught. I think some people do very well in structured learning environments, but I do not. My curiosity in strange sub-trails of subjects lets me go off into the weeds on deep dives of information. It’s hard for me to all that distraction to be productive within a structured learning environment.

Has your photography inspired any commercial interest?

Yes – I get contacted sometimes by many entities that want to use my photos for various purposes. I am really busy, but fortunately, I am represented by Getty, so I am able just to send people there.

What sort of equipment do you shoot with? Do you use any artificial lighting?

I shoot with a Nikon D2x and the predictable lenses. I’m not one of those camera-guys that gets really into talking about my equipment. For model shoots, I do use special lighting, but not for my landscapes or other interior shots.

What was your introduction to High Dynamic Range photography?

I don’t remember exactly. I think it might have come from playing Half Life 2 on my PC. I noticed how the lighting was quite a bit different than any photograph I had ever seen. I compared it to nice photographs that I had seen on the exact same computer screen. It took me a while to figure out why the game picture looked so much more engaging and exciting than a regular photograph. Then I started surfing around the net and saw there were a few basic HDR photo-manipulation tools. I’ve adopted my own style, which still uses the same basic tools mentioned in the tutorial.

What do you think of the HDR scene that exists online? Is the technique being exploited to it’s fullest potential, or do you feel it’s being misused at all?

Honestly, I don’t keep up with “the scene”. I have chosen a path and I continue to go down it, refining my technique. I see HDR stuff all over the place. Some is good and some is bad. I see a lot of beginners making the same mistakes I did, so I hardly blame them! It just takes a while to learn proper techniques – that’s all…

Are you surprised by the attention your photography has attracted online?

Yes – I am totally shocked. I have over 13,000 emails in my photography inbox still unread. I put a screenshot of that on Flickr and I ended up with another thousand or so that day. I feel bad that so many people email me and I never get back to them… Just too busy – I think most of them understand – at least I hope they do.

What’s “the trick” behind getting that wonderful HDR look? You’ve walked through the process in your tutorial, but parts of the process itself seem rather fluid and organic. If you had to give someone that one tip to remember when processing HDR, what would it be?

That’s a tough question. In the meta-sense, I think the more exposure one has to Impressionist art, the better they can make their HDRs. The great Impressionist painters of the world understood light and color better than anyone. If you have the artistic mind to catalog, recall, and overlay their techniques into your photos, then you can do the microadjustments needed to make the photograph flow properly. I look at Impressionist paintings like CSI investigators – why did Caillebotte choose to make the stone wet? Why did Manet put so much black in the clouds? Why did Degas put the horses over THERE? To me it’s all very interesting to empathize and figure this stuff out. I’ve never taken an art class, so I may be wrong in my conclusions, but I’m always refining my conclusions, and even if I did take a class, I probably wouldn’t believe the teacher anyway.

You talk about photography in terms of impressionist paintings. That’s interesting, because a painter will usually have a good sense of where they’re going with the piece early in their process. When you look at a scene, can you visualize the HDR result before you’ve ever sat down on your computer, or are you exploring and inventing the final result during the actual HDR phase?

I compose most of the photo on the scene. If it’s not composed well, then there is nothing I can do to rescue it in Photoshop. Also, I try to select the proper lighting and colors that I know from experience will turn out well. Not that I bat 1000 – not even close! But I think I see my average getting a little better over time and over mistake after mistake.

You obviously don’t convert everything you shoot to HDR. What kind of conditions or components do you look for when shooting that inspire you to HDR it?

Now I absolutely see the world in HDR. I am acutely aware when I am in a place with various light levels. It’s hard to say, but when I go around with my photographer friends who are into HDR, we can all immediately see the same potential for HDR in a scene. It’s a new way of thinking, but I think it comes very fast after you just do a bit of HDR.

Do you have a favorite lens?

I end up using my Sigma 10-20mm more than I ever thought I would. I thank my great HDR photographer friend in Naples name Valerio for introducing me to the lens!

Do you use any special filters when shooting?

I never use filters. I let all the colors flow naturally into my lens.. I need all the natural colors so that in post processing I can use them as necessary.

Weigh in on this important subject, Trey. Primes, or zooms?

Zooms for everything but very predictable model shoots. In HDR, the f-stops do not matter, since you are on a tripod and you do long exposures. If you are doing single-frame HDRs of moving subjects, then having a prime lens will be nice, but fast-moving subjects rarely stay in the right position for a prime!

You’ve like seen a portion of the Feist video on the Apple iPod Nano ad. If not, you can see the original video here. Below is the making of video.

Trey Ratcliff is one of my favorite “unknown” photographers. He’s only unknown because he doesn’t really do this for a living, not because he potentially couldn’t. Since he first visited Chernobyl and published Part 1 of his two part photo essay from the hot zone, Trey garnered the attention of the online community and his blog has earned itself a lot of traffic.

For a living, Ratcliff works for a game company… in fact, he’s the CEO. During his travels, he takes along his camera and shoots high dynamic range images of (seemingly) everything he sees or can get close to.

Despite the “fad” impression I get surrounding the hype of “HDR” images these days, it’s tough not to love their rich, hyper-real quality. What’s nice about Trey’s photography is his use of HDR. Very few people who attempt HDR imaging seem to understand when enough is enough, and push their images too far. Trey’s photography could easily be misunderstood for impeccably lit traditional photography, but they still have that slightly processed look which is typical of HDR.

Go visit the two part Chernobyl Adventure over at Trey’s blog, “Stuck In Customs“.

Harnessing the power of people is what it’s all about. People power is remarkably hot, and with the right kind of service, a website powered by people power can be virtually unstoppable, and can attract a legion of devoted fans.

JPG Magazine is hoping to capitalize on this idea. It’s a clever concept, which takes the best of social media sites and expands upon it, by publishing a real life magazine (made out of paper) which is comprised of nothing but user submitted images which were voted up by other users. Every month, a new set of themes is announced, and users try to shoot using the theme as a guideline.

New JPG Features

The JPG Magazine website is an integral part of this process. It needs to be slick, slim, and easy to use. Because of that, it has recently received a few upgrades:

1) For your eyes only box. A small box on your submitted photos that keeps running tallies of how many times your photo has been viewed (not counting your views) and, if it’s a submission, how many Yeah votes it’s received.

2) Favorites. You can easily mark a picture as a favorite, and each photo’s favorites list can be viewed.

3) Photo size toggle. Though it may seem like a small thing, in a voting system it’s important to give each picture equal screen time – so interface is important. You can now toggle between seeing 12 medium photos, or 36 small ones.

4) Social bookmarking. You can now promote your own photos to social bookmarking sites like Del.icio.us via the website.

Lossless Business Model

JPG Mag’s service is free. Anyone can sign up for an account, and anyone who has an account can upload or vote on their favorite pictures. Though the magazine itself needs to be purchased, photo contest winners (those who get enough votes) can get a free one-year subscription to the mag plus $100. Despite all this, the magazine can be freely downloaded by anyone in PDF format, with the latest issue here.

It’s really a lossless business model. The great thing for the publishers is that virtually no content creators are necessary. For the users, they get a chance to get their photo in print. For the environment, it means less wasted trees since the required print run is more easily tracked. It’s a clever business model, and while the site may not have the popularity of some of the more major photo sites (yet), it’s this subtle difference which makes it’s potential obvious. It also has some major advertisers already in place, including Flickr and Lensbaby.

JPG Magazine is a social media website, but the difference is they have a tangible end product. Imagine if Digg published a magazine every month with the top twenty or thirty news articles. Subscriptions and possible advertising would significantly offset the cost of producing such a magazine… and it could be a huge draw for fanatic users who would love to get their hands on it.

I’ve been following JPG Magazine for a couple of months now, and it seems to run smoothly, though I haven’t taken the plunge and submitted anything (yet). If you’re interested in photography, go create an account and partake in the community by submitting and voting.

The absolute worst of the bunch, however, is the Road Of Bones, which is a rough mud road that turns into soup when the rainy season hits, trapping miles of cars and their passengers.

This ‘road’ is a 2000 mile stretch which connects Yakutsk to Magadan, and is notoriously bad. It was built by political prisoners under Stalin’s rule, who were often imprisoned at gulags. Many of these people died trying to construct the road, and their bones became a part of the fixture.

The road is in a state of disrepair and is untraversable by standard road vehicles because of washed-out bridges and sections of road reclaimed by streams. During winter, frozen water actually helps river crossings.

Incidentally, the Ewan McGregor produced short series “Long Way Round” featured Ewan and his buddy Charlie trying to traverse the Road Of Bones on their motorcycles.

We’re not talking megapixels here, we’re talking gigapixels – with resulting images that are so highly detailed, you can zoom in to even the tiniest object in the distance and bring it in with clear and crisp fidelity.

xRez is like a studio, or a collective of photographers who are commissioned for special projects. They have some unique and highly specialized equipment designed for the purposes of gigapixel level panoramic work, high dynamic range photography, large scale “full dome” panoramas, etc. It’s the sort of stuff we all dream of doing, but very rarely get a chance to.

By combining powerful 3d tools and techniques appropriated from the visual effects field, possibilites arise of new imagery and animation that are truly novel and unprecedented. Applications of these new techniques can range from experiencing stunningly large prints in fine art gallery installations, providing a substitute to live-action shooting in feature film backgrounds, and enriching a national park visitors understanding and interpretation, to name a few.

The team currently consists of Greg Downing (who specializes in 3D based imaging), Eric Hanson (a visual effects designer), and Ron Shirley (a film and photography major) and together they have worked on visual effects for numerous outfits and companies. All these guys are teachers as well as professionals, and they’ve got some interesting work in their online portfolio that shows off this gigapixel obsession.