Addison Welsey war so freundlich, mir ein Interview mit Scott Kelby zuzuschicken. Er ist der Photoshop-Guru in den Staaten und ist in der internationalen Computergrafik-Szene wahrlich kein Unbekannter – unter anderem ist er Mitbegründer und Chefredakteur des „Mac Design Magazine“ und gefragter Photoshop-Experte. Sein Buch "Photoshop CS für digitale Fotografie" ist ein echtes Highlight unter den Photoshop/Fotografie Büchern!



1) Mr. Kelby, you are known as an expert of the creative computing scene and as a "Photoshop veteran". How did you get involved with digital image manipulation and picture editing?

Although my creative roots are in photography, I wound up making a living as a graphic designer, and that's where I was introduced to Photoshop. After years in the graphics business, I wound up founding a Macintosh magazine in the US and that magazine wound up sponsoring Photoshop seminars and that's how I would up on the training side of things.

2) Please name the major advantages of digital photography in Comparison with its classical forms?

In many ways, digital photography levels the playing field somewhat between professional and amateur photographers. One advantage professionals always had over amateurs was that they were willing to spend the money to shoot and process hundreds of photos during a shoot, whereas amateurs would shoot only a fraction of that, due to costs.

With digital, you only have to buy film (your camera's memory card) once, and now amateurs can, and often do, shoot hundreds of shots, making the possibility of getting "the perfect shot" that much more likely.

Another advantage pros had was that they would shoot Polaroids, besides their 35mm or medium format shots, to test the lighting, composition, etc. but now, with the color LCDs on the back of digital cameras, now even amateurs can see a preview of the lighting and see if they're on track.

Neither of these makes up for a lack of talent, but it certainly gives amateurs a better chance of getting "the shot" than they've ever had before.

3) What are the important changes and advances in the new edition of Photoshop CS for Digital Photography?

Photoshop CS is definitely the upgrade for digital photographers, and most of the new CS features are expressly for them, but the one feature that really stands out is the Shadow/Highlight feature. It's one of the best Photoshop features in history, and turns virtually unusable shots into "keepers."

4) What features do you miss and would like to see in future versions of Photoshop?

I'd love to see the ability to edit and make all your correction
working on a low res 72 ppi version of your photo, and then click one button and apply all your change to the high resolution version at once (like the old "LivePicture" application using the FITS technology from France. Give me that, and I'm a happy guy.

5) Where do you think photography is going to be in 5 years time? Hardware? Software? And in other aspects?

I think we'll continue to see the giant megapixel race continuing. Right now, 8 megapixels is becoming the pro-standard. By next year, it'll be 10, then 12, and on up. As for software, it's going to have to get faster as the file sizes get larger, and that's why I want to see the "work in low res, render in high res" feature I mentioned in the previous question to come around sooner than later.

6) Which technologies, hardware and software do you use personally for your own photographic work?

I pretty much do everything now using a Macintosh G4 PowerBook 15", which I love. As for software, I use Photoshop CS (of course) yet I use very few plug-ins--pretty much just the stuff from nikMultimedia, Extensis for cataloging images, and the odd plug-in here and there.

7) Who do you consider to be your "favorite" photographer and why?

I have a couple of favorites, for different things. I love Vincent
Versace's close up nature work, which is absolutely stunning. and I love the rock-n-roll portraits from Lynn Goldsmith. She's amazing. I love Stephen Johnson's panoramic landscapes, and some of the things I'm seeing from Photoshop WOW! Book author Jack Davis are very compelling as well. Why are they my favorites? These are the photographers whose work I can look at again and again and never get tried of.

8) Will you visit the Photokina in Cologne this year?

I've never been but I'm trying to go this time, but my schedule is so tight I might not make it. I hope I'll be able to. I love Germany, and I've never been to Cologne, so keep your fingers crossed for me. :)