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Dr. Steven W. Choi
President & CEO, RONIN STUDIOS
Executive Biography
04Mar2007
“Very few people can tell the difference between an average photo and a good photo, but anyone can tell the difference between a good photo and a great one” – Dr. Steven W. Choi, 2002.
Steven W. Choi has never been comfortable being called a photographer. In keeping with the digital age, he prefers the term “expressionist” in recognition of the fact that photography has become a multi-media art in itself, with production stages that sprawl far beyond traditional film processing and printing. Although his finished product may be a sexy glossy print, a heart-stopping artistic canvas, or a “wow” shot for on-line viewing, he believes in holding his work to non-negotiable standards. It is not nearly enough that the image is pleasing to the eye. It must be viscerally compelling, to evoke some deeper feeling beyond mere pleasure. The design should be interesting and unique enough to incite curiosity about how it was done, or if the composition and lighting appear simple, they must be executed in superlative fashion. If he’s created the image he envisioned, there is something for everyone - the casual observer, the fine-art connoisseur, the technical wizard – to enjoy. In other words, both aesthetically and technically, the image must have power.
The philosophy that an image must do more than sit passively seems to have grown out of Steven’s approach to life in general. Steven was born in Korea but grew up in suburban Philadelphia, where his interests as a teenager and young adult ranged widely from various sports, racing cars, motorcycles, boats, and traveling the world to make his mark in the pharmaceutical industry. When it came to creative passion, however, one artistic instrument superseded all others: the camera. His first experience behind the lens was casual, using a camera inherited from his father. When a friend asked him to shoot models for the hair salon industry, Steve consulted with William Andrew O’Connell, a renowned editorial photographer, for instruction on the basics of lighting. Armed with a few stands, umbrellas, a sync cord and “screw in” strobes, Steven went out to purchase his first professional digital camera, the Olympus E10. His first serious subject was his own feet, propped among a litter of soda cans, ashtrays, and junk mail on the coffee table in front of him. “I always had black or white socks on,” he says. “I didn’t want to take pictures of my bare feet, because that would just be gross. But they were reliable subjects, and there was a certain irony in taking picture after picture of the humble foot, trying to get a real understanding of how light interacts with matter.” He spent the next several years shooting exotic automobiles, editorials and fine art, and eventually opened RONIN STUDIOS. His work has been published internationally and his art sold in premier galleries throughout Europe, Asia and the US.
Steven believes that “creating an exceptional photo is a multi-step process in which mastery of different tools is essential.” His workflow is determined by what he considers the end product, and he believes in using the highest quality tools for every step of the process. This means working with what he believes are the best camera, computer and printer in the world, so that his creations are limited only by his imagination. How does he decide what “the best” equipment is? First, he demands cutting-edge, proven technology, starting with the Hasselblad H3D 39. “With its 39 million pixel sensor and exceptional glass, the H3D 39 is the most powerful fully integrated camera system in the world,” he says. “Hasselblad has come a long way since acquiring Imacon and they’ve since perfected their color profile with the new Hasselblad RGB color space, compared to any of their competitors using the same Kodak sensor. Their unique color space acts as a color-mixing formula to provide the most accurate rendition of true colors as our eyes see them. Hasselblad combines this new color space with several other significant advancements in technology to create the ultimate tool for photography and art. It is truly remarkable. I think most professionals would agree that before you apply effects or enhancements to a photo, that photo should already be as perfect as possible when you first capture it with your camera. In this way, Hasselblad’s H3D 39 excels beyond any other camera system in the world.”
After a high quality image is captured, Steven processes the file in raw format using Hasselblad’s Flexcolor software on a PC. “Sure, many people use Macs for their processing,” he says. “But since Macs have switched to Intel processors from Motorola, I think that PCs are actually on the cutting edge. Intel’s Core2Duo processors work at much higher speeds, and when you’re running a dual-processor PC with 2 Core2Duo chips, you have the equivalent of 8 processors working in parallel. You don’t need much more than that.” Steven continues his work on monitors with custom profiles that calibrate the camera to the monitor, and the monitor to the printer. He demands the highest standard in these calibrations and relies on meticulous attention to detail to ensure consistency from capture to print. Steven uses the Epson 9800 because of what he describes as “Epsons’s fine line of media as well as their extraordinary inks,” which give him the ultimate control in finalizing the end product. Steven adds that accumulating a superior set of tools has not been a simple task, and he hasn’t done it alone. “Fortunately, I’ve had a great relationship with a company called SSI – they’ve helped me identify and acquire the best equipment on the market, and I go to them if I need anything. In a way they’re also one of my indispensable tools - they’ve got a firm commitment to customer service, they’ve been with me every step of the way, and they provide immediate, reliable support. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.”
Aside from all the photographic equipment, computer systems, and printing materials, though, Steven acknowledges that the most precious element in the creative process is inspiration – the critical ingredient that distinguishes a good photo from a work of art. Steven puts it this way: “The best photographic art is something that can’t be reduced to good technology or even finely-honed skills. What’s the difference between being motivated and being truly inspired? I think it’s when the impetus to create is no longer coming just from your will, but also from the idea itself – how it flashes into consciousness, takes hold of you and you can’t resist it – you’re compelled to bring this thing into being. So in some way you’re definitely doing the work, but you’re also along for the ride. I think other pros would be able to relate if I said it’s almost like being possessed.”
The true test, though, is when it all comes together. Elevating familiar elements to something extraordinary by use of a new perspective…showcasing the way light meets its subject and literally illuminates something new about it… these are effects any imaginative photographer strives for. What sets Steven’s aesthetic apart is the emphasis on creating an image that has its own power. “Whether I’m creating a web photo or a fine art canvas gallery wrap, I always have in mind that my main goal is to create emotion. Like music, the way music has a way of moving the soul. It can raise our heart rates, stirring emotions from tears to joy, exciting us one minute and calming us the next. A spectacular photo can do the same thing, but without the luxury of sound or video – a photographer has to strike the same emotional chord with only a single moment in time. It’s the ultimate challenge but when you succeed at it, you understand why it’s worth the effort. You actually open the door between yourself and another person, the one who’s looking at your work and feeling some kind of mutual recognition or understanding.” Steven feels that an image is a true work of art, and a successful expression of his personal vision, when it renders the viewer inarticulate, even if only for a moment – this means that no matter how many times a person looks at it, the image exerts its own force, seizes the attention, overwhelms the eye, floods the heart with deep appreciation or thrilling surprise, delicious lust or peace, spiritual bliss or bittersweetness. “When your photo makes that kind of intangible contact with the viewer, gives them that indescribable awe every time they look at it, that’s the ultimate reward - for me and hopefully for them, too.”
Dr. Steven W. Choi representing SSI and Hasselblad in Exposure Magazine,
American Society of Media Photographers, New Jersey Chapter, Winter 2007, Volume 15, Number 1