SmugMug Films: Passport to Morocco

he takes cliche photos like thousand of amateur. he has portfolio you can find in every 500 px or flickr account. He travel in places always shooting the same postcard, cooking it with HDR.
He's not a case like, ming then and other web photographer, he needs a lot of blogging and talking to have a chance in photo industry, cause when your photo don't speak for themselves you need to talk. i was many time in morocco and he not even scratched the surface of this beautiful country. He has win zero award, he has zero editorial presence apart some magazine that self promote this kind of photographer.
What surprises me is that many follow this guy and don't even know for example PJ HARVEY from magnum....and magnum workshop cost 3000' dollar he ask 15000 for a workshop...those who pay this sum to learn photography by this guy should be hospitalized.

1 month agopermalink

"He's no Ken Rockwell or even Gary Fong..." This actually made me laugh out loud. If you'd said he's no McCurry... but Rockwell? You need to set the bar a bit higher.

And Jonny... lighten up champion. You keep saying postcard photos... blah, blah.... postcard photos. Have you ever stopped to think why postcard photos are popular? Because 99% of the population can't take a photo to save their life, 80% can't/don't travel, and a postcard photo does it for them quite nicely.

Trey is a travel photographer and a very good one. If you don't like it, mate... vote with your mouse button.

Clearly you are a different kind of photographer... a photojournalist, I suspect.

1 month agopermalink

Mr Grey

@jonny1976 So you're comparing a photojournalist to a travel photog? In what world does that make sense? It's astounding to me how people here can eviscerate a photographer simply because they're either jealous or just following the mob mentality.

If you have nothing but negative crap to say why even bother. I can't even imagine what it must be like being so full of hate and acrimony. I'm sure glad I don't live that way.

1 month agopermalink

M W B G

Ken Rockwell sucks, just like his photos. Knows the techy stuff but I personally think he's an idiot.

1 month agopermalink

this is not a travel photographer. he 's a postcard photographer. i you don't know what means being a travel photographer, is your problem. this guy has zero credit in industry, zero award, zero publications.
He's not about being jealous man, he's about being critic and know the industry pretty well.
you clearly don't have a clue and answer like a child of 10 years.

1 month agopermalink

Mr Grey

Well one of his photos is in the Smithsonian. But really who cares if he's won any awards? There are many good photographers that haven't won any awards. That's not how I judge people anyway. And as for your personal attack calling me a child I suggest you look in the mirror. You really sound like you're just filled with hate. I feel sorry for you.

1 month agopermalink

Jonny, Jonny, Jonny.... You keep saying he's never won awards or been published. Here's the thing that *you* might not understand... To get published (mostly), you have to have a client - unless you're self-publishing - but that's a whole other area we don't need to go into. Ratcliff doesn't do client work. He did some for Air New Zealand because... they love him. But other than that... nada.
To win an award at least in photography, most often you have to enter your work, or be published, or both. Please see above.

At the risk of sounding a bit testy - and likely childish in your eyes - when was the last frickn time you were asked to show your work at a Ted talk, or Google, or sold a single (rather large) print for over $100k, or had something in the Smithsonian, or...???

Trey seems like a pretty chill guy, and he makes a nice living with a camera.

'Nuff said.

4 weeks agopermalink

Alex Efimoff

Watching without sound:
Trey with his tripod, trey with his tripod, boring drone footage of Trey with his tripod, Trey in the middle of a busy footpath with his tripod blocking traffic, boring drone footage of Trey with his tripod, Trey walking up the street with his tripod, boring drone footage of Trey with his tripod, Trey no letting his camera stay in hands of a tourist cliché man, Trey photographing a tourist cliché man, boring drone footage of Trey with his tripod, Horrible over cooked HDR, some more eye tearing over cooked HDR from Japan...
From now on I will be calling such people a Trey :)
She is such a Trey!

1 month agopermalink

internet era makes this boring, amateur more famous in many places than steve mccurry or magnum photographer...i call it the ignorant era.

P.S. i wrote once he charge 10000 dollar for a workshop...those who paid this to attend a workshop oaf a guy shooting cliche photos, same postcard as thousand of amateur, who never goes in depth when travel just the same places you can find alone buying a lonely planet. should be jailed for life.

1 month agopermalink

Jealous much? No, he is not Steve McCurry. They sort of broke the mould after him. But at the same time, Ratcliff has found a niche that far more enjoy than dislike... regardless of what you or I might think.
Spewing your baseless drivel just makes you look shallow and envious. But like you... that's just my opinion.
Most of his over-cooked HDR was from years ago. His recent stuff has definitely "toned down the toning", lol.

1 month ago*permalink

he's not jealousy i travel and work for magazine i go in places trey will never go, cause if you watch carefully he simply goes same places as amateur go...dubai, singapore ,venice...he's a genius of marketing for sure, as photographer is normal, cause nowadays everybody can take this kind of picture. Kudos to him but when you take of the talk, the picture are simply postcard already heavily take since the last 40 years.
To go in essaouira and shoot what he shot, is something everybody can do, to take photos that magnum photographer or top notch photographer take you need to be skilled and most of all not scared as hell if a local ak to see our camera...that part of the video show how nerdish this guy is, and i don't even comment the ugly and pathetic photos of google sunglasses , clearly made to advertise this product.

1 month agopermalink

Jonny, I agree that with today's software and cameras, that many people can duplicate the look and feel of his work. And yes, he is very good at marketing.
Hell, if I could figure out a way to make 7 figures and travel like he does, I'd likely give it a go.
The point is, don't hate the man for his product... hate that SmugMug or DPR management decided that we needed to see it.

1 month agopermalink

privater

Looks like he enjoy using 10-18 f4 apsc lens on A7r, what's wrong with 16-35 f4?

1 month agopermalink

PVCdroid

He uses both. The 10-18 is for when he wants a wider shot. This also looks like it is a couple years old and may have been before the 1635 was released.

1 month ago*permalink

Marcus Beard

I read the comments here with interest. I'm not a big fan of Trey's photography - but one has to admire how he has marketed what he does so successfully. Any yes - it is becoming a little tiresome to here repeated faux philosophy. I'd recommend seeing the truly amazing National Geographic photographers Proof videos though - a different league. https://youtu.be/6tVlMaBNkpg

1 month agopermalink

Serenity Now

Cheers for the link. Great stuff.

1 month agopermalink

Malikknows

Yes, I had a similar response. I enjoyed the vid and loved the photography but the rubbish philosophy about finding or creating oneself is a bit too cliche. Beauty is its own reward -- when we can capture it.

1 month agopermalink

User9273908891

Thank you for the link, very interesting...

4 weeks agopermalink

papa natas

“Art is never chaste. It ought to be forbidden to ignorant innocents, never allowed into contact with those not sufficiently prepared. Yes, art is dangerous. Where it is chaste, it is not art.”
Pablo Picasso

1 month agopermalink

D200_4me

I actually used to follow him on Google Plus and YouTube, but he and too many other photographers began to get on my nerves with the overly philosophical/deep thoughts ramblings about photography and what it means. I don't need to find myself in photography. I already know who I am. For me, photography is a nice relaxation and escape from my daily technical job. Same goes for my gardening hobby. These days, you see people on the social media and photography sharing sites posting photos with some deep/philosophical comments to go along with it...as if they just discovered the meaning of life in the photo they posted and we're all supposed to stop and have those deep, deep thoughts about it and be in awe of how enlightening it was. Really, people...stop trying to be a philosopher and stick to trying to make better photos. It's pretty simple.

1 month agopermalink

D200_4me

I would also add that I agree with his comment that most people in the world are generally good/nice people. It's the politicians and dictators that ruin it for all the rest of us with their thirst for power and control.

1 month agopermalink

Osa25

Why should anyone be offended at at a person creating art in a search for meaning? Why must it mean nothing to them because it means nothing to you.

As Aasimov noted once: "The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life." That is how we have ended in the mess we are in.

I dont cant say I am blown away by the man's art here, but kudos to him for being determined to try and create some meaning in his own life.

1 month agopermalink

sh10453

@D200
Yes, I generally agree. Too much philosophy in such cases is a big turn off for me as well.

I also agree on the politicians and dictators part.

Well said.

1 month agopermalink

photofisher

I disagree with Asimov.

We need to spend fewer breaths on what we think or feel about a situation and more breaths working and caring for each other.

1 month agopermalink

Terkwoiz

Yes. Way to much pretensiousness.

"There ain't nothin' to it but to do it."
- Lightnin' Hopkins

1 month agopermalink

Malikknows

Agree entirely. Kindly spare us from the pseudo intellectual claptrap.

1 month agopermalink

Nikman20

Trey is far better at marketing (and making money) than photography.

1 month agopermalink

AbrasiveReducer

Obviously, but its still a skill. A lot of folks only know how to take great photos; they don't know how to tell people how great they are. Even on DPR, there are people who like Trey's photos so you can imagine how the general public feels.

1 month agopermalink

Lots of commonplace philosophy in his words.
What amazes me is how these photographers work these days - they want to build a name and reputation for themselves yet they really work for the industry, only they don't tell you that. Where has the pride gone to be eg a Time photographer or National Geographic guy? These videos are often very nice but they are really commercials.

1 month agopermalink

FantasticMrFox

Pride? They heyday of magazines is over, Sports Illustrated has laid off all their staff photographers, magazines are in decline.

Pride doesn't put food on the table, pride doesn't pay the bills. Many photographers nowadays are scrambling to get by, even the most successful names in the industry are not simply shooting and selling images any more. Rather, they generate income from different sources, including advertising, workshops, writing etc.

1 month agopermalink

I totally get that. Today there are so many amateurs who do awesome work and so many less magazines, it has to be hard to get by as a freelance photographer.
On the other hand, too many people feel the need to take that road. Some of them would be better off seeing photography as a hobby.
Be that as it may, my point is that we get too much sponsored content these days, to much of a thing for which I forgot the English term right now...I have it at the tip of my tongue...well, you know what I mean. Hidden commercials.

1 month agopermalink

FantasticMrFox

Infomercials? Product placement?

1 month ago*permalink

No, there is a special term that was much talked about last year. Maybe it'll come to me.
Infomercials are so obvious commercials today, nobody takes them serious anymore (alomst nobody ;-))

1 month agopermalink

what surprise e me more is that lot of talented genius master of reportage documentary winner of the most important award struggle to find economic support and people like this and some other i forgot, with a buungch of postcard built a million dollar business.
i'm sure 99 % of those who follow this guy don't even know 4 member of magnum agency,.

1 month agopermalink