(Note: All photographs displayed in this interview is copyrighted material, unauthorized use or reproduction for any reason is prohibited.)

E.J. Peiker is the Senior Technical Editor of Naturescapes.net, one of the premiur nature photography sites on the Internet.

His photographs have been published in many nature, agriculture and photography magazines and books including Outdoor Photographer, Popular Photography, Birding Magazine, Audubon Society publications, National Geographic publications, Barron’s Duck Handbook, Barron’s Dove Handbook, the UK’s Practical Photography and many smaller publications. The US National Park Service uses some of his images in their National Park Brochures as does the Fish and Wildlife Service. Several zoos from around the world (North America, Asia, Europe) use his photographs for their identification displays. HIs photos are also in widespread use in educational material for children in both Canada and the US.

He was a Field Editor, Forum Moderator, and contributing author for the WEB based Nature Photography magazine NaturePhotographers.net until 2003 and is now is the Senior Technical Editor and co-founder of NatureScapes.net. E.J. has had a private exhibition of 30 of his photographs in Israel and he teachs an annualIntroduction to Bird Photography and Outdoor Flash Photography courses at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior, AZ which is sponsored by the Audubon Society in conjunction with The University of Arizona.

Known for his extensive knowledge of the technical aspects of photographic equipment, he has become a source for thousands of photographers who want to know more about digital photography. His extensive website can be viewed at: EJPhoto

Question:

If you could design and produce the best camera in the world, what would it be like?

I think I answered this well in this article written in October:

http://www.naturescapes.net/102007/ej1007.htm

Question:

What real technical breakthroughs must happen in digital sensor technology before we see substantial improvement in light sensitivity?

We need to stop pushing higher and higher megapixels because today’s sensors on the high mega pixel full frame (35mm format) sensors are already diffraction limited. On the 1Ds Mark II (16.7 mega pixels) you start to see falloff in detail rendering between f/11 and f/16. On the 1Ds Mark III (21 megapixels) you start to see falloff below f/11 so pushing the megapixels higher within the constraints of a 24×36mm sensor physically limits the ability to render detail and we should not go higher. One solution to this is a Foveon like sensor where all three colors are recorded at the same pixel site rather than Bayer sensors where each pixel site records a single color and the overall color of that pixel is then interpolated based on its surrounding neighbors. There are some drawbacks to the Foveon sensor that could largely be overcome with some serious development. So then we could go back to something like 15 megapixels, get the equivalent detail rendering of about 30 megapixels without the diffraction limitation of going higher on the Bayer sensor. Getting back to the original question about light sensitivity, this approach would help that too since the pixel sites and microlenses would not need to be further shrunk and sensor designers could concentrate on higher light collecting efficiency along with reducing electronic noise thereby increasing the signal to noise ratios which could lead to much cleaner high ISO capability. One other thought – if we can reduce the amount of heat generated by the electronics in the camera, we will have lower noise sensors.

Question:

As a follow-on to the last question, What will this mean in terms of what photographers will be able to do in the future that they cannot do today?

Clean, low level light shots. The ability to freeze action in lower light, hand holding in lower light. Higher resolution photographs without dramatically increasing storage needs

Question:

What, from your viewpoint, is the most important research that is being done today in digital sensor technology, or for that matter, any technology that can be applied to photography?

Since all of the sensor technology research is highly proprietary to the different manufacturers this is difficult to answer. My work is in microprocessor technology and I am not intimately involved with digital sensor research. But I do think, as stated above, some serious research needs to happen in collecting all light channels at a single pixel site if we want to continue to improve resolution without damaging overall detail rendering capability due to the fundamental physical limitations of diffraction. We also need much better lenses. Today’s full frame digital sensors, when shot at apertures where diffraction is not a limitation, out resolve what the lenses are capable of producing – especially Canon wide angle lenses. Early results from the recently introduced Nikon 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens shows that it can be done, but then that lens is not challenged by a high megapixel full frame sensor yet since the D3 is only a 12 megapixel sensor.

Question:

What skill sets do you believe that a modern photographer should have?

No different than film on the artistic side – composition, understanding light, understanding the interaction between f/stops and shutter speeds with an added emphasis for digital on ISO. On the technical understanding side, the digital photographer, if he/she is to get the most out of their cameras and images, a through understanding of RAW processing, Photoshop, and computers is an addition.

Question:

Is photography a science or an art? Is it both? Why?

Photography itself is an art form in my opinion, but in order to display the art form as well as possible, one needs to also be a technician.

Question:

What photographers, prior to the digital revolution, were the most innovative? Why?

I think John Shaw in recent history. If we go back a bit further, of course Ansel Adams work is phenomenal. Galen Rowell showed that you can take great photos with a relatively inexpensive light film SLR with consumer grade lenses. David Muench and Jack Dykinga are giants of the medium format landscape.

Question:

What modern photographers do you admire? Why?

There are many, and many are active on the websites and many have become my friends. In the bird genre, Alan Murphy and Greg Downing are masters. You can not talk about bird photography without mentioning Arthur Morris as he really pioneered and popularized bird photography. In landscapes, David Muench and Jack Dykinga which I have already mentioned. Additionally Darwin Wiggett is a favorite. Charles Glatzer and Dennis Olivero are among the best in the wildlife genre and one has to mention names like Thomas Mangelsen and Art Wolfe. I also have a love for aviation photography and there are none better than Paul Bowen and Mike Fizer.

Question:

Do you have a favorite photograph you have made that you will share with us? Why is it your favorite?

Wow, I am so super critical of myself that every photo I look at is fatally flawed in some way or another so this one is hard. My favorite recent photograph is an Aurora shot that I recently took in Manitoba:

I appreciate E.J.’s time in responding to my questions. He is undoubtedly among the real experts today in the technical aspects of digital photography. And, he is a gentleman.

My best regards to him.