Speaking with Ralf Stelander from 1x Photography Community

1x is an incredible photography community that works with some of the best photographers from around the world, curating their images. They offer expert community critique from world-renown photographers and artists and give hints and tips to help develop their photographer’s photographs.

In our latest interview, we spoke with the co-founder, Ralf Stelander. We discussed how the community started, how it all works, the benefits of the community and much more.

Keep reading to find out what Ralf had to say and to see some of the amazing photographs from 1x members.

Can you start off by introducing yourself and 1x and telling us a little bit about your life?

I have always been a photographer. My interest in photography started as a child. A great inspiration was Mattias Klum, who I had the opportunity to meet. He’s Sweden’s most famous nature photographer who has been published on the cover of National Geographic magazine 12 times.

When I lived in Tokyo after high school, I discovered analogue black and white photography and developed my own prints by hand in a darkroom. This was very rewarding, it’s almost like meditation and a much slower harmonic process than the fast-paced digital world.

I practised Iaido, Japanese sword art, where you strive for perfection but try to continue improving for your entire life. We have the same motto behind 1x: In pursuit of the sublime; which means, always striving to improve and never giving up.

Uttermost quality in all aspects of life is one of my most key values. Later, when I got back to Sweden, I went to law school for four years but dropped out to chase my dream which was running my own photography business.

How and when did 1x start?

1x was started back in 2007 by me and my childhood friend, Jacob. Jacob was IT-manager at a MedTech company in Uppsala, Sweden, where 1x was founded. He was also very much into photography.

We tried to figure out if there was something photography-related we could do together and realised that there was no place for curated quality photography only. There also weren’t any really good tools for helping photographers get feedback and learn. This is why we started our community.

1x was created through very late nights in my student dorm room. After a while, Jacob quit his office job and I dropped out of law school so we could try our own wings. Only three years later, 1x had more monthly visitors than double the population of Sweden.

What’s a typical day like at 1x?

Every day, new photos are being curated, new photographers discover 1x and we discover new amazing artists. Our curator team is spread out around the world and works around the clock. Our senior critics team is constantly writing in-depth feedback to help photographers reach their next level. Our community is also taking part in the curation process. At the same time, our developer team is working behind the scenes to constantly improve the site and user experience after feedback from the community and new ideas we want to realise.

You only choose the very best photographers to work with - how do you choose the photographers?

Most photographers find their way to 1x by recommendation from friends or fellow photographers. Once they have joined the site, they will start uploading photos and a very rigorous curation process will select the best photos.

The curation consists of several steps both involving the community and a team of professional and awarded photographers who are the official curators. From time to time, we also invite very famous photographers to 1x.

What are you looking for in a photograph you choose?

The most important aspect of any photo is that it makes you feel. It doesn’t matter so much if it makes you happy, but if you are not affected we do not consider it great art.

Another aspect of the difference between art and just a snapshot is that an artist will put his or her entire soul into their work with the greatest passion - this quality will be seen in the details. This doesn’t mean that every image needs to be super polished. Some of the best photographs are the less perfect ones because they feel genuine and authentic.

We are looking for photos that stand out or have a new angle on an old subject. Variation is very important in our gallery and we try not to publish too much of the same.

Can you tell us how you stay up to date with the latest interior design trends?

Our team is doing extensive trend research every day in many different channels to keep up with the latest and upcoming trends - it’s something really important for us. We are keeping a constant eye not just on art, but also fashion and furniture.

We have an ongoing discussion about what the next big trends will be and which colours will be most popular in a couple of months. We also get a huge amount of information about this both from our community and our global reseller network.

Can you tell us about the 1x Photo Awards and your other contests?

We run monthly photo contests to challenge our photographers to try new subjects. We believe this is very good for developing photography and taking it to the next level.

Every month, there is a new theme and the more it differs from what you usually photograph, the more you will learn. Since it’s a competition, it also forces the photographers to do their best.

Are you a photographer yourself?

Yes, that’s why we started 1x in the first place. Since we, as photographers, didn’t find any good alternatives on the internet for what we wanted, quality photography and useful feedback, we created our own platform.

These days, however, I, unfortunately, have little time for my photography, due to working so much with the site. I mostly just take photos with my smartphone when I’m out for a walk. Even though it’s not like photographing with a real camera, you can still try to find interesting new compositions and the limitations can be used to spur creativity.

Can you tell us about the curators you work with and what they do?

Our curators have experience from such institutions as Tate Modern Art and Sotheby's. They are very skilled, award-winning photographers and artists hand-picked from our community, with vast experience being judges in major competitions and curating photo exhibitions.

Some of our curators have reached the highest master level in the European Federation of Photographers, which is extremely rare and hard to achieve. Every day, our curators discuss and evaluate photos only to publish the real gemstones which will really make you feel.

You allow photographers to ask for critique from other photographers - can you tell us a little about this and its benefits?

Getting useful feedback is one of the cornerstones of 1x and a big reason why we started this site in the first place. We believe that just getting likes and “nice photo” comments will not help you develop. What photographers need is in-depth honest feedback. That’s why we set up a dedicated team of experienced senior critics to help photographers develop and realize their full potential.

Your magazine gives lots of helpful photography advice and insights - do you think this is a useful tool for photographers?

I think you can learn a lot by reading interviews with creative successful photographers and seeing their photos, helping a photographer grow and develop. In an instant, you can get very useful tips which might have been gathered during an entire lifetime. It’s also just soothing to look at really inspirational pictures from accomplished photographers.

What’s the future of 1x looking like? Any big projects on the horizon?

Yes, indeed. We are just about to release our next version of 1x next month. It will be one of the biggest releases in the history of 1x where every part of the site has been redesigned.

In this new version, we will focus more on presenting photos like in a real gallery and even more on curation, involving our community more in the curation process. Our vision is to create a real photo gallery experience with all the best photographers in the world and which anyone can visit anywhere and at any time.