As I conjured up the words for this post in my head, I was convinced that I was going to discuss what has inspired me, what currently does inspire me, and what I think will inspire in the future. Lately, I haven’t been looking to photography for inspiration, I have been looking elsewhere. I have been reading about architecture, painting, and music, and I figured that would encompass what I would write about here. I think that has all changed now though, due to a beer, some in-depth thought, and a long, hot shower.
The video you see here is of Danny MacAskill, an amazing urban trials rider. I would be hard pressed to believe that anyone out there hasn’t seen this video yet, as it has been viewed over 14 million times on youTube. I myself first saw it in May of last year, then again when Heather’s father sent it to me in August, and then again last week when my own father forwarded it on to me. Yes Danny does inspire, if not put you right into a state of disbelief, he defies gravity. And no, I can not ride like him, nor would I really ever want to, I think, maybe I would, never-mind.
The answer came to me as I was toweling off from my shower. The past few weeks, I have watched my 4 year old daughter Jade become obsessed with reading. She wants to be able to read War and Peace so badly that she will try reading to the point that her head collapses on the kitchen table in exhaustion. She falls asleep trying. That was my answer, my moment, my epiphany when this whole piece came together. It’s not that Danny MacAskill can do those amazing things with his bike that inspires me. It’s the fact that he has tried so hard, probably to the point of falling asleep on that machine, which has allowed him to do all of those tricks on his bike that inspires me. The pursuit of something you want so badly that you are willing to fall, injure, fail, repeat, redo, ect., that drive, that stamina, will show you success never before imagined. Danny is proof of that, Jade, will be proof of that. My only hope is that I can continue to fall asleep everyday with my camera in my hand in pure and utter exhaustion from trying so hard. And if not, I know that some of the inspiration is currently sleeping a few doors down.
Whenever stacking filters you will inevitably get vignetting. You can use a thin ring mount version of the filter to help with a wide angle lens, but if you decide to stack the filters you will still see some darkening at your corners. You can usually take this vignetting out in Lightroom or Photoshop. I actually have been adding vignetting recently because I like the way it draws you into to the subject. All personal preference though. The thinner your filter stack the less it will vignette. The same holds true with your lens, lessen the angle width of your lens and vignetting will decrease as well. Most of my images at this point that use the Vari-ND have been taken with a 70-200. Mostly because I have the Canon 16-35 wide angle which uses 82mm filters which Singh-Ray no longer manufactures for. I will eventually own a wide angle that takes a 77mm filter which is the one I own.
I have been following your career for at many years and just read the Special Issue of OP. Many time i see you refer (and other pros) to the Singh-Ray Vari-ND filter. However before i spend such a huge amount of money on a filter can you please explain how you deal with vignetting using it?
Many times when using an ND filter it’s usually for landscapes and to get a nice water flow, meaning most times with a wide angle. Now if i am to use that thick Vari-ND filter AND a Polarising one with a 20mm or wider won’t i get a lot of vignetting? Or should i stick with using large Lee rectangle filters and 103mm polariser?
[...] for a sick dog and tending to my pregnant wife) I read a great post by Jay Goodrich titled “Where Does Your Inspiration Come From?” I’ve had this blog post open for a couple weeks and I’ve reread it and rewatched the video [...]
[...] for a sick dog and tending to my pregnant wife) I read a great post by Jay Goodrich titled “Where Does Your Inspiration Come From?” I’ve had this blog post open for a couple weeks and I’ve reread it and rewatched [...]
Thanks Gene. Congrats to you and your wife on the new addition. We wish you all of the best. And thanks for reading. Hope to see you again sometime soon.
WOW!! Thank you for that much needed dose of inspiration Jay. Mike told me to check out your February photo of the month, then I read this amazing post… AWESOME! With the recent birth of our baby boy, I have truly found my greatest source of inspiration! Cheers!!
Given you’re one of the only people I talk to in the wee hours of the morning when writing or editing photographs I think you already know where I often I fall asleep. I can’t count the number of times I’ve fallen asleep working on photos at my computer. Inspiration is only half the battle… execution is the other half. As to which is the more difficult i leave to others to debate. An excellent post Jay.
Jay is an internationally published and celebrated photographer and writer. His work focuses on architecture, nature, and adventure. His clients have included fortune five hundred companies, trade publications, national and international magazines and books, graphic designers, architects, builders, commercial printers, and many others.
Your content is excellent, I loved your workflow ideas, you are very methodical and obviously know your material well. Your enthusiasm for the use of Lightroom is contagious and I love all of your recommendations. You have a great personality for teaching and I'd love to attend future classes you may schedule. If you have a mailing list, please feel free to add my email to it.- Peggy Z.
Jay is an internationally published and celebrated photographer and writer. His work focuses on architecture, nature, and adventure. His clients have included fortune five hundred companies, trade publications, national and international magazines and books, graphic designers, architects, builders, commercial printers, and many others.
Hi Ronald,
Whenever stacking filters you will inevitably get vignetting. You can use a thin ring mount version of the filter to help with a wide angle lens, but if you decide to stack the filters you will still see some darkening at your corners. You can usually take this vignetting out in Lightroom or Photoshop. I actually have been adding vignetting recently because I like the way it draws you into to the subject. All personal preference though. The thinner your filter stack the less it will vignette. The same holds true with your lens, lessen the angle width of your lens and vignetting will decrease as well. Most of my images at this point that use the Vari-ND have been taken with a 70-200. Mostly because I have the Canon 16-35 wide angle which uses 82mm filters which Singh-Ray no longer manufactures for. I will eventually own a wide angle that takes a 77mm filter which is the one I own.
Hello Mr Goodrich.
I have been following your career for at many years and just read the Special Issue of OP. Many time i see you refer (and other pros) to the Singh-Ray Vari-ND filter. However before i spend such a huge amount of money on a filter can you please explain how you deal with vignetting using it?
Many times when using an ND filter it’s usually for landscapes and to get a nice water flow, meaning most times with a wide angle. Now if i am to use that thick Vari-ND filter AND a Polarising one with a 20mm or wider won’t i get a lot of vignetting? Or should i stick with using large Lee rectangle filters and 103mm polariser?
I hope i’m making sense
Thank you in advance and keep us enlighting us.
Thanks for commenting Sharon. I am so happy to see people’s responses to my posts. Happy shooting.
RT @txheadshots: Where does your inspiration come from? http://bit.ly/9nx0DY
Where does your inspiration come from? http://jaygoodrich-blog.com/2010/02/where-does-your-inspiration-come-from/
@basakgd bizim için karne hediyesi, onlar için yaşam biçimi… (http://goo.gl/B0R0) Avrupa'da öenmli bir kültü bisiklet. Bu da kaçınılmaz..
This piece was inspiring. Thank you!
Sharon
Where does your inspiration come from? via @jaygoodrich http://tinyurl.com/ykjcrbv (includes awesome video of Danny MacAskill)
[...] for a sick dog and tending to my pregnant wife) I read a great post by Jay Goodrich titled “Where Does Your Inspiration Come From?” I’ve had this blog post open for a couple weeks and I’ve reread it and rewatched the video [...]
[...] for a sick dog and tending to my pregnant wife) I read a great post by Jay Goodrich titled “Where Does Your Inspiration Come From?” I’ve had this blog post open for a couple weeks and I’ve reread it and rewatched [...]
Oops…that link to Jay Goodrich's post should be http://tinyurl.com/ykjcrbv
Thanks Gene. Congrats to you and your wife on the new addition. We wish you all of the best. And thanks for reading. Hope to see you again sometime soon.
WOW!! Thank you for that much needed dose of inspiration Jay. Mike told me to check out your February photo of the month, then I read this amazing post… AWESOME! With the recent birth of our baby boy, I have truly found my greatest source of inspiration! Cheers!!
RT @jimgoldstein: Great post by @jaygoodrich Where Does Your Inspiration Come From? http://bit.ly/d3RKym
Interesting perspective on inspiration RT @jimgoldstein: Great post @jaygoodrich Where Does Your Inspiration Come From? http://bit.ly/d3RKym
Thanks Jim. I have always said that sleep is for the dead.
Given you’re one of the only people I talk to in the wee hours of the morning when writing or editing photographs I think you already know where I often I fall asleep. I can’t count the number of times I’ve fallen asleep working on photos at my computer. Inspiration is only half the battle… execution is the other half. As to which is the more difficult i leave to others to debate. An excellent post Jay.
Great post by @jaygoodrich Where Does Your Inspiration Come From? http://bit.ly/d3RKym
This is just siiiiick!
RT @jaygoodrich: Where Does Your Inspiration Come From? http://bit.ly/cPWhEI
Where Does Your Inspiration Come From?: As I conjured up the words for this post in my head, I was convinced that … http://bit.ly/cPWhEI