Pacific Northwest Forest, Martha's Beach, WA © Jay Gooodrich

You can read part 2 of a 3 part interview I conducted with nature and cultural photographer Art Wolfe earlier this spring. To read more visit the Art Wolfe Blog and read the interview post.

bicycle in front of the fruit crates, Yakima, Washington, © Jay Goodrich

A few weeks ago I was in Yakima, Washington with friend and fellow photographer Daniel Galan. Right at sunset I lead the charge to ditch the wives and kids to shoot a few images before settling down to a margarita and a little of the local Mexican cuisine. After being cooped up in a hotel room with the kids all day he gladly obliged. So what to shoot? Yakima isn’t exactly booming with crazy scenery. Or is it?

Earlier that morning I spotted this area of town that had what seemed to be tens of thousands of fruit boxes lining the street corridors down by the proverbially train tracks. This place offered up a photographer’s composition paradise. There were patterns, textures, shapes, and even some “local color”. One kid kept begging me to take his picture, so I finally asked him to ride through the frame. Without any further direction he slowed down enough for my dwindling shutter speed and rode exactly where I would have suggested. A few clicks of the shutter and bingo, my artist statement about Yakima, Washington in one frame. Daniel and I could have spent days there, I think we pushed it for about an hour before the wives started texting. I know I will return. Maybe when those boxes are full of fruit to add even more color?

Multiple technique HDR image © Jay Goodrich

Last week we received our copy of Adobe’s Creative Suite 5 – Master Collection. I am sure that many of you already know about this software from all of the buzz Adobe has generated about its release. We decided that the Master Collection was a good choice for our office because we are starting to work in many other creative avenues in addition to just photography. Jay is shooting video now with the addition of stills, we are offering design work to our commercial clients, and to have the ability to open, adjust, and create any concept or idea we come up with in-house to promote Jay’s work, is an amazing time saver. Although we are just getting started with this substantial software package, Jay has spent the last week diving into the newest version of Photoshop and is quite pleased by its features and performance. Here is a little write up on the new version of HDR Pro.

Many Adobe users have probably seen the new “Puppet Warp” feature of Photoshop CS5 or the major updates to the selection and masks tools, but there is much less info out there about the new version of HDR Pro that is included with the software. I have to say that many years ago I dove right into HDR in CS3 looking for a way to solve the interior lighting issues you need to overcome when shooting high-end architecture photography. Although the process worked, it was slow, time consuming, and a major memory drain on my computer. I then migrated to using Photomatix almost exclusively for this work. It is fast and fairly accurate. I now use a mix of Photomatix and hand blending techniques to get my exposures exactly where I want them. When I heard that Adobe was updating the HDR component of Photoshop, I was really excited to give it a try.

My initial reaction is wow! This is vastly improved over the previous versions. The new HDR Pro processes way faster than the original versions, I feel safe saying, it feels just as fast as Photomatix. It has a ton of new adjustment sliders that allow you to create more artistic “grundge” HDR images or a completely realistic image based on whatever your current creative mindset is. In order to test it out, I took the same group of images, made adjustments in Lightroom and then exported them twice, once to Photomatix and once to HDR Pro. From there I mastered the final image generated just like I would any image in Photoshop CS5. I wasn’t trying to achieve the same effect in each, I was making my adjustments on what was produced so that I could compare the final product. Here are the results.

You can see that there are a few differences between the images, but I actually like both.

Photomatix image created with Exposure Fusion © Jay Goodrich

There is more contrast in the Photomatix image and a bit more haloing, but I like that effect. The Photoshop image handles the color a bit better but could use a little more contrast. I would give either of these images to a client. The Photoshop image appears a little closer to the scene as I remember it and there is a a little more detail in the shadows. The overall scene feels warmer in the Photoshop image which is why the colors look correct the light was really spectacular that evening.

HDR Pro image created in Photoshop CS5 © Jay Goodrich

So what do I think? I think Adobe is on the ball giving photographers the tools they need to create in an all-inclusive package. The key to any photographic tool is to use it where it should be used, then the results will shine. For me I still love Photomatix and I will continue to use it. I will also use HDR Pro now too. It will all depend on the effect and the final image that I am trying to create. Soon I am going to highlight the differences between creating a hand blended HDR image and one generated in Photoshop’s HDR Pro. Stay tuned to our blog until then!

Exposures Cover © Guy Tal

“Exposures is collection of essays and images, originally published in various online sites, blogs, and newsletters as well as some mainstream publications. As the sands of the Internet shift and pile and overtake, I decided to preserve some of these writings in print in the hope that they continue to be interesting and useful.

Although primarily written for photographers, I hope these essays may appeal to just about anyone with a passion for wilderness and a love of wild places.”–Guy Tal

Last week I received a copy of Guy Tal‘s book Exposures. In typical Guy Tal fashion the images and the words come together in a masterpiece worthy of the “top shelf”. Guy has a knack for making any artist think about the act of creation in addition to just performing it. I would push this book on anyone who is interested in learning not only about Guy, but about how to become a better photographer and steward of the Western United States. My only wish is that I could put words together the way he does, his writing is as amazing as his imagery. You can get your copy here. Thank you Guy, for adding another proverbially notch to my inspiration bedpost.

Mount Shuksan, North Cascades National Park, WA © Jay Goodrich

I have been skiing for 25 years now. If I were about to turn 30 and not 40, I probably would be some kind of professional athlete instead of a photographer. Maybe? I only say this because statistically most professional athletes are exposed to their sport at an early age, usually before they can really walk. The “experts” say by 5, I didn’t start skiing until I was 15. However, there is nothing to say that I wouldn’t hate skiing if I were exposed to it at that early of an age and be exactly at the same point in life regardless. I can say though, that skiing is my sport. It is my heroin. No reasonable offer to ski will be turned down, ever, period. I can’t really explain why, I just love it. There are many mistresses in my life (sorry to my wife and my kids) fortunately, they are all favorite lines in the backcountry of some mountainous place. Some have hated me, some have treated me with open arms and others have gone unnoticed. The key to all of the best lines though is the snow. The best dressed gets my respect, always.

Recently, I had hands-down the best day of this season. It was the culmination of a week long storm cycle that brought close to 8 feet of new snow to the Cascade Mountains of Washington State. The snow phone at Mount Baker Ski Area reported 16 inches new in the past 24 hours and snowing heavily. I arrived at the maelstrom only to agree whole heartedly. It was dumping! Close to 2 inches an hour at times. I think there was 8 additional inches by Noon. Then came the crescendo, the break, visibility. Intermittent at first, then more and more towards clear blue bird. I pushed on, my sore and tired body fueled by the availability to see. A day that ended at 4:30pm with this–the gift. For every skier, the beauty of the mountains, beholds the key to finding those amazing lines.

Clouds over Second Beach, Washington © Jay Goodrich

I spent last night leafing through a sketch book of mine from 1994. That was right after I graduated college with a 5 year Bachelor of Architecture Degree. This sketch book was originally 100 sheets of paper. I know there are less pages in there now because I remember tearing out multiple sheets for those “whatever” necessities over the years. This book has everything in it. Notes on construction projects, diary pages, wacky sketches, designs, logos, notes to my brain, dimensions, quotes, literature, black, white, color, how-to stuff, and what ever else came to my mind. The book is completely full, with a final page stating “the end” in blue pencil dated almost 5 years ago. I didn’t bring this sketchbook everywhere and there were many others. I was looking at this particular one because I remember liking the paper texture and feel for drawing and wanted to find a new one that was the same or similar.

Seastacks, Second Beach, Washington © Jay Goodrich

On one of the pages in classic Jay scribble was written a quote, “The rest of those who have gone before us can not steady the unrest of those to follow.”–Finding Forrester. I don’t know if that quote was written for the movie or if was taken from someone else but, whew, definitely thought provoking. And, when thinking about creating a photographic image–even more provoking. I immediately think about all those photographers who have been to popular locations before many of us, the Art Wolfes and William Neills of the world, or the Elliot Porters, Ansel Adams, and William Henry Jacksons for that matter. I can not imagine being the first human to discover a place like Yellowstone or Yosemite. Crazy.

The Pacific Ocean at Sunset, Washington © Jay Goodrich

A couple of weeks ago, I had that little taste of venturing back out into nature to a place that has seen and will see tons of traffic. I have personally visited the location three times now. This place is Second Beach in Olympic National Park. I am not the first and not even close to the last, but for me this place holds a beauty and a tranquility that is almost indescribable. Many have asked what the sunset was like that night, well, it was pretty amazing. It was…perfect and not for the common visual cues that rise to the surface of the mind immediately. It was perfect for reasons beyond.

Beach Texture, Washington © Jay Goodrich

As I think about that quote a little more, it leaves me with a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration. What does he truly mean, “those who have gone before us can not steady the unrest”? After sifting and thinking, over and over again, I have come to one conclusion. Those before, no matter how original, how creative, or how different can not change those who follow in their footsteps because the followers desire the same thing–with photography that is the act of creation. My unrest is my desire to create something, anything, new and different. I crave it and I will never cease from it. And quite frankly, it does not matter who came before me, no matter how amazing their images are or were, I thirst for something new, different, and in response to my personal visual connection to that place. I think of it and my stomach churns, my heart skips a beat, and I peruse thoughts in my head of how quickly I can find a place, that one or a new one to study, explore, and fuel the unrest for the rest…of my life.

Beach Texture, Washington © Jay Goodrich

Mountain Biking the Government Trail, Aspen, CO

These are in no particular order and all of equal importance.

-Exercise. I don’t care what it is, skiing, mountain biking, road riding, walking with my daughter, hiking, backpacking, running, trail running, weight lifting, Tai Chi, or the 12 ounce curl. I need it, live for it, breathe it, it is my drug of choice. The feeling of pain and soreness at the end of the week or after a long workout, allows me to feel life. And just when you thought you could go no farther, endorphins kick in, to push you past it all.

-Family. Particularly, when I get home after a long trip. Having my daughter running into my arms makes me believe in life. And of course brings a tear to my eye. They support you when you need it most and for that there is no replacement.

-Creativity. It doesn’t have to come in the form of photography, creativity gives me the life experience. I am starting to draw with something most never even consider–colored pencils. But that is not all. I love linking together a set of turns down the side of mountain, or cleaning a difficult obstacle on a bike. Simply put, you can find and be creative at just about anything on this planet.

-Nature. So many people forget to actually smell the roses. Forget the couch, unless it is time for an afternoon siesta. Go out to the beach at sunset and watch the sun kiss the horizon, stand on top of the tallest mountain and do the same. Take a walk in a city park. Go camping and build a fire. My spirit is always rejuvenated when I venture out into the wilds and smell the life.

-Food. Not that processed crap you buy in a gas station. I am talking about a meal. Home cooked or at a really fine restaurant. Great chefs hand you a piece of their soul when they hand out something they have created. This is the fuel for the life engine. The better I eat, the better I perform–at everything. I love tasting this aspect of life.

Now go out this weekend and find your own things, or try one of mine. I know I will.

They are sharp. They are pointy. They are smooth. They are rough. They are jagged. Some are different. Smooth. Curved. Never Ending. Sexy. Angry. Unpredictable. Inspiring. Dilating. Magnificent. Worn. New. Old. Tall. Short. They change their minds with the direction of the wind. They lure you in. Win you over. Then send you home without dinner. With a spanking actually. Sometimes with pain, even death. They make you prepare. Challenge yourself both in mind and body. They can be the things dreams are made of, while, at the same time creating nightmares forever. They will haunt you. Once you have ridden them, tasted their sweetness, you will desire them for as long as you can physically join them. Your emotions will long for them. You will see them from a distance and know that is where you belong. They are the primal basis that this planet formed around. An urge. A need. A love. A calmness. A desolation. An everything. Millions of flavors. Millions of types. Millions of shapes. Millions of Lines. Peaks and valleys. From the sea to the heavens. All over the planet. Mountains.

The Gore Range, Vail, CO © Jay Goodrich

Before my flight to Arizona last week I decided to upload a movie into my iPhone to keep me occupied during part of the three hour plane ride . Riding Giants is a surf film about the history of surfing and riding monster waves with a focus on surfer Laird Hamilton. And again, like my previous post on inspiration, this post has a message that is not as obvious as the footage you can watch above. Yes, Laird Hamilton is one of the most amazing surfers to ever exist. I have known of him since my teenage years, thanks to legendary ski film maker Greg Stump, who is an inspiration discussion for another posting. The inspiration here comes from the fact that Laird and all of his friends wanted to surf the biggest waves out there. Surfing a big wave is not as simple as paddling your hardest and dropping in. The bigger the wave, the faster it is moving, and the faster the surfer has to be moving in order to land it. These guys worked really hard to figure out how to do this.

As I watch my 10 month old son trying to figure out how to walk, I see this trial and error. He is not quite there, but I know that eventually he will come running across that floor towards me. It is that process of trial and error in order to find success that I find inspiration in. The continually working on the problem at hand to find the solution. Is that not what photography is all about? This sums up the last 20 years of my life–trying to figure out how to take a better picture. There are days when I bring back the mother load of perfect images, and then there are days when I throw out the entire crop. The key here is: was it a unique learning experience for me? Was that day that I took all those trash photos a stupid mistake, or an attempt to try something unique and new? A lot of times it is the first scenario, but more and more it is the latter. I like it when it is the latter, because I know that I was not a complete dumb-ass that day. I pushed my personal envelope and probably learned how to do something new regardless of the outcome. If it was a complete failure, I now know how not to not fail like that again.

Tomorrow, when you head out to take some photographs, remember, it is okay to fail, as long as you continue the journey towards succeeding. There will come a time when all of the trials and errors add up to slingshot you forward, and that is when you will reach your biggest success. And the funny thing is that instead of being unprepared, you will realize that you have trained for that moment your entire life.

4 Man Bobsleigh, Whistler Sliding Center, 2010 Olympics, © Jay Goodrich

In my first post regarding my visit to the 2010 Winter Olympics, I discussed an image and fascination with the bobsleigh since childhood. With this post I want to take the photographic process a little further and talk about image context. Any time that I shoot a story or idea, whether it be a personal project or an assignment for a client, I create a series of images in my head (and notebook) that I think would illustrate it. After I captured the high-speed image from my previous post, I was looking to create an image that captured the event, the people, the weather, the time of year, and the environment of the location. As I was walking up the Whistler Sliding Center course I noticed a view corridor through a stand of fir trees that allowed me to frame my subject. It was snowing extremely hard at the time and experience has taught me that fast shutter speeds can stop that falling snow, which in turn would work for the sled that was cruising along at 80 plus miles an hour.

This location quickly became my context photograph for this event of the 2010 Olympic Games. The only problem was the difficulty in creating it. I was for the most part shooting blind. Lucky for me I had 6 free assistants standing over my shoulders. They were the friends that I was visiting with. After missing my first image, I figured out the timing of where the bobsleigh was going to be when I needed to release the shutter. I had two of my friends coordinate that location together and give me the standing 10 count to shutter release. The image above is the result of multiple people simply understanding what I was looking for and shouting to me at the perfect moment in time. Mission accomplished, an image that shows the weather, the environment, the spectators, the event, and even the year.