Suset over the Lava Beds Processed in Lightroom 4 Only © Jay Goodrich CLICK TO ENLARGE

Earlier this week Adobe Labs released the first Beta version of Lightroom 4. I am a huge user of Lightroom so I immediately downloaded this new version to have a look at what I can be expecting. I have to tell you that I was pleasantly surprised.

As soon as you open the software up you notice the workspace has changed. There are two new editing modules on the right–Map and Book. You can now tag all of your images on a map brought to you by Google Earth. This also includes the ability to locate your spots via GPS longitude and latitude functions. You can tag whole libraries or just a single image at a time. Very cool. Also included is the ability to create books for publication. Lightroom is offering press printed books through Blurb with all of Blurb’s Proline features, but if want to use someone else, you can layout your entire book and then export it as a PDF. Again, really no limitation.

I was hoping for more video capabilities and it looks like that is on the very near horizon.  The best part about storing your video in the Lightroom 4 Library will be the fact that you won’t need to view the clips in an external editor such as Quicktime. Adobe also added the ability to edit your clips’ in and out points which will really speed up the organization process for film you are planning on editing. If you have multiple clips that you want to use on a single take, you can actually create a virtual copy of the film and change the in and out points correspondingly. Magic. You now have the ability to make adjustments to the clips via the Quick Develop settings and even attach Develop Module presets to them. Not all of the presets work, but most do.

The Develop Module has also gone through some tweeking. Under the Brush and Graduated Tools you now have the ability to locally adjust white balance, noise, and moire. The Auto Mask check box actually works amazingly well now too! Adobe also updated the global adjustments. Exposure and Contrast are together and Recovery and Fill Light are gone. Don’t worry though, Adobe is now giving us Highlights, Shadows, Whites, and Blacks adjusting sliders. The whole process makes much more sense to me. In addition, we now have a 2012 process under Camera Calibration and it seems to be a bit more forceful with its adjustments to the images. Some may not like it, but I do.

Other note worthy additions include the ability to export videos directly to social media pages and the ability to generate a soft proof image for printing on a specific paper and color profile. This is great addition because now you will be able to create a virtual copy of your image with the soft proofing turned on, match it to your original, and you are off to the races. Like I said I am on board with this update. Of course this is a Beta and if I could have my way with Adobe there are some things that I really want.

Give me Content Aware Fill! The best Photoshop add ever in my opinion. Give it to me in Lightroom. I don’t care if directly adjusts pixels and that is not the way Lightroom works. You are Adobe, just do it. I want the ability to adjust the masks that I make with the Brush tool and Graduated Tool. Especially when it comes to Shifting and Feathering my Mask Edges after the fact. Maybe a little Smart Radius too? How about the ability to merge multiple exposures? Curve presets for the Tone Curve Tool. And the ability to locally edit video–adding text, titles, vignettes, and turning the captured sound off or on. Now we are talking. I would also like the ability to export my movie clips directly into Premiere Pro just like I can export my stills to Photoshop. And have the adjusted clip stack directly back in my Library with the original? That’s all, it’s not a huge list. Let’s see what March Brings.

Owen Dudley Drops into the Baker Backcountry © Jay Goodrich

Well, finally, it snowed. It has literally been since November, but on the final day of the year, Mount Baker got hit with a foot of new snow. Owen Dudley, Tyler Hatcher and myself headed out to see what we could make of a perfect stormy day. You can view more of the images on the Mount Baker Ski Area website. Now, we just need this to continue so we can do it again, and again, and again–much like the movie Groundhog Day. I guess if you love it, repeating it is not really a torture. Happy New Year!

Architecture Photography Jay Goodrich Style

Notice that I said winners? Because it is Christmas and I have a soft spot at this time of year and only this time of year, EVERYONE that commented on last week’s post regarding how I shot an interior image is getting a print of their choosing. So Younes, Dave, Ilene, Dick, and Michael just email me your choice from anywhere on any of my sites, include your shipping address, and I will print and ship you a signed print for playing. I also wanted to mention that all of you managed to highlight something that I did to get this image. In an effort to not leave you hanging, here is the full story.

Step 1-Spend over an hour moving all of the homeowners not so great furniture out of the way. This included hundreds of knick-nacks. Assorted bark-a-loungers, pieces of ocean glass, and even the cat. By the way, the cat acted like a dog and I loved that thing. He just always wanted to be in my frame. Then bring in the tripod and camera. In this case I did in fact use a Canon 24mm Tilt-Shift lens on a 1D Mark IV body with a cable release. The tripod and camera were then leveled with a handy hot-shoe bubble level.

Step 2-Use said camera vertically to capture 9 exposures of 4 separate compositions beginning at the left of the frame and continuing with about 50% over lap to the right side of my composition. All images were shot in RAW. No external lighting here.

Step 3-Move all of the shit back into place. Continue photographing house until it was pitch black out and pouring to the point that all of my lens glass was fogged with condensation.

Step 4-Ride the two hour ferry back home. Thank god it was Thanksgiving and not 4th of July–early sunset.

Step 5-Get kissed and hugged by the kids, yelled at by the wife because I am a stupid man. Then kissed by the wife.

Step 6-Upload close to a thousand images into the server.

Step 7-Begin to edit, sort, and process.

Step 8-Process this image. It was a 6 hour long mission. The whole image was mastered completely by hand. First, each of the four compositions needed to be merged to balance the exterior light coming in with the level drop that was present in the interior. Yes, the exterior does really look like what is shown in the glass, but it doesn’t necessarily need to for a lot of my clients. Then, I balanced out all of the lights and darks to make the interior look exactly as I wanted. The Mask Adjustment Palette in Photoshop CS5 is amazing for this. Now, the separate compositions need to be merged together. I have to admit that I did use the Photo Merge function in Photoshop to make this happen. It did a pretty good job. Where this function falls short is in the pattern areas of the plywood and ceiling panels. So after I finalized the crop, I then go back to my separate un-merged exposure images and cut and paste specific areas to make everything line up. Also there was a glass cabinet right above the bench in the fireplace tower that I completely cloned out because it was, yes, full of more ugly shit. This file was then saved as a layered composition file just in case I ever need to move more things around. And it is 1.5GB in size. This is why I use a Mac Pro with 30 inch Cinema Display.

Screen Shot from Jay Goodrich's Computer © Jay Goodrich

Step 9-Flatten the image and go to town removing dust and miscellaneous things that just couldn’t be removed in the field. Then adjust for color, contrast, lightness, darkness, saturation etc. Click the image above to see what all of the layers are. At this point the file is only 630MB +/- something that is workable.

Step 10-Go to bed for a mere 4 hours it was 3am and I had 7 other images that needed to completed before noon to be sent off to the book publisher, who is Australia and they are a full day ahead of me.

Step 11-Today I fixed the leaning mullions in the image that I noticed yesterday when I did an architecture promo. See, it never really ends. Just Morphosises onto to something else. Like crazy mountain biking.

Very long and very lonely. I have finally returned home after eight weeks of continuous travel. I have been to California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, and Hawaii. My wife has taken my balls clean off. I now talk in a much higher voice. You know what though? All was for a greater good. A greater bank account good. During that time frame there has been a flurry of activity. A ton of accomplishments. Success.

Kent Billingsley Leaves it to Faith in Missoula © Jay Goodrich

My whole trip began with a mountain bike mission in Colorado. A story on the riding in Eagle, where I lived for over a decade, mere days after my father’s passing. It was soul cleansing and an experience that will be shared with thousands in the coming year. Then in Montana while shooting for Hilton, I managed to pull an evening of unsuspected mountain bike shooting off, thanks to my assistant in Missoula–Catherine Walters. She rounded up a bunch of her friends who went off for my high speed shutter.

Losh Residence by Prentiss Architects © Jay Goodrich

Then I was told by an unrelated client that I had received the cover of Luxe magazine and a thirteen image spread inside highlighting the architecture of my friend and client Geoffrey Prentiss.

Clouveil and The Cascades © Jay Goodrich

We managed to get on Cloudveil Clothing’s website and in their catalog. Many thanks to Mark Kogelmann, Owen Dudley, Tyler Hatcher, and Peder Bottheim for appeasing the neurotic photographer that day.

Adobe! © Jay Goodrich

As if that weren’t enough. Adobe did a spotlight interview with me for their photoshop.com website. HOW COOL IS THAT!

Owen Dudley Star of NWAC and Mount Baker © Jay Goodrich

Mount Baker Ski Area used two of my images for their advertising on the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center’s website.

The Mount Baker Experience © Jay Goodrich

And finally, just today I received my copy of the Mount Baker Experience where they featured a bunch of my images on their website and in their print edition. All of this made possible by a (previously) patient wife, grumpy kids, and some amazing people I have met along the way. I am spoiled rotten.

A few months ago I was approached by an online show who’s mission is simple:

“Lets be real.  Photography is addicting.  It’s an intoxicating craftiness that truly has limitless potential for those that crave the art.  It is in its own world of ever-changing possibilities and is constantly evolving.  With that being said, we decided to create a show.  A free, weekly broadcast that captivates as well as educates.  Every week we will bring different photographic talents to you that will share a piece of their wisdom, their work, their process, and their art.

[FRAMED] will take you on location to local, national, and internationally known photographers for the purpose of bringing a behind-the-scenes view of photography to your computer.  All we ask of you is to share, participate and jump on the train of inspirational photography education to inspire you to be unique.  Be careful, you might get addicted.”

I cannot tell you how excited I am to see the final footage and commend everyone who worked with me to create a wonderful 3o minute segment. I hope you have some spare time in your day to have a look. I give you a brief glimpse of some new work and a few techniques to get you started in your own backyard. Let us know what you think.

Heather Goodrich Rolling on Red Hill © Jay Goodrich

Before you ask why the heck is this coming on Wednesday, well I don’t know, I try to make one post, every week, on Wednesday. So there! This is my blog and I do what I want. Most of the time. Sometimes. I have handlers you know. I did write it on Monday though.

I love Mondays. Yes that’s right I do. There was a time in my life when Mondays were the bane of my existence though. I worked for someone. I had a 7am Monday morning meeting. I didn’t drink coffee. And it was a witch hunt for those that didn’t do their jobs in the week prior. It just generally sucked. Now, Mondays are made for coffee and not that Foldgers shit, good barista made, Pacific Northwest craft. 3 shots of pure perfection. And small. 8oz or 12oz. I want octane not cow calories. And on tired days the quad. That’s how it starts.

Then it progresses to dropping my kids at their respective schools and then back to the office too…

Silence and work. Now, typically my Mondays end up being days of insanity. This is because I have emailed tons of people during the course of the previous week and they are now sitting in their offices perusing what they need to take care of from the ending of the last week. Sponsors, editors, commercial clients, all have hectic schedules. Inevitably, they are balancing multiple job descriptions and set specific times to reply to people thanks to our lovely economy. For some reason that seems to be Monday. That makes my Mondays about money. And money means I can feed the dog, the kids, and the wife will have a roof over her head for another month. Today as of writing this I have acquired two new architectural contracts, a 25 image licensing deal, a feature article in a well know mountain biking magazine, and an interview with liveBooks. I have also received the contact info for an editor that I want to propose a story idea to–from another editor that I just finished a job with, ordered some stickers to give out to people to help to further promote my brand, and adjusted my job schedule for the next two weeks. It is only 11am. I type fast when drinking coffee try to keep up.

I know this isn’t the norm on every Monday, but I much rather head into my week aggressively and looking at the possibility of good things to come. This all happens because of the coffee injection and an excitement of getting back to doing what I love doing–photography. My moral here, if I have one, is that no matter what your profession, do what you love. It doesn’t have to be photography. It can be anything. My wife is a teacher. She wakes up at 5am everyday to be at her “office” by 7am. She doesn’t like the wake up, but looks forward to her job and her day, everyday. So if your Mondays suck. Change them. Change your life. Change your career. Change your passions. Make it all turn out for the best, because time is short on this planet and there is no reason not to enjoy every minute of it. Gotta go the phone is ringing–it’s the President. Now, you laugh! And enjoy the rest of your week.

The Palouse at Sunset During a Thunderstorm © Jay Goodrich

There are times, when no matter how much experience you have, things do not necessarily go according to plan. This was in fact one of those times. The good thing was that my friend and fellow photographer Gavriel Jecan had as much trouble as I did. Phew! I would have had to bury him in a shallow grave and confiscated his camera as my own.

The set up. I have somehow, with my extremely limited skill-set in marketing and business matters, have landed Marriott as an architectural client. This job was a two-day job in the Tri-Cities area of Eastern Washington. Two days of shooting, with a day on the front end for scouting and prep. Gav and I arrived early to scout the property which in turn gave us the ability to head out for a little personal shooting that evening. We decided to run up north to the Palouse to shoot sunset. What came next was the crushing blow. A death blow of sorts.

There was a growing thunderstorm on the horizon. It was clear to the west and the storm was traveling from the south to the north. It was the perfect photo situation. We were going to get a sunset during a storm. Well there in-lies your problem. Nature is fast. Way faster than any human can perceive. We were in Colfax, Washington when the storm exploded at the same time the sun broke through its western edge. Now if you haven’t been to the Palouse, the town of Colfax is in a deep valley and ah, not so good for the sunset.

I drove up one of the miscellaneous roads as fast as possible to head for higher ground. Breaking speed limits I am sure. Within minutes we had a location to shoot the sunset. The problem was that we were in the direct path of the storm. The blessing and the curse. It wasn’t raining too hard, but the wind was blowing at about sixty miles per hour. Those drops of rain hit like bullets. The came the lightening. We tried and tried to photograph it. Every time it went off we were talking about it. Every time our shutters were open it was a no show. Then there was the run-for-the-truck-we-are-going-to-die-up-here moment. Followed by the lack of foreground at our location. Followed by the soaked gear. Followed by the fact that neither of us thought to get some video. Yes that’s right, collectively we both have been shooting forty years and today it seemed like forty minutes.

All was not lost. Yeah right! As the storm passed and the light dimmed, we headed back out for super long exposures for the again elusive lightening. And it did exactly as it did before. Lightening, who me? Yeah, I’m on a coffee break when your cameras are open. And then there was the deer. Bambi. I hate that guy too. As our scene went to black and the flashes of lightening illuminated the now northern horizon, we saw something familiar. Every thirty seconds or so we watched as the final dream of ours fleeted to the east. A four by four buck walked the horizon line, perfectly illuminated by mister coffee break lightening. Again only to be on exact opposites of our camera shutters.

The lesson of this story. No matter how good you get or how good you think you are, there will be a time when you and I miss. The key, I got to see some crazy stuff that evening, I do have a witness, and although the evidence is purely circumstantial, I don’t need to prove it in a court of law. Thank god.

We (meaning me and a dozen skiers) spent most of last winter photographing skiing. Along the way, I captured some motion footage to go along with the five thousand stills that made the edit. Tie that together with a simple concept and you have a lot of time spending money. Actually, you might as well be burning hundreds at a time. You wonder why blockbusters cost so much to make? Because it just isn’t easy. And all I want in the end is to have a five minute long piece that highlights what I do through the winter months on a daily basis. Finally, I had some time to sit down and cut together the trailer to hopefully get you in the mood. A little foreplay shall we say? Enjoy. Coming soon to a social media site near you. Actually, right in front of you.

Easy Listening. Well hopefully, as long as it is not easy-listening, elevator music. Scott Sheppard interviewed me for the Nik Radio Podcast last week. We talked about everything from workshops to architecture photography. Have a listen and let us know what you think.

Birthday Collage © Jade and Heather Goodrich

I am not one to tell the world, “Hey it’s my birthday.” But, today had a pretty special meaning to me and I wanted to share it with all of you. I awoke this morning wondering what was going on. The normally noisy and reckless house was dead quiet. The dog laid at my bedside completely asleep. No tv, no smashing trucks, no screaming, yelling, nothing. Almost like the world had emptied and left me sitting all alone. I initially thought I was still dreaming. I went out to the living room, then the kitchen, and no one. Now I was a little worried. If they left, why didn’t they at least leave me a note? I grabbed my phone and called my wife. Immediately to voicemail. WTF? Then I noticed the giant collage sitting on the bar. Cut from all of my older magazines. I started to read. It felt like that scene in Christmas Vacation when Chevy Chase was stuck in the attic and forced to watch old family movies that brought back great memories.

My wife and daughter must have been busy last night for sure. As I read and through and absorbed the images, I couldn’t believe how well they captured who I am in this simple present. It’s not about the cost, although,there are at least ten magazines that suffered for this prize, but how much thoughtful time was spent on me. Heather and Jade captured everything that holds a place in my heart. What an amazing gift to wake up to. Then next to it was the gift basket of Haribo Gummi Bears, Endangered Species Chocolate Bars, and Woodford Reserve Bourbon. Yes it is safe to say that today is going to be a most perfect day. Thank you family from the bottom of my heart for starting it all off with such importance. It is still bringing tears to my eyes.

Oh and to top it all off, I finally got hold of my wife as she pulled back into the driveway with my favorite coffee and breakfast. Did I mention that today is going to be a great day? Like the collage says,”Life is a Journey” Oh and if you are out there, Happy Birthday to Tom Hanks.