An extended version of this article was published over ten years in a magazine that is no longer in publication. It was actually only the second time I had ever been published in addition to being my second feature article. It still brings back all of those emotions.

Toenails of an Alaskan Brown Bear © Jay Goodrich

Three weeks in Alaska changes a man’s ideals of our world and makes nature an everyday experience in his life.

The peaks rose from the sea, lush and green, and slowly turned snowcapped, white like a frosted cupcake. My jaw was on the floor of the airplane. I looked over at my wife, Heather. She flashed me a grin. I felt extremely lucky. We met each other in a climbing gym; seeking challenge, we found love. We got married at a ski area in the summertime. And now Heather and I were on our way to our honeymoon. Not a honeymoon like most, to go somewhere tropical and sit on a beach and drink fruity drinks all day. Nope, we decided to mountain bike Alaska. The next three weeks of our lives would be the adventure of a lifetime. Falling in love is a great thing.

We met Mike late that afternoon, entering his little shop of river guiding horrors on a whim. It was like Obi-Wan-Kanobi meeting Han Solo for the first time. He was a well-spoken, clean-cut adventurer.

“I’ll take you wherever you want to go, but it’s gonna cost you.”

“Bears.”, Heather replied

“Come back at 9.”

Seal Alaska © Jay Goodrich

He took our fifty bucks and the three of us sped off in his flat-bottom river boat. He hammered the throttle and we flew up Twister Creek at about 50mph

We crouched low in the bushes and didn’t say a word. A yearling Grizzly Cub was interested in us.  He was only half his full grown size, about 700lbs. The mom was in the tall grass, poking her head up a couple of times to make sure we weren’t going to harm the “little” guy. They disappeared into the bushes only to reemerge about fifteen feet from us. Mike, Heather and I all sat there not moving, not talking, just watching. It was amazing to see something that big in the wild. The cub’s paw prints were bigger than my size 12’s. Our trip was full of experiences like this for three weeks.

Whadya Lookin at Punk © Jay Goodrich

Cycling over to Exit Glacier weeks later, I began to get a cramp in my stomach as I realized the trip was just about over.  Heather and I had done things that people only dream of doing.  People always say “someday”. I believe that someday is now. Alaska is so wild, so untouched, that it grabs hold of you. A hold of your emotions, your dreams, and every thought you have ever had. Places that are so different than anything you have ever experienced do that to you. It was grabbing hold of me right now. Down where all your emotions come from, deep inside your soul. I was saddened that the end was approaching faster than I wanted. For the first time in my life I felt free, but freedom sometimes hurts. You are always afraid that it will leave you. I thought about the course my life was taking. The nine-to-fiver to pay the bills, to live that life I always wanted. Success. New York Style. That was the road I was on. But I wanted freedom forever, not just on the weekends. I was going to make it happen; I was going to take a different path.

Brown Bear Tracks in Mud Alaska © Jay Goodrich

I stood there taking photos of Exit Glacier, a glacier receding so fast that twenty years ago it was a quarter of a mile longer. It is amazing how fast this world can change. The shutter released on my camera for the 3000th or so time, and I decided. Screw nine to five, screw professional. It was time to do what I wanted. Pick the career I needed. I did, and at this moment in time photography was where I decided to go. This place, Alaska, changed my life forever. The desk I would now sit behind was my own. Outdoors was going to become a full time job. I have seen all I wanted to see of the “professional world”.

In a place where natural beauty abounds, I found beauty in my own life. I vowed from that day forward to never give up, and to always follow my dreams. I dreamt of Heather and got her. Now it was time to realize the rest of my dreams.

The trip was over. 500 or so cycling miles later we drove out of Seward headed to Anchorage and the big plane ride home. We were quiet, thoughtful. We were going to miss this place, but we were determined to return…

How has immersing yourself in nature changed your life?

And if you want to experience some of this wild for yourself, Jay and legendary photographer Art Wolfe have only 3 spots left in a workshop at the end of July. It could be your time…

Lake Crescent Olympic National Park WA © Jay Goodrich

Oh yeah it’s one of those scenes…I can here you now, nice colors Jay, I like the textures, interesting perspective. This scene is not what you think my friends. What you don’t see in this image is the devil, pure concentrated evil. I am speaking of the 666 variety. Just lurking below the calm waters of of Lake Crescent here in Olympic National Park exists a serpent. Last weekend I was leading a workshop there with a great group of 25 photographers and all of them were just as unsuspecting as you are to the events that were about to transpire. Hell even I wasn’t on board.

It wasn’t mere minutes after this wonderful, peaceful scene was created on my sensor, sent through the buffer, and written to my flash card that the world was about to change. I moved in closer to the water to create abstract reflections of those branches in the right of this scene. Some great compositions. And then in an instant. FUCK! Yes, I managed to knock my brand new 1D Mark IV and 70-200 f2.8 IS II lens, tripod, ballhead, and shutter release into the lake. I mean that unseen fucking serpent took it–I can’t blame it on my own stupidity now can I. Not just a little, but into the depths, complete submersion. Listen to the needle drag across the record here.

My alter ego, (Tyler Durden from Fight Club) wanted to beat the crap out of me, but he resisted in this case, so the 25 severely concerned witnesses didn’t have me committed. After going fishing to bring the whole rig out, Art and Gavriel helped me dry it off. What the heck was I going to do? There were still two days left in this workshop? I decided to go for it and press the shutter release to see what would happen, and to my surprise, the damn thing took a picture.

Arms raised like I had just won the SuperBowl. YES! A true testament to a Canon professional body and lens. After toweling off the exterior, I went in. Opened the battery compartment, flash card compartment, lens off, everything completely dry. Looking through the lens no water, nothing. This can’t be happening to me. I never have this kind of luck.

And then, after about 2 hours, the scene from the Empire Strikes Back came blazing into my life. “Chewy, let’s make the jump to lightspeed.” Han Solo pulls the lever, and in the true spirit of his luck, the ship shutters and slows, as if to say, I am just too tired my friend you are out of credits once again. The lens fogged, camera produced an error message, and menu went blank. “But, but I thought I fixed the hyperdrive?” Laser blasts all around. FUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKK! No water anywhere inside? What the hell? Again?

After kicking the tires, scratching my head, and other various body parts, trying to figure it out, it came to me. Wait, wait, I went from the clear blue warmth into the cool, moist, shaded rainforest of the Hoh. Temperature gradiant and just enough moisture left in those seals? What if I open everything up and put this puppy in the hot car, in the sun for a few hours?

Hours later as we walk down the water’s edge of the Pacific on Second Beach, my thought process was about to be tested. Had I come up with a legitimate solution? Was I worthy of the “Professional” title in front of my name? “R2 what do you mean the hyperdrive was disconnected?” The flick of a little lever and…The stars all of a sudden align and blur like a long exposure. Hyperdrive fixed once again. Click. Time to photograph the sunset.

I am now off to the desert to lead a group in Zion, where this no water–no water, just rocks…

Mark Kogelmann Drops into the Powder of Blueberry Chutes © Jay Goodrich

Many of you have been wondering where the heck I have been. It has been how many weeks since my last post? I know, I know, inconsistency is not good for Google, SEO, PPO, CPS, NPS, LLC, INC, and whatever other abbreviations you can come up with. Seriously though, I have been working like a crazy man. 21 days of photographing skiing, 14 days of teaching workshops, and then image mastering–tons of mastering, keywording, descriptions, titles, and headlines. And let’s not forget the proposals for upcoming projects. Days are just flying by, I can’t believe it’s almost April?

I have put together submissions to Patagonia, Powder Magazine, Black Diamond Equipment, and a major calendar company. I taught a workshop with my dear friend Art Wolfe in Seattle on the art of composing images, then I taught two HDR workshops at this year’s NANPA Summit in McAllen, TX, and the whole time in-between working to create the best ski portfolio ever. This is where I need to add a special thank you to all of the athletes who have been working with me–Mark Kogelmann, Owen Dudley, Peder Bottheim, Tyler Hatcher, Nick Marvic, Colin Poff, Pat Tolton, and Ian Burge. The images would be nothing without them. Now, I would also like to thank the Academy…I think it just feels good to complete missions and projects. It’s like adding another notch to the bedpost. Or something like that. Laugh. Oh and there will be a film highlighting all this work sometime this spring, with an interview with ah…me. We are thinking of calling it life | SENTENCES, what do you think?

I have been to Seattle, Texas, Canada, and now as you read this China. Yep, JG Inc. is going international–again, this time crossing the monster pond. If I can sort out an internet connection while there, (which I am hoping I can do) I will post some of the work I am creating while there.

As if that wasn’t enough, l have managed to fill all but 2 of my workshops. China–FULL, The Olympic Peninsula–FULL, Zion–FULL, Lightroom 3–space left, and Alaska–space left. The Alaska trip is being co-lead with Art Wolfe, so why wouldn’t you want to go? I mean it is not everyday that you get to drink really good Tequila and Bourbon with really good photographers. Right? And in the future, I promise to try and enlighten the world at least once a week with something intriguing, if not, it will at least be completely off the wall, humorous, and as misdirected as a Jack Russell Terrier.

Mt. Moran, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming © Jay Goodrich

The Teton Range rises abruptly over Jackson Hole. Dominated by the Grand Teton, they are the most dramatic escarpment in the lower 48.

There is much more than stunning scenery in the Jackson Hole area. The meadows and marshes are frequented by moose and elk, bears roam the woods, and deer abound. Ansel Adams captured one of his signature images above a bend in the Snake River with the backlit Tetons looming in the distance.

I will be teaching a photo workshop with premier nature photographer and television host Art Wolfe and associate instructors John Greengo, Gavriel Jecan in an intensive four day workshop in one of the world’s most beautiful locations. This workshop is designed for the serious amateur and semiprofessional photographer. Expect days of long, but enjoyable hours, photographing from early morning until sunset.

The workshop is limited to only 12 people so don’t delay. For more info visit my workshop page on the trip or visit the Art Wolfe Workshop Website. To sign up visit Art Wolfe’s online store.

Art Wolfe Portrait © Jay Goodrich

Today you can read part one of a three part post over at Art Wolfe’s Blog from an interview he and I had recently. We discussed everything from new projects he is working on to his take on the current status of the stock industry.

We Are Never Alone, Moab, UT © Jay Goodrich

This past weekend I had some time to catch up on a little reading and discovered some really cool postings from friends and colleagues. Friend and photographer Darwin Wigget has a great post with a couple of must reads, one is the link on Photoshop CS5 and the other is a post that his better half Samantha Chrysanthou has on her blog. Next, friend Jim Goldstein interviewed Art Wolfe about his book Migrations. It is a really well spoken piece for both. On Art’s site every Monday there is a Vanishing Act post. And if you check out Rob Galbraith’s blog and you are a Canon user, you will now know where to find those special mugs from the Olympics in Vancouver. And if you can’t find them there you can always order $200 worth of Canon Gear from Canon Canada and they will include one for free. In addition, friend and Canadian photographer, Younes Bounhar has been making me jealous, so why not visit his blog and view some of his new work.

As for me, this is a week of FREEDOM! (for the record I am really sad and missing them greatly) Heather is in Colorado until Sunday with the kids, making the only thing I have to take care, besides myself, is the dog. Tomorrow I will be at Mount Baker hopefully partaking in a huge amount of new snow, Wednesday I am going to Second Beach and hopefully the Hoh, Thursday and Friday I am going to try and get some images of those tulips here in the Skagit. I will obviously keep you posted.

Art Wolfe Photography Workshops

Art Wolfe has just announced a new workshop website in which he and a few others will be leading tours and workshops around the world. Click here to have a look. I am one of the five instructors he has selected to help with the mission. Stay tuned for more updates and future plans.

We are proud to announce two new workshop/tours for the summer of 2010. For more information click the links below to see all of the details of the trips.

The Bears of Lake Clark National Park, July 21-27, 2010

The Altiplano of Chile, August 6-13, 2010

Clouds over Mount Rainier, Washington © Jay Goodrich

Those who know me best know that I have been friends with Art Wolfe for some time now. He was a huge inspiration before I even had a career in photography and now our relationship has turned into a great friendship. I have spent the last 10 days with him traveling around Washington, sometimes photographing, sometimes driving (12+ hours straight one day), sometimes working and more often than not, laughing. I can count on him to make me laugh to the point that my stomach muscles are sore by time our trips are over. He invokes a drive in me to work harder and push my creativity farther than ever before. Sitting and watching the world pass you by is not an option for Art nor is it even in his vocabulary.

Here are two more photos from Mount Rainier National Park. The star trails image resulted in only 3 hours of sleep in order to be at Reflection Lake for sunrise. The high pressure that has been in place in the Pacific Northwest gave way briefly one evening to produce enough clouds for an unbelievable sunset. I now get to go home for a month, shoot a bunch of architecture projects, and catch up on running my business before it all starts again in Grand Teton National Park when Art, Gavriel Jecan, and I will be leading a workshop together. The whirlwind never stops…

Star Trails over Mount Rainier, Washington © Jay Goodrich

Eunice Lake at Sunset, Mt. Rainier N.P. © Jay Goodrich

Two days ago Younes Bounhar and I spent the day trekking into Eunice Lake in Mount Rainier National Park to photograph the sunset. The day was a a bit of an “epic” due to the fact that the snow was still about 6 feet deep along the trail and closer to 10 feet deep once we got up to the lake itself. For most of the day we were cursing our friend Art who gave us all of the information and advice regarding how to get there, but in the end his wisdom out weighed our naivete. We thought that there was no way that we could capture Mount Rainier in the reflection of the lake at sunset because it was still frozen over. As we made our way around the lake we discovered a spot that yielded more than we could have ever thought possible.

Once the light faded at about 9:30pm, we walked out with our headlamps on, regularly yelling aloud, to wake up any sleeping black bears that we might sneak up on along the way. We began our day at about 10am and arrived back at Art’s house a 2am. A long day, but one we will surely remember for years to come.