Riding the Pipeline © Jay Goodrich

I had dinner with friend and fellow photographer Jim Goldstein in San Francisco earlier this week and the conversation covered the full spectrum of subjects. Kids, blogs, work, play, friends, future workshops, everything had a go at one point or another. It was a wonderful evening. During our discussions Jim told me about a blog post he did on HDR titled, “Why I Hate HDR: Photo Technology Porn.” And within a second, the synapses, began firing. Ah, porn…wait sorry, different thought. Actually, that is what came to mind first, but in the split-second, official review of the tape, I was actually thinking about something another friend of mine said to me while I was in Eagle, Colorado shooting an article for Dirt Rag Magazine. Bike Porn. “So we need to go out and get you some photos for that article that will make the bike porn fools drool over. Not a problem can do.”

Now before you all go to your bedrooms or bathrooms (showers more specifically), bike porn is not having sex on a bike. It’s having sex with a bike. No, kidding, it actually refers to watching crazy videos of crazy riders doing crazy shit on their bikes. You sit their jaw agape, bit of drool hanging out, much like you would if you were…watching porn. You long for the locations, the ability to ride the lines, and/or the actual bikes the athletes are on. It is the simplest of marketing concepts. Create something that is sleek, shiny, and desirable and you will sell millions. True porn has it, most sport industries have it, hell even camera manufacturers have it. So here, with a little sneak as to what is coming (no pun intended) is one of the 5400 images that I shot while working on my upcoming article. A little teaser. An image of myself riding a trail named Pipeline. Yes, I am in fact riding the pipeline. An homage to me, a self-indulgent artist. Now it’s time for a cold shower. This is just the beginning…of the porn.

Thank you Jim and Chris for enlightening my thought processes a little more than yesterday.

San Francisco Lines, California © Jay Goodrich

Aneliya Ancgelcheva of the online international magazine Public Republic recently interviewed me for their Artist of the Week column. Have a look to see some new images. In addition, here is a photo that I created yesterday morning in San Francisco. Do you have any idea where I took it from?

Darwin Wigget and I decided to write for each other’s blogs this month. We agreed on a topic, wrote our articles, and selected our images without even hinting to each other on how we were approaching the subject. I emailed him my article and ten images, he in turn did the same. This is his article-mine can be found on his blog. We are planning on working together on a single topic article every other month, so stay tuned. Our next posting will be at the beginning of August.

Truck © Darwin Wiggett

Some photographers seem to have an innate creativity; they view the world in a way that is novel and fresh and not contrived. Where does this creativity come from? Is it genetic? Or is it something we can buy in a bottle or from the local drug dealer? Why is it that some photographers are so clever with their vision while many of us just seem to produce the ‘same old, same old’ over and over again? Is there a magic pill or set of mental gymnastics that we can try to make us more creative, or is the answer something deeper? Here are my thoughts.

Dog © Darwin Wiggett

Boy © Darwin Wiggett

All the photographers and artists that I know who are extremely creative have a strong inner drive and motivating passion for what they do. They simply can’t help themselves—they are fueled to go! Galen Rowell has described this trait as the inner rat. The rat is a voracious creature residing in your gut that drives you out time after time to create new images. The rat is not stymied by suffering and leaving the comforts of home; in fact, it seems to grow stronger in the face of adversity. The rat propels nature and outdoor photographers to shoot at temperatures diving toward -40 degrees Celsius, to sit in blinds for 12 hours without food, and to make other people look at you and think you are mad. The rat makes you hang off cliffs, wade into alligator-infested waters, and sleep in a bivouac sac in a meadow full of hungry grizzly bears. In short, it is this inner, almost insane drive that seems like the predominant prerequisite to success as a creative being.

Boy © Darwin Wiggett

I believe we all have a hungry rat within us. Some people have a fat, satiated little rat that sits on the sofa with a TV remote and a bag of Cheetos while others have a gigantic, emaciated rat constantly looking for its next meal. The one factor that most suppresses the size of the rat is ego. The fear of being judged, rejected or ridiculed always keeps the inner rat tiny. The ‘fear to create’ is the biggest rat-trap of all. I see this situation a lot: people often have an inner drive to create yet are absolutely terrified to show the world their images. They are the lurkers on photo forums and the long time camera club members who never show their work. In short, their insecurities cage the rat and wither the rat’s desire. After awhile any creativity they have is lost in their insecurities.

Ice Waterfall © Darwin Wiggett

On the opposite end of the spectrum are the ego maniacs. Here the photographer wants to show the world his photos, show how clever and amazing he is. The real reason the photographer shoots is for public recognition, for ‘atta boys’ and pats on the back. This kind of photographer often does have a voice of his own and a rat pushing him to create but the rat has learned to feed on the junk food of life–accolades. It has become a junkie needing a constant injection of adoration. These junkie rats force the photographer to constantly post on every possible photo forum where they hang on to each and every comment, aggressively countering any post that is anything but complimentary. Soon the work of such a photographer becomes repetitive and stale. The photographer constantly tries to repeat past successes and the accolade-aholic rat stifles any further creative growth. Without accolades the photographer loses his passion and therefore his creativity.

Waterfall © Jay Goodrich

The truly creative photographers I know have a rat that drives them independent of their ego. These are self-confident people who create and are not afraid to share their works but also create for their own inner purposes and not for public adoration; they simply ‘shoot from the heart’ with little or no worries about how the outside world views their work. They are not arrogant about their work and processes and often are the people most willing to share their passion with others. Secrets have no place in their life-work. They shoot to please themselves and they create simply because they have to. And finally, they have learned to control the rat, they have learned balance and that life is richer than just their art and their expression. They let the rat lead when necessary but in the end are the master of the rodent.

Dog Apple © Darwin Wiggett

Dog © Darwin Wiggett

In summary, I believe ego is the biggest stumbling block in being truly creative. We all have passion, we all have an inner rat, and we can all be driven when we feel a connection. It is simply the fear to create and the need for recognition that kills our creativity. The photographer who is confident in themselves, and who lets her inner vision thrive will be a photographer who has a big, creative rat. On the other hand, if you constantly worry what others will think of your work, how you will be perceived, or how famous you will become, then you will likely lose any creativity you had—you are destined to kill your inner rat. If you shoot simply to please yourself and to satisfy an inner desire without regard to how the world will view your work, then you are on the path to true creativity.

I have a lot of photo bags. It all started 16 years ago when I purchased my first camera and lens. It was the meager beginnings of a fanny-type pack that held one body, one lens, some film, and a couple of filters. Now times have changed. I cannot fit everything into my monster Lowepro Super Trekker AW II, so I need to have multiple packs for multiple situations. If it has been designed I have owned it, in a never-ending quest to find the most perfect bag. I have even custom-designed a couple of my own packs for use on special projects. The reality is that I doubt there is a pack that works for every situation a photographer can find himself in. Thus my motley crew of packs. But thanks to Think Tank Photo’s new Shape Shifter backpack, I think I will now be able to thin out the collection.

Upon receiving my Shape Shifter, my initial reaction was one of astonishment. This pack is well constructed and full of features that even I, with my slew of packs, have yet to see. The first thing that hit me was the fact that instructions and photos of the features of the pack are included. I really like the idea of suggestions; show me what you were thinking when you designed it, then I will figure out how I want to use the space. This feature alone expanded my creativity in using the pack.

The next thing that hit me was the fact that there are pockets for everything. In today’s age of digital photography, I have as much support gear as I do actual lenses and camera bodies. There are pockets, sleeves, and pouches for well…you name it. All of those pockets and compartments allow me to store the gear in an organized manner, and not just stuff it all together in the one left over pocket that seems like an after thought.

This pack also changes its size, hence the name Shape Shifter. I can compress the whole pack by simply zipping a zipper, and this allows me to just carry my new Apple 17 inch MacBook Pro (review coming in the near future) if I am headed to a meeting or a presentation. But what is the maximum it can it hold? A lot! You can see here everything that I can fit into the pack, with the exception of my 600 mm lens. Which leads to the suggestion that Think Tank produce a Shape Shifter that will allow me to carry that lens with this whole set up as well.

Another really great feature to this pack is that it holds all of my photo equipment in drawstring closure “pouches”. This feature has all of my equipment laying flat, which means that it takes up much less room. The standard method of velcro dividers does not exist here, which is an improvement.

So are there negatives? Well, I wouldn’t say that there are features that I don’t like, but there are a few things that I would like to see added in the pack’s next generation. I would like to see some compression straps added to the sides of the pack. This isn’t so much to tighten the items inside, but just in case one or all of the zippers failed on an expedition, the compression straps would allow you to at least close up the pack and easily carry out all of your gear. The lower corners of the pack could use a little extra padding, especially in the laptop compartment. I am pretty hard on my gear and if I accidentally drop the pack, having a bit more in those lower corners would keep me from dinging that new Mac Book Pro. Also, if all of the photo gear pouches were mounted on the opposite side of the compartment than where they are currently located, the pack could be placed on the ground with the harness system facing up as to not put it in the dirt. This is a feature I currently have on another pack, and I find it to be very useful. Finally, I would like a beefier waste belt. If you load this pack with what it is capable of carrying, the waste belt is insufficient to carry the load, and would likely be uncomfortable on a multi-mile walk. Think Tank currently offers the Pro Speed Belt that will retro-fit with the pack, but it would be nice if it came with the pack.

I am absolutely astounded with the thought and design that has been put into this pack. I can tell that Think Tank pursued the opinions of many photographers when creating this item; it works, and it works well. I will be watching for upcoming new releases from this company. The name says it all – Think Tank, a company whose creativity is allowing me to pursue my own creativity with much greater convenience.

Add-One other item that I ordered from Think Tank was their Pixel Pocket Rocket compact flash card holder. I was looking for a card holder that was compact and held more than 4 or 8 cards at a time, well, I found it! And it is perfect! You can store your business card in it just in case you loose it, and it compresses to about the size of an iPhone. What else do you need to know, go buy one now.

Ever wonder what it is like to take a workshop with Jay? Brendan Quigley writes about the experience…

As I eyed my quickly filling calendar a few weeks ago, I came to the conclusion that I HAD to get out behind my camera before the end of the year, or I would probably explode. Perhaps not, but I’m sure you know the point I’m trying to illustrate. I work on Broadway as a stagehand, and travel to do productions out of town, so my free time is in precious small commodity.

While searching a few of the many photographers’ websites that I have bookmarked, I looked at my good friend Jay Goodrich’s website (one whose design I really like!). His workshop schedule listed one that met my criteria: it was a landscape workshop (an area of my photography that needs some help), it was in a beautiful part of the country (Eagle, Colorado, and the surrounding areas), and the weekend dates worked with my wacky schedule. Oh, and the best part: it was a small group and was going to be taught by Jay himself.

If I were to say that the weather cooperated and the light cooperated, you might be tempted to think I was wasn’t telling the complete truth. But they did. Our two morning trips to the Maroon Bells in Aspen, CO provided us with two entirely different opportunities to shoot an iconic landscape image under different circumstances. The beauty of the lake and the mountain face were a draw on both mornings, but there were other images to be made. As we watched other photographers shooting those mornings (there were many, but plenty of room on the shore of the lake for us to set up), none ever got low enough to change the perspective of their image. Nor did any wander a few feet from the water to shoot the frost-covered leaves, small groups of flowers, or other flora found feet behind us. We also headed about 20 minutes up the canyon to find a stream that gave us the opportunity to shoot lichens, and for some experimental shots with flowing water. Jay was able to push my creative boundaries there, and I am now able to see water in a new, different, and more creative way.

There were images hiding everywhere at Maroon Bells: flowing water, reflections, aspen leaves turning gold, lichen covered rocks; they all called out to me. But it wasn’t all about “taking” a picture; as Jay and I chatted, it was also about “making” an image. Composition, light, focus (subject matter), and more were discussed as we both crouched over our cameras and tripods. Learning doesn’t have to be in a classroom: standing next to Jay, having him look through my viewfinder and looking through his, and having him say, “This is great, but why not try this?” kept me on my toes and learning all the time.

But my trip to Colorado wasn’t just about the iconic images of Maroon Bells. We were also able to visit some other great locations: an afternoon visit to the Great Sand Dunes National Park provided us with some stunning panoramic images. To remind us that images can be made anywhere, we pulled off the road on our way to the park to shoot a rainbow, only to find that the real image was behind us as the weather moved our way. The front was moving slowly enough, so we were able to stand and make panoramic images of the rain, clouds and god-beams of light as over the prairie. And as luck would have it, there was a fence in the image so as to provide a sense of scale, focus, and depth to the images.
When I said the weather was cooperative, I meant it: on our final day, in the final hour (really, the FINAL ten minutes) while we were at Piney Lake in Vail, the skies were overcast, the images weren’t dull, but had no zing to them, and Jay and I were wondering aloud if we were actually going to get an image that was worthwhile. We were really contemplating heading back home in his FJ Cruiser over some pretty bumpy roads, it happened. That magical moment we all wait for as photographers. The grey skies opened and gorgeous warm light lit up the mountains in the distance. Jay and I hurried to find the best positions to capture images of the sun setting across the mountains. It was a flurry of intense work, but the results were magnificent.

The weekend was awesome. Jay has intimate knowledge of the area (he’s been living in Eagle for a number of years), and has shot in just about every locale imaginable within a couple of hundred miles. And the pace of the workshop was perfect: as I work nights, the transition to getting up at 5AM can be a little tough for me, but we were in the field when we needed to be and I was able to get a little mid-afternoon rest in as well before heading out for some afternoon shooting. If you want to get a keeper image of this region, Jay is the guy to go to, and he can take you to get the image you have always dreamed of.
All right … I’m off to Baltimore, or Boston, or LA, or wherever the next plane is going to take me for work. I hope you will get on a plane to Denver, drive a couple of hours west and check in with Jay for an amazing photographic opportunity, with a guy that is part mentor, part instructor, and all friend.