Tag Archives: inspiration

  • Mountain Biking in Carbondale Colorado by Jay Goodrich

    Sam Stevens riding to Carbondale published in the March 2013 Issue of Bike Magazine.

I Do What I Do

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I gave a single day workshop a couple of weeks ago to a great group of participants in downtown Seattle. That workshop was as much of an eye-opener for them as it was for me. It was the group’s questions that not only inspired me, but had me answering some questions in my own mind about how and why I do what I do.

“We are all here to do what we are all here to do…” – The Oracle, The Matrix Reloaded.

The question was posed, “So how do you do it?” “How do you create the images we see here before us?” “Do you shoot at the spur of the moment?” “Do you set up images?” “Do you pre-visualize your shots?”

My answer was all of the above. I never look away from opportunity and I am always trying to discover a scene that is unique to not only to myself, but to others as well. I look down, around, up, and behind me every minute of every day with camera and without. I use my training as an architect to create compositions that possess a strong sense of place, moment, and subject.

I know that what I am doing right now is what I was meant to do. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t feel like working. There aren’t days when inspiration is lacking. And the harder that I push myself, my vision, and my business, the greater successes I find. I want to challenge myself in a way that doesn’t always have the answer directly handed to me. The hardest days have typically become my best days – for successful creative solutions. Nothing on this planet is free and nothing worth experiencing on this planet comes easy. I told my class that I am analogous to a “Type ‘A’ Jack Russell hopped up enough caffeine to heart attack an entire small country who is ready to kill the UPS guy at the front door.” That’s every minute of every day. If you can keep up please feel free to at any moment.

I use that same energy to train every single day. Carrying a thirty pound pack in the backcountry on skis does not come easy. I am old. I ignore all of that. The days I don’t ski, I run, I mountain bike, I road bike, and I hike. On top of that I throw in some Tai Chi, some days of lifting weights in the gym, and then sets of push-ups throughout the coarse of my entire week. The key is to never slow down. A body in motion stays in motion. For every reaction there is an equal and opposite reaction. It is all very true.

As I type this I am helping my dear friend Art Wolfe in Portland with a workshop. Yesterday, I was at the Chris King Factory shooting for an article that I am working on. Next week I am shooting a vision for GoPro and hopefully skiing some powder if the snow comes back before I head to Patagonia, South America into some other amazing mountains. Through out all of these explorations I will challenge all who will listen, to throw conformity to the wind, and discover something unique that heads beyond the every day and beyond the snapshot. Your mind is your ticket to success. You are the one who can do what I do.

“I know you’re out there. I can feel you now. I know that you’re afraid… you’re afraid of us. You’re afraid of change. I don’t know the future. I didn’t come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it’s going to begin. I’m going to hang up this phone, and then I’m going to show these people what you don’t want them to see. I’m going to show them a world without you. A world without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries. A world where anything is possible. Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you.” – Neo, The Matrix.

Jordan Manley – A Skier’s Journey Japan

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I grew up watching the ski movies of Greg Stump. Greg’s movies not only highlighted amazing locations and skiing, but also contained a story line. Translation – not just containing what has been deemed in the ski films of today as ski porn. Now enter another visionary. I have known of Vancouver based photographer Jordan Manley for many years. His work inspires me on all levels. He is now bringing his still image skills to video and the latest episode of his A Skier’s Journey Series highlights his creative take on the world in the alps of Japan. Jordan is going to bring the ski film industry into a whole new era. Thank you for now inspiring me on multiple levels Jordan. Let me know what you think of his work.

Motion – New Inspiration – Breaking Bad POV

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In an effort to highlight some of the films that inspire us here at the corporate headquarters, we are announcing a new weekly post entitled MOTION. All of the films can be viewed on the Jay Goodrich Photo Vimeo Channel as well. Since it is still fresh in our mind from Sunday evening, here is cut of some great POV photography from the AMC hit series Breaking Bad.

Inspiration-As Open as The Five Year Old

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Shoe Pastel by Jade Goodrich

Late last year, I wrote a blog post over on the Outdoor Photographer Website, about losing our creativity in America. This post was based on an article that was published on Newsweek’s website. Because of that article, our daughter’s main Christmas present was an easel and full set of professional art supplies ranging from pastels to water color paints and everything in between. I guess Heather and I figured we should at least give her the opportunity to create, since we knew it isn’t happening in her school. It didn’t take long for Jade to declare this “one of her favorite presents ever”. Heather and I are still shocked, because she got a baby carriage too, and those things usually wind up much higher on the love list.

In lieu of heading down the road of that bumper sticker–My Kid is an Honor Student…crap, I do have to say that I am quickly becoming the proud father of a somewhat creative daughter. People must have some kind of genetic mutation that kicks in when kids are born, that automatically gives us a propensity towards thinking our kids are the greatest. This probably happens so we don’t kill them, eat them, and get back to what it is all really about–sex! I am sure there is a perfectly good scientific explanation that my uber-educated wife can come up with, but I have yet to figure it all out. I have come to the conclusion that it gives our children the motivation to at least try, by having a vote of confidence from the ones they know the best.

Hands Watercolor by Jade Goodrich

The past week of my life has been pretty much work free, and unfortunately not by choice. Jade has been home sick with Strep Throat. Fevers close 105 degrees, vomiting, you don’t need to know the particulars, just really sick. It seemed like every dose of Ibuprofen had her up and about for at least 4 hours before the need of sleep would factor into the picture. During those times of insanity (sanity is when they are asleep) she wanted to “create artwork”. And there was no way I was going to argue with her at those moments, I just didn’t want her to puke on my carpet again.

Jade is 5, and acts like she is 15 with the exception that she still has a romantic innocence about herself. She holds prejudice against no one, doesn’t even fathom the idea of racism, and truly experiences the world with an open mind. It is fairly liberating for me to watch. My only goal now is to learn from it, to photograph like she paints–with complete freedom and for the absolute joy of doing so. I knew taking her to that Picasso exhibit was going to pay dividends. In 4 days of “home schooling” with dad, we watched countless movies on the apple TV, ate a few pounds of gummi bears, and actually painted 13 pieces. I guess I shouldn’t say painted, because Jade chose to use pastels, water colors, charcoal, and markers. Let’s go with created 13 pieces.

Flowers Watercolor by Jade Goodrich

I am hoping that her work is actually good and I am not being a “Jaded” father, then my creative background kicks in and I truly believe that this work has merit. She picked titles like, “name”, “face”, and “me” for some of the pieces, which has me thinking that she actually had a concept in mind when she went to town on that easel. The other part of the story is that it may not actually matter if the work is good or not. I got to spend a solid 4 days with my daughter, I got to be inspired by her creativity, and she personally taught me to look at the world differently, to create with more intensity. For that alone, I am forever grateful. And it might just have me picking up some of those art supplies to pull some of the visions I have banging around in that melon upstairs.

This is Going to Be SUPER Cool!

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I have to be honest, I watched this trailer over at Steve Casimiro’s blog–The Adventure Life and just had to share it here. This little teaser had me purchasing the DVD before it was over. I am so excited to see this film after knowing the still photography of Derek Frankowski. I not sure what is in the water up there in BC, but there is a ton of amazing talent just to my north. Talent that any artist can not only be inspired by, but learn from as well.

Riding Giants – Inspired Once Again

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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.