Tag Archives: Jade Goodrich

In the End What Will You be Known For?

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Kids Destroy Photographic Print by photographer Jay Goodrich

I have witnessed some major changes in photography throughout my career. I remember the days when you had no choice but to get the shot in the camera. If you missed, that was it, the scene was history. You took a chance every day that you set out on an assignment or a project with the film that you chose, the lenses that you carried, and all of the miscellaneous gear that you brought to accompany your specific mission. Now you have more options than ever. You have choices. “A little bit of variety.”–Natural Born Killers. You can create black and white images after the fact. You can process images as if they were shot with a Lomo camera. Even cross process or bleach bypass an image with a click of your mouse.

And now more than ever before, photographers are discussing, to the point of arguing, over the most minute technical limitations of every new piece of equipment that is being released. They tout those creating with iPhones. Complain about autofocus. Freak out over diffraction. Complain about noise levels in digital sensors. The list could take up this whole post. Does owning a brand new Canon 1DX make you a better photographer than me? Or Ansel Adams? Art Wolfe? Frans Lanting? Or any other pro out there? Or any other photographer out there? I recently read an interesting post by Trey Ratcliff discussing why he is not even interested in the brand new Nikon D4. Did you become a photographer to spend thousands upon thousands on equipment? Or is photography a true enlightenment for you? A creative passion? Is there a voice in your head that makes you see the world and create a picture because of what you see?

I say it often, and to many people, over and over again–simplify and free you mind. I cannot tell you how many images I have created with my iPhone that I truly love. In the same thought, I tend to use a specific tool for a specific task. I don’t create an HDR image because that is what the competition or trends are doing. Nor do I shoot with the most expensive Canon equipment for the same. In fact I am currently in the process of lightening up all of my all of my gear. I just purchased a thirteen inch Mac Book Air to replace my seventeen inch Mac Book Pro. I am switching many of my f2.8 aperture lenses to lighter f4 ones. Freeing my mind so my soul will follow. And I have to tell you it is an enlightening experience.

In the end do you want to be known for blowing your kid’s college education on camera bodies and lenses? Or do you want to be known for capturing a brief, fleeting moment in time that speaks to someone else’s soul? I will choose the latter every single time. And if you take all of my cameras away. Smash all of the computers. Burn all of the paper. Destroy all of the forests. I will keep those visuals I have seen through out my life, to myself and share those experiences through the campfire with only those closest to me. My life will always be complete. Now the biggest question is–will yours?

And the Winner Is…

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Boundary Bay Canada Snowy Owl Stare by Jay Goodrich

Heather told me I was crazy. No one was going to be able to guess the location from this last post. Yet the first comment from Robert Levy was pretty close. Then comment after comment got closer and closer. I was in fact in Canada, and in Vancouver earlier that day, but when the image of Jade and I was taken we were in the wetlands of Boundary Bay photographing snowy owls with our friend Art Wolfe. Jade was playing her usual hard to get, but amazingly she managed to sit next to me for close to an hour. Not bad for a six year old. I guess a weird looking white bird that can spin its head around three hundred and sixty degrees can grab the attention of even Princessa.

Reifel Refuge Barred Owl Napping by Photographer Jay Goodrich

Last Monday began in Vancouver, migrated to the Arc’teryx outlet store, then went to the Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary where we discovered and photographed a barred owl, and finally finished in the marshes of Boundary Bay photographing snowy owls. Not too bad for a single day across the border. Jade has now traveled out of the United States over five times. Here first trip was when she was 11 months old and discovered that sand on the Caribbean in Mexico was not to be touched by bare feet.

Oh, and the winner…David Clumpner was the first person to successfully guess Boundary Bay. David, if you want to pick an image from our stock site or portfolio site, email that selection with your shipping address to me, we will get a 16 x 24 print out to you in the coming weeks. Thank you to everyone who commented. We will be thinking of additional ways to give more stuff away in the very near future.

 

  • Jay Goodrich Birthday Card at 41

Happy Birthday to Me

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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.

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.