Tag Archives: New Work

  • Mountain Biking Forest Bellingham Washington by Jay Goodrich 1

    Original RAW capture untouched.

  • Mountain Biking Forest Bellingham Washington by Jay Goodrich 2

    Mastered original.

  • Mountain Biking Forest Bellingham Washington by Jay Goodrich 3

    Mastered Black and White Favorite.

A Midday Sun Battle

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There are many that believe you can only create a superb image at the edges of the day. The reality is, that even during the long days of summer, during midday sun, you can come up with creative ways of expressing your vision. Weather and schedules don’t always collide to provide you with the best situations. Sometimes you have to make it collide. You have to make your vision come through.

This is exactly where I was last week. When Heather and I left the house, we were enshrouded in clouds. The hillsides were covered with that misty drama that I love to shoot in. This was going to be the day that I was going to be able to get mist and mountain biking in the forest near my home. We dropped the kids off at day-care and proceeded north to the trail that we decided to ride on this day. It was only fifteen miles from our house as the crow flies and as we got closer and closer, the clouds began to dissipate. Before I knew it, we were in full-blown sun. This is where the words that can insult many of you begin to come out of my mouth. My favorite begins with the letter F. It was safe to say that I was generally aggravated with my choice to go further instead of staying where I knew we could succeed. A classic concept of the “grass is always greener” illustrated right in from of my face. At this point in my life and my career, I should know better. Learning experience number 2,546,300, some review of my life may be necessary again.

As I finished kicking the dog, the ground, myself, and my bike, I finished my coffee and decided to just simply go for a ride. I may have returned with something different and I may have not. My images may have all gone into the trash. Heather reminded me that this was all okay. I completely disagreed, but I cleared my head so I could be open to what the day sent me. We agreed to ride a bunch of trails that we have never ridden before in order to see what else was available for future image making. Climb after climb in the sun and heat, I passed by opportunity upon opportunity. The light just wasn’t right. It was high-noon after all.

Just as we came to the finish of our ride, I found what I was looking for. I wasn’t really sure how great the finished product was going to be, but I spent a few minutes having Heather ride my composition numerous times. I varied my exposure and my framing slightly for each image and gave her instructions on how I wanted her to tweak her body position and at which point on the trail. The beauty of digital is that I have the chance to see what I am creating as I create it, so I know when the moment is complete. Usually, it is that last sequence. As I shot the final photograph, I was pre-visualizing it as a black and white, but I wasn’t really sure of the technique that I was going to apply to it. After some trial and error, I ended up using the over exposed highlights of the backlit maple leaves as the whites in my final conversion and then added light to my shadows. I am really happy with the results and the final image, even though it was created in midday light it represents something unique and different.

Maybe the grass, or should I say the leaves, are greener on the other side of the fence if you go beyond those standard expectations?

  • Stars Above Castle Valley by Jay Goodrich

    The stars above one of the tower formations in Castle Valley near Moab, Utah.

Discovery

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Some of the best mistakes in life come completely by accident. Kids, jobs, clients, and even education. If we are to truly learn from our mistakes we shouldn’t repeat them right? It’s the repetition portion that seems to be the hardest part of the equation to strive away from. Once we make that discovery though, our life, mission, and careers take on a building block mentality that allows us to reach the pinnacle of our existence.

I could sit here and highlight pages of quotes from those famous and not, about continuing forward, learning from mistakes, taking paths less traveled. And you can be inspired and you can move forward with whatever strikes you as important from those ideals. The cold hard truth is that at some point you are going to have to sit back and realize that you fucked something up. How you handle the breakdown when this occurs is where you fail or succeed beyond the common naysayer.

Risk. Realization. Forward motion. Learn. Adjust. Succeed. Adjust. Fail. Continue. Success again. Year in and year out. Then you can look back see the valley way below you.

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” – Steve Jobs

The image included here was a fluke. A complete mistake. Half way through the darkness of night I realized that I did not set my lens to infinity. A quick turn of the dial during the exposure and a head shake that believed the shot was completely flawed. I moved on to the next image that fixed the condition. What I didn’t realize at the time, was that a new creation was writing to the card in the background as I re-shot. Realization. Learn. Success. Connecting the dots forward. I will try this again for sure. The road continues.

Say Goodbye to the Photo of the Month

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The Lines and Textures of Utah by Jay Goodrich

It has been a category on this blog since the beginning, dating back to 2003. At that time I am not sure many even knew what the heck a blog was. I know I didn’t, until I started playing around with the whole concept. It is amazing how fast technology and its use catches on. Now, if you do not have a blog, you are missing out on a major marketing and news tool for you business. From a growth perspective, I sometimes think I have been stagnant since 2003. That nothing in my life is any different. When I sit down and actually reflect upon it all, I realize that almost everything has changed. Except for the fact that I don’t think and act like a 40 year old and I will never listen to that crappy elevator music I remember my parents listening too. For me it is Heavy Metal til’ death do us part. Whoops, sorry, wrong soapbox.

So why the drop of the Photo of the Month? Simply, like everything else, life changes. I feel that the Photo of the Month category does nothing for me. Well it did something, but as my business grows and I grow as an artist, I feel that it leaves me feeling limited in what I can send out to the world. And limiting my exposure to the world is not a good idea, well sometimes it is, for instance, per Jerry Seinfeld, “there is good naked and bad naked”. In this case though, the Photo of the Month had me limiting what I would show you in regards to new work, and then it had me arguing with myself as to what the best image of my recent work was “worthy” of the designation. If I create it from this point on and like it, I will show it to you and give you the story behind it.

The Aspen Groves of Central Utah by Jay Goodrich

With that said, I have created a new category to replace the Photo of the Month and it is simply named, “New Work”. It began as “New Images”, but that too felt limiting, what if I produced a movie, or book, or gallery show. That is all new work isn’t it? Of course it is. Now, when I have something new and creative, I can comfortably send it out there to you, regardless of timing, regardless of any limits or boundaries. And yes, this does include bad naked too.

Square Sandstone Shapes from Central Utah by Jay Goodrich

Now for some new, good naked. I was in Colorado two weeks ago shooting a commercial architecture project and decided that I would make an overnight trip into Utah to meet up with friend and fellow photographer Guy Tal. I drove down to his home in the middle of Utah and he literally showed me the kitchen sink of where he lives in a day. The varying landscape and diversity of eco-systems is a photographer’s paradise and from what I saw, a completely under explored region of Utah. This place is so under explored, I am not even going to tell where he lives. I am keeping the secret safe. And, I am so enamored with this place, I am heading back there in a couple of weeks for a five day trip of shooting.

Craft and Vision Close to Home

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Forest on the South Side of Rainier by Jay Goodrich

On Saturday I traveled to Mount Rainier National Park with Gavriel Jecan, Libby Pfeiffer, and Steve Reeves to photograph fall colors. We encountered a little rain, but the photography opportunities were perfection. Due to the weather it was a day of the intimate landscape and as many of you know, I love to create images of line, texture, and strong design concepts. It was hard enough to keep things in working order shooting with handfuls of towels and lens cloths, turning our cameras towards the sky would only have yielded a ton of additional work–on our lenses. The atmosphere that is created during days like these is well worth the price of admission though. What’s a little water right?

Moss Covered Boulders Mount Rainier by Jay Goodrich

In honor of Stuart Sipahigil’s new book Close to Home, Craft and Vision asked photographers to submit their images based on travels from this weekend, that you guessed it, were close to home. If you want to submit, add the hashtag #closetohome to your tweet. Here are mine.

The Forest Near Packwood, Washington by Jay Goodrich

 

  • Sunset Horse Mountain Colorado by Jay Goodrich

    Low hanging thunderstorm clouds clear at sunset over Horse Mountain Ranch in Wolcott, Colorado.

  • Snow Oak Winter Colorado by Jay Goodrich

    Gamble's Oak and snow in Glenwood Canyon in Colorado during winter.

  • Crab Apple Tree Spring Colorado by Jay Goodrich

    A crab apple tree in full spring bloom at sunset in Colorado.

  • Sawatch Range Winter Colorado by Jay Goodrich

    The sun sets over the Sawatch Range near Eagle, Colorado in winter.

Passing the Camera: Advice from a Professional…

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Samantha Mittelstaedt, a college student from Ohio, who interviewed Jay to get some advice on becoming a photographer. Here is Samantha’s article from the interview. To view some of Samantha’s work and find out more about her, visit her website at http://www.samanthamphotography.com/

Jay has added new images, yet to be released, to the article. Please enjoy!

As a senior at Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio graduation looms in the near future and questions, doubts, and fears begin to arise. The degree in photography that I have been working towards for the past five years starts becoming real. I think to myself what am I going to do, where am I going to go, what steps am I going to take to get there. In this business that we call photography it’s important to make connections with and get feedback from other photographers. Jay Goodrich was at the top of my list of photographers I wanted to contact.

I discovered Jay’s website a couple of months ago. I connected with Jay’s work immediately. The passion and pride that he takes in his photography shines through instantaneously. I took especially great interest in his landscape and nature photos. The colors, compositions, light, and the emotion captured in each of them is stunning. After seeing his photos I made it a goal to get in touch with him. I wanted to learn about him, his work, and get advice on pursing a career in photography.

Samantha- Could tell me a little bit about how you first began your career as a photographer?

Jay-I did something completely crazy. Two weeks after graduating college, packed my car, and with $1000 moved 1800 miles from my home in New Jersey to Colorado. Colorado has so many beautiful places that it just felt like I needed a camera to record all of these places that I had been visiting. Then a girlfriend, at the time, gave me a book by Art Wolfe entitled “Light on the Land”. I was completely hooked and wanted to create imagery the way that he did. The rest has become history. 16 years later here I am. Formally trained by myself, from reading, watching, and listening to anything to do with photography that I could, can and always will get my hands on.

Samantha- What advice you have for an aspiring photographer? Is there anything that you know now that wish you would have known when you got started?

Jay- Expect to work harder than you have ever imagined. Do not focus on just one outlet, have multiple cards in your pocket. If you shoot a portrait shoot it well, if you shoot a landscape shoot it well, and if you shoot a building shoot it well. Diversify as best you can and still be the best creative, most powerful, photographer that is humanly possible for you.

Samantha- What things would you suggest that a photographer do who is just
Beginning their career?

Jay- Try to be different, experiment, make contact with all those photographers you currently aspire to be, buy a digital camera, preferably the new Canon 5d Mark II and then buy one for me. Just kidding, about the camera thing. Study the work of those before you and then try to change it. Never find complacency, and most importantly shoot what you love, and never listen to any photographer that tells you to give up. Especially, if it is your life long calling and dream.
Samantha- What artists do you admire the most/get the most inspiration from?

Jay- I am now really good friends with Art Wolfe and he has always been a huge inspiration to me. I follow William Neill, Jim Brandenburg, and Frans Lanting. I also study architecture, graphic design, and painters-Jackson Pollock and Picasso are my favorites.

Samantha- What about your work gives you the most satisfaction?

Jay- The most satisfaction comes from others’ reactions to my imagery. Emails like this one, or an excited student from a workshop. Being out in the wilds, often where no other photographers have been, or just a place that is new to me, sitting there listening to the wind, or the ducks, or bees. That is the best part, those simple quiet moments, that I have for myself or with others experiencing nature the same way…it is simply perfection.

Samantha- What about it presents the most challenges?

Jay- What is hardest is the competition, and not the fact that there are very qualified photographers that I have to compete with but the fact that there are very inexperienced photographers with not very strong imagery competing for the same spots. These photographers make it very hard for the rest of us to push our way into the eyes of a saturated market place.

Samantha- What series of photographs on your website are your favorite and/or
what do you enjoy photographing the most?

Jay- I enjoy photographing anything to do with nature. I love the piece and quiet, sitting at a lake’s edge, or in an autumn meadow listening to a soft breeze. Seeing a small glimpse of something or some animal that I have never seen before. It is such an inspiration and rejuvenation.

Samantha- Where are you favorite places to take photos (in the US and abroad)?

Jay- As of right now my favorite place is Alaska. I have been there for various things, wildlife shoots, wilderness trips, heli-skiing, and landscape photography. Some have been on assignment, others for just pure joy, and others to teach people how to shoot images. The place holds such a diversity of ecosystems and climates. I can get lost making images there for the rest of my life and still be content with my work. Nothing beats sitting on the patio at Humpy’s in Anchorage after just arriving, drinking a beer, while basking in the setting sun at 11pm, absolutely surreal. Oh this is about photography…not beer.
I want to go to Africa, South America, Antarctica, and the Himalayas. Oh, and China and Japan.

Samantha- How do you go about selling your photographs (online, art shows, galleries, etc)?

Jay- I market my work pretty extensively through mailers, direct contact, or queries. I follow all leads, and never let anything fall between the cracks. I send out e-mail newsletters, that tell everyone what I am working on now and then, I propose ideas to corresponding new and established clients.

Samantha- How long have you been teaching workshops?

Jay- For about a decade.

Samantha- What is the most memorable and/or favorite workshop that you have ever taught?

Jay- This past fall I taught a private workshop with a client and friend who has been trying to hook up with both my and his schedules for a couple of years now. We traveled all over the state of Colorado and had perfect light on every outing. It was also an incredible learning experience and confidence builder for him. Those successes are why I love to teach workshops. If I can see a client take one better picture or be that much more excited about taking pictures, it is the ultimate achievement for me. Interacting with clients on a one on one level is such an important experience for me too. It drives me creatively and spiritually.

Samantha- Is there anything that I should have asked that I didn’t?

Jay- Just for fun because no one has ever asked…

What’s my sign? Cancer

What kind of music do I listen to? As long as it is full of distortion and lacking a whiny new alternative singer, I will give it a try. Metallica and System of a Down head up my list. And yes I am going to be 39. Although my wife says that I am stuck at 16.

Favorite activities besides photography? Skiing, Skiing, Skiing, mountain biking, flying airplanes, and building stuff.

Favorite movie? Shawshank Redemption. It has yet to be surpassed for me, although there are many in the Jay Goodrich top 100. Anything that has an impact on my life and makes me think that there is more to life than just beer.

My life revolves around a movie or movie line, a Seinfeld episode or quote, and the words of my very dear friend Art Wolfe-”Trust me I am a professional.” If everyone on this planet followed this mantra we would all be in a much better place.

As someone who is about to begin their journey into the “real world” within the next few months, Jay’s advice and personal experiences have helped to make an unknown world more approachable. Jay has shown me that you can be a successful if you are ambitious, hardworking, honest, persistent, eager to learn, and willing to get your name out there. It is encouraging to find someone who is doing what they truly love to do. The art world is extremely competitive place and he has found a way to make it work for him. If there is anyone out there who is an aspiring photographer, a student, or anyone who has been discouraged from following his or her dreams there is a lot to be learned from the way Jay Goodrich lives his life and peruses his career.