I am friends with many professional photographers. Some of them are really famous, while others like myself, are in the process of making names for themselves. The amazing thing that transcends all of them is the fact that none of them believe they know it all and at the same time they are all willing to share the aspects of knowledge that they specialize in. I can actually say that I do not have a friend in the photography world that hasn’t inspired me at one point or another.

I have been traveling for a ridiculous amount of time. Pretty much non-stop since September. While this allows me very little time in the office it does afford me some time on airplanes and in hotels. Instead of sitting there and losing my mind, I tend to work my butt off. One of my missions is always to learn more and figure out how to implement what I have learned into my professional career and business. On a recent Alaska Air flight I managed to read two great e-books by two of my well respected friends and photographers.

Creative Processing Techniques in Nature Photography Cover

The first book is Creative Processing Techniques in Nature Photography by Guy Tal. As some of you might have read from a previous post, Guy’s first book was a personal favorite of mine explaining concepts and ideas that I didn’t even understand in a clear and concise way. Creative Processing Techniques continues Guy’s search for excellence. His images and writings connect the very place in which he lives to the very being of his existence. I understand why he is so successful at what he does because his surroundings give him the driving force and inspiration to do so.

Creative Processing Techniques not only explains how computer image processing works, but it dives into the often forgotten why. Guy defines why he uses one technique over another and suggests that you the reader define your personal goals for your images prior to even opening a photograph in Lightroom or Photoshop. Every chapter is followed by an exercise that will help you understand what was previously written about on your own. He also includes an extensive overview of how Photoshop works and how it is an integral part of his image making process. He walks you through using Curves, Saturation, and Layers. This book is packed full of explanations and techniques that not only the beginner, but the seasoned pro can benefit from, and like his previous book, I learned something–a new way to blend two different exposure valued images.

Photographing the 4th Dimension--Time Cover

The second book is by Jim Goldstein entitled Photographing the 4th Dimension–Time. Jim is one of the most intelligent people that I know. He not only understands the creative side of photography, but he truly grasps the technical side as well. I guess that is why I email him every time I need advice on social media and the way the web works in regards to photography. I was in California during my travels this fall and made some time one evening to have dinner with Jim in San Francisco. During dinner he told me about the book he was working on. It was one of those situations where my jaw dropped and the straw to my margarita fell out of my mouth. Now why didn’t I think of that great idea? Because Jay, you are a dumbass.

Photographing the 4th Dimension not only explains the techniques in a simple vocabulary, but it explains how the human perception of time works. The how-to for star trails, time-lapse, and a technique that I have never even heard of–Cinemagraphs are covered with great detail. Cinemagraphs are a way of using Photoshop to illustrate a motion sequence within a still photograph. Really cool. Jim’s book also gave me a script for a technique that I am currently using to create star trails. This is going to help me speed up the process of creating those images ten fold now. The last two pages of the book include a folding field checklist that you can print and take with you to make sure you remember everything while you are out in the wilds at night. Yet again, life made easier by reading.

I am hoping that you have yet to purchase a holiday gift for yourself or someone you know because both of these e-books will keep your bank account full while giving you the knowledge to take your photography skills to the next level. Again, beginner through pro there is something here for each and every one of us to utilize.

Well, what are you waiting for…begin downloading.

The Vomit Comet in Fall Splendor © Jay Goodrich

Reset the clock to fifteen years ago. I was upwardly mobile in the architecture and construction industry. I had money. I had toys, many toys. And I was in the process of purchasing a racing machine. The goal was one of the simplest ideas and yet one of the most difficult to complete. Create the lightest mountain bike possible with the least amount of money expended and make damn sure it had class, style, and a bit of flair that would have other riders asking themselves, “What the fuck was that?” The project came together with an overwhelming success. I purchased a hand made, custom sized frame from Independent Fabrication. This was an employee-owned, start-up company in Somerville, Mass. A company full of bike builders that were left high and dry by their now estranged boss Chris Chance, who was the founder of another bike company that went by the name of Fat City Cycles.

The frame was steel and tipped the scales at less than four pounds. The completed bike only weighed 21 pounds. It rode like the wind. And was my favorite bike to date. I raced it, road it, and cared for it like it was one of my first children. It was a relationship of obsession. It made it through three 24 Hours of Moab races before it succumb to complete and total devastation. In the bike’s defense, the final Moab race was like none other. It was a Mother Nature experiment gone wrong, really wrong. The desert was angry that day my friends like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli. The skies dumped ten inches of rain in what seemed like minutes. It turned the microscopic sandstone dust particles into a brake, bearing, and bicycle destroyer. You could literally swim to the finish line after the final turn in the race course. My wonderful machine lost its life that day. Frozen, rusted, and abused beyond repair. Well, almost, another plan came together.

A year later the IF was resurrected. New paint, and a new purpose in life. A self-imposed torture machine. You see, instead of returning her into the lightweight 24 speed racer that she was, I opted to convert her into the power of one. A single speed mountain bike. And now she was even lighter, stronger, and faster than before. Now if you have ever tried to ride a single speed mountain bike, you will know that it isn’t the initial experience leaves you asking for a…better one. Actually it is torture. You ride and ride hard. My resurrected steed quickly got the name of “The Vomit Comet”. There were very few rides during its initial season that didn’t contain a vomit session from yours truly. This actually went on for a few years. Eventually I got stronger and stronger and learned how to ride some of the hardest rides in the Vail Valley with only one speed.

I quickly began educating myself on how not only to ride a single speed, but how to cheat with it as well. See, you may be limited during your ride, but the key was always figuring out what gearing you needed before getting out on that trail. You didn’t want to walk, but you didn’t want to scorch up the steepest sections with ease either. It was the ultimate balancing act. Then one day during a typical two hour ride, the sound of inevitability chimed. I over-torked my rear wheel, put a huge flat spot in it, partially because of a bad wheel build, (not by me) bringing the trusty machine to a halt. Major surgery was the only way to fix her. She was hung up for a while as I began adding miles to a brand new bike this one had many speeds and a lot of suspension. Then we moved from Colorado to Washington. And now we come to present day.

There she hung in the garage next to the other five bikes. Cob webs gathering. Covered in dirt from all over the country. Colorado. Utah. California. Two days ago the doctor (that’s me) decided to see what could be done. Surprisingly, with some spoke loosening, a bit of pushing, hammering, truing, ball scratching, lube, and some air she awoke like Frankenstein. Still with a minor limp, but one that could be worked with for now. “What is thy bidding my master?” “How ‘bout a ride?” Day two and counting. My body is completely sore and tortured, again. She is loving the Pacific Northwest. This bike was created by East Coast woods riders. It is nimble and accelerates like a top-fuel dragster. And yes, she still owns the name, “The Vomit Comet”. Yesterday was a homemade quesadilla, strawberries, and a handful of chocolate chips. Today was bow-tie pasta with mushroom marinara and some animal crackers.

The beauty of riding a machine like this is that it makes me feel, other than sick, like my favorite t-shirt from Patagonia–Live Simply. No shifting. Brakes that barely work. Top fuel acceleration. And precision handling for the woods of the Northwest. Living Simply and loving it! I was going to have eggs for breakfast tomorrow, but figured that wasn’t the smartest idea. Day three is about to happen.

The Truck Stop in Green River, UT © Jay Goodrich

I am sitting here reliving my youth. It’s the same damn nightmare I remember, just different. I am driving on Interstate 84 finally headed home from a two-week long trip to Colorado. And, I am in fact twitching like a patient in a mental rehabilitation center. Is that the politically correct way to say that? If not, Lord I apologize.

Do you remember that nightmare? I don’t think there is an adult in their mid-forties that didn’t have the same nightmare as I did. A dark green metallic station wagon, simulated wood grain side panels with dark green metallic vinyl upholstery. Windows sealed tight. Air conditioning off. Dad chain smoking Parliaments and on enough coffee to kill a small horse. Mom reading a book or taking care of the whining kids in the back. Kids almost in tears to the point of twitching themselves. Those kids were me and my sister. My father trying to break the land speed record that he apparently held from last year’s trip to Yellowstone, Yosemite, or Disney Land. It doesn’t matter. I remember the chatter on the CB radio. And the whip antenna on the back chrome bumper of the green machine. “We’ve gotta Kojak with a Kodak at mile marker twenty five.” “Breaker one nine, breaker one nine.” The CB was the size of a large toaster. The car had an eight track with some kind of country-western crap playing over and over. Finally, at the breakdown point, my sister asks, “Are we there yet?”

Campfire Movement © Jay Goodrich

These road trips were a right of passage for most kids my age. I remember writing of them often when I returned to the school year, as did most of my friends. This was our little part of history. We stayed in hotels, motels, parks, campgrounds, and even in the metallic green monster itself. We snuck sips of Budweiser from our dad’s beers when they weren’t looking. Sometimes too many sips. We peed on trees far and wide. Ate hot dogs, hamburgers, and beans. Tons of beans. Then of course there were the s’mores. Hershey’s, marshmallow, and graham crackers. Not to mention the snacks that were full of sugar along the way. A bribe, to keep our mouths shut. Didn’t they realize the sugar was the cause of all of their problems?

Heather Goodrich Dropping into "Flushed Away" © Jay Goodrich

Am I hitting a chord within your soul yet? Enter 2011. Road trip rights handed over from our parents to Heather and me now . I am thinking of that line in the Matrix Revolutions, Morpheus looks at his ex-girlfriend Naomi as she asks him to dance, “Some things never change.” Then they hear her current boyfriend call her name, and he finishes with, “And some things do change.” Yes we have traded the green machine in for a Toyota Matrix on this trip, sometimes we take the FJ. We don’t smoke, we do try to break our personal records, knowing all too well that it will only be possible if we actually break the speed limits in larger quantities than previously. I truly now know why you try to break those records though. Because the faster you get there, the faster you get out of the car and away from the screaming kids. Heather does read. I can actually type on the laptop thanks to learning to fly an airplane in IFR conditions-that motion sickness thing kind of goes away. We both drink tons of coffee. We both drive. And we both argue with the kids and each other. The car gets trashed. The kids freak out. Although not as much as I did. Maybe it’s all the movies on the iPhones and soon coming iPads.

Jade Goodrich Giving Mark Kogelmann some Attitude © Jay Goodrich

Is it worth it? Well as an adult, if you actually take the time to look around while traveling, yes it is. You will quickly realize that those pieces of Americana that you remember from your youth do still exist. There are places in Idaho where the seventies never left. The worlds biggest frying pan is still in Kansas or close to it. And now you can beat your parents records because your car can actually travel faster on less gas. All this is contingent on the fact that you can put up with your kids and your spouse long enough to survive the journey. Yeah it’s safe to say that I wouldn’t trade any of this. What’s that saying? “Life is worth the journey…” Good feeling gone. I have to go, Jade wants to know if we are there yet.

Over the course of the last two months of my life I have been staring down a growing problem in my office. My 2-2TB hard-drive system that was storing my seventy thousand digital image collection was sending a few warning shots across my bow. “Danger Jay, capacity almost full.” It all began with a little orange light on the main drive icon in Lightroom which quickly migrated to a red light. It was the light of inevitability. Something needed to be done. What I quickly came to discover is that there is somewhat of a void in the middle storage capacity offerings. There are a ton of options in the 2-4TB realm and a ton after the 10TB realm (with a huge cost difference) but not much in the 4-10TB zone. I knew that I could have just added more drives, but the reality of backing up, security, and expandability all needed to fit the current needs of a growing office and image catalog.

Enter the initial solution, which we were very excited about, based on the recommendations of a support person from Lacie. Notice how I used the word initial. I am fairly aggravated with this company right now. This wasn’t a misunderstanding between an uneducated consumer. This conversation was between a somewhat professional photographer(that would be me) with a stated workflow, a complete business growth description, along with a budget. Lacie’s support person recommended a storage server that they made that was a bit above our budget, but he talked it up to the point where I was ready to pull the trigger. Unbeknownst to me at the time, he failed to listen to a word that I had to told him. They sold me on a sever that was for storage only, that wouldn’t work well with my Apple computers, and wouldn’t allow me to work directly on my images through Lightroom. This all came to light with essentially a day of phone calls to Lacie technical support after receiving the device. Without boring you with a complete play by play, know this–I WILL NEVER OWN ANOTHER LACIE PRODUCT AGAIN. EVER.

Now after the return of our storage server, I realized that I had to figure this thing out on my own. Enter Google and the wonders of the world wide web. After researching article after article on RAID, storage, backup systems, servers, etc., and multiple phone calls to multiple storage companies, I narrowed my options. G-Technology and Data Robotics seemed to offer what we were going to need, with what was now seeming like a support staff that understood how a professional photographer worked. I have been using G-Tech mobile drives for backup when I travel for about a year now and have been happy with their performance, so this company was quickly rising to the top, although it was a little over our budget due to the need of an additional eSATA card for our main Mac Pro.

More phone calls and finally a decision. It was after an hour long conversation with a tech support person at Data Robotics that we chose a DROBO S. A quintessential black box, that looks like a droid fresh out of Star Wars. The cool thing about DROBO is that it is almost limitless in how you configure it. It runs its own RAID system called BeyondRAID, which eliminates many of the issues of a conventional RAID storage setup and allows upgradability without reconfiguring the entire system from scratch. We chose to buy the basic DROBO S without drives so that we could choose the best drives on the market for life span, storage size, and price. We ended ended up filling our 5-bay DROBO S with five Western Digital 2TB Caviar Black drives which spin at 7200RPM. In addition, we purchased it with both eSATA and USB 3.0 PCI cards to actually do something that I never do–see which was technically faster in a bonafide numbers test. The cost associated by adding an additional PCI card was only $40 so it seemed like a no brainer for optimal speed in the long run.

We received everything, installed the cards, hooked up DROBO, and within an hour’s time, was sending our entire photography folder structure to DROBO, which now goes by the name of R2. Why R2? Because, like the title of this post states, this is the droid you are looking for? Everything in our office has to have a cool, off color name. The vacuum goes by the name Patrick courtesy of our daughter Jade.

If you read my posts often enough you should know by now that I almost never test on numbers. I always test on usability for my work, but in this case I decided a numbers test wouldn’t hurt. If we were running a huge catalog externally, we needed to see how much time was going to be spent, uploading, downloading and editing between eSATA and USB 3.0. And even though this test is a numbers test, it still isn’t scientific enough for some. What did we do? We took a 13.51GB folder full of various images and video and dropped it into DROBO in two separate configurations. One with DROBO connected to the Mac Pro via USB 3.0 and the other with it connected via eSATA and timed it as we released the mouse. Surprisingly there wasn’t much difference, but a definitive winner. The file loaded into DROBO while connected via USB 3.0 in 3 minutes, 29 seconds. With eSATA it loaded in 3 minutes, 35 seconds. Not much faster and probably not even perceived by a human just watching it happen. The next test was to see how the seventy-thousand image catalog functioned with our storage connected via both options as well. And this is where USB 3.0 excelled far beyond what I expected. There was zero hang time when opening Lightroom 3 from a complete computer restart while DROBO was connected with USB 3.0. I cannot say this was the case when connected with eSATA. The catalog was much slower during scrolling, folder opening, and during import and export tasks. We didn’t time any of these functions because the results were so drastic our brains could perceive them.

This whole scenario played out in the time-frame of a two month period. It wasn’t easy to figure out what to do, probably because there aren’t a ton of storage solutions out there for in the middle range storage market. As of this writing DROBO S has been performing perfectly since its initial startup and we haven’t experienced any noticeable import, export, editing, or connection problems. We also have the ability to add an additional 5TBs of storage as the current drives begin to fill. And we can do this while everything is up and running, just by pulling out a full drive and replacing it with one of a larger capacity–something that you cannot do with a conventional RAID storage setup. Did I say this is the Droid you are looking for already? And now for a freebie…

Because I want nothing to do with Lacie…and have already ready converted all of my external hard drives to G-Technology, G-Drives, the 15th person to re-tweet this post with the hashtag #droboR2 gets my last 500GB Lacie Rugged FW800 hard drive. Bye Lacie, I hope we never cross paths again.

We (meaning me and a dozen skiers) spent most of last winter photographing skiing. Along the way, I captured some motion footage to go along with the five thousand stills that made the edit. Tie that together with a simple concept and you have a lot of time spending money. Actually, you might as well be burning hundreds at a time. You wonder why blockbusters cost so much to make? Because it just isn’t easy. And all I want in the end is to have a five minute long piece that highlights what I do through the winter months on a daily basis. Finally, I had some time to sit down and cut together the trailer to hopefully get you in the mood. A little foreplay shall we say? Enjoy. Coming soon to a social media site near you. Actually, right in front of you.

Birthday Collage © Jade and Heather Goodrich

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.

A Tent of Mountain Bikers © Jay Goodrich

No, I am not talking about the World Wide Web or a new website I am going to launch to be a show stopper, like some of the upcoming Apple Products that were announced yesterday. I am in fact talking about photography and the image making process. I think we as photographers have a tendency to forget some of the simplest of ideals when we are photographing. Usually because the excitement of what is happening before our eyes clouds our vision. By attempting to keep site of these ideals, we become more successfully honed artists and in-turn can send a clear perspective out into the world. (This week’s photograph is viewable larger by just clicking on it so you can see more of what is going on.)

So if I am not talking web crap, what am I talking about? Simple. Where. What. Why. If you keep these three Ws in mind every time you trip your shutter, you will more likely than not create a successful photograph. Of course there are exceptions to every rule, so let’s consider this another guideline to better yourself as a photographer.

Where. Where in the world is this photograph taken? Wait that is not a gimme Jay, you said make it obvious. Record needle scratch here. Not obvious, but in there. The more your viewer has to look to try and deduce answers, the longer they will view. The longer they view, the more successful the image. Stuck to the brain and people return. So look. What do you see in the photo? The focus is on a rider. A rider who is behind some muddy and obviously wet cycling clothes. He’s eating something. Standing next to a propane heater. It’s dark out. All clues yet, not giving you the answer. Then in the foreground, a bike, a really muddy bike. It happens to be my wife’s bike, but that is irrelevant. It’s in a stand though and that says something–it needs work. A little TLC. Look around the room. Clothes hanging everywhere. Lights are on. Dartboard. Nalgene with a USCF sticker on it. United States Cycling Federation. A race? Look to the bike. A number plate hanging from the handlebars. Look deeper. Water bottles all over the place. Same with the food. What do hard core mountain bikers need during a race? Fluids and energy. All of a sudden we have one paragraph on the “where”.

What. What are we photographing? Well that has been answered in the previous paragraph to some extent. Mountain Biking. Some kind of race. It’s dark out. What kind of races head into the night? Long races. There is one obvious rider. One person you cannot really see, and two guys that are not riding. Relay racing? Team racing. It’s night time, so it has to be some kind of endurance race. Everything is boarded up. Heater. Jackets. Mud. It’s late season. Look at the mud. Even the color lends itself to more of the answers.

Why. Why are we photographing it? Besides the simple fact that we are photographers and we like the scene or are getting paid to shoot the scene, etc., etc., etc. I will tell you why I took the shot. Because of paragraphs one and two. There is a complete story in this one simple image. Over five hundred words already in this post and we are quickly turning it into that stupid cliché–a picture is worth a thousand words. But why else? The scene has great light. It is an unusual situation. How many photographers are up at an hour like this? It has marketing potential to the bike builder, to any company who has gear in there, and to the race coordinators. It works to add more detail to a set of images about this race. It shows the races when the are not racing. A different perspective. An intimate perspective. I liked that the scene unfolded with some interpretation. I liked the way that at first it is confusing, but then leads to more and more discovery. Do you see the dog? Do you see the clock?

Don’t worry, these shots don’t happen every day. Sometimes not even in a month of shooting. Don’t ever tell your clients that though. You as a photographer will work, really hard to accomplish great images. Usually when you feel like you are shooting pure trash, when you are most tired, most convinced you are failing, you create something that has…well, potential. Remember, WWW, and go out and shoot. Also, guess the actual specifics of this photo and I will send you a signed print of it, to use as kindling at your next BBQ.

Mount Shuksan Reflected in Glacial Tarn © Jay Goodrich

This month I have the honor of being part of Outdoor Photographer Magazine’s 25th Anniversary Issue. I am so grateful that the editors chose to use two of my Top Locations for Nature Photography and two of my Pro Tips for this issue. Although, I have not been part of the OP contributor list for 25 years like my friend and colleague Art Wolfe, I feel it is a great honor to be with such talented company. You can read many more of the contributions made by other friends and colleagues of mine by visiting the Outdoor Photographer website.

I want to congratulate OP for their 25 years of publication geared toward all of us who are inspired by the natural world.

Light Painted City of Toledo Spain

Wanting to capture a nighttime panoramic photograph of Toledo, Spain in which darker areas were illuminated, the Photographic Association of Toledo decided to eschew HDR and attempt something new — light-painting on an epic scale. They enlisted the help of 50 association photographers who strolled around the city firing off their flashes multiple times per minute. The resulting photograph was illuminated by over 3000 flashes covering 100K square meters. Wowzers!

This Spanish blog has a detailed account of how the photograph was made, though you’ll have to have it machine-translated if you can’t read Spanish.

Pintando con luz toda una ciudad (via Strobist)

bicycle in front of the fruit crates, Yakima, Washington, © Jay Goodrich

A few weeks ago I was in Yakima, Washington with friend and fellow photographer Daniel Galan. Right at sunset I lead the charge to ditch the wives and kids to shoot a few images before settling down to a margarita and a little of the local Mexican cuisine. After being cooped up in a hotel room with the kids all day he gladly obliged. So what to shoot? Yakima isn’t exactly booming with crazy scenery. Or is it?

Earlier that morning I spotted this area of town that had what seemed to be tens of thousands of fruit boxes lining the street corridors down by the proverbially train tracks. This place offered up a photographer’s composition paradise. There were patterns, textures, shapes, and even some “local color”. One kid kept begging me to take his picture, so I finally asked him to ride through the frame. Without any further direction he slowed down enough for my dwindling shutter speed and rode exactly where I would have suggested. A few clicks of the shutter and bingo, my artist statement about Yakima, Washington in one frame. Daniel and I could have spent days there, I think we pushed it for about an hour before the wives started texting. I know I will return. Maybe when those boxes are full of fruit to add even more color?