Photos to Inspire
Photos to Inspire: Bobbie Goodrich
By Lynne Eodice
Jan 1, 2006

All images by Bobbie Goodrich

Bobbie Goodrich—who originally hails from Chicago—is formally trained in painting, but has become better known as a fine-art photographer. Her career began after she signed up with her friends for an oil painting class some years ago. Although her friends dropped out, she stuck with it. She moved west in 1990, and attended workshops with famous painters at Scottsdale Artists' School in Arizona.

Tender Moment, Camargue, France

After moving to Aspen, Colorado, Goodrich sought subjects for her artwork. She has stated, "I got involved in the life of the west, with cowboys and rodeos. I had to have references for my paintings, so I picked up a camera and started taking pictures." In Cheyenne, Wyoming, she photographed her first big rodeo. After she returned home and looked her images, she was amazed. "I showed them to a gallery owner in Aspen, and that resulted in my first photography show."

When some gallery owners were resistant to showing her work, Goodrich gave her images a more painterly quality. "People look at my photography and ask, 'Is this a painting or a photograph?'" About four or five years ago, she began shooting digitally, and took several digital photography workshops to better learn her craft. She creates her style in her "digital darkroom." Goodrich begins with a digital RAW file, then downloads it to Photoshop CS2. "Sometimes I just get rid of a distracting background," she says. For most of her images, however, Goodrich uses the layers palette and masking techniques to create true works of art.

Flamenco Tango

She was the subject for an article in the November 2005 issue of Phoenix Home & Garden, and was the featured artist in the October 2003 issue of Design & Architecture magazine. Her work was part of a traveling exhibit curated by the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, entitled "In Celebration: A Century of Arizona Women Artists." Goodrich was also the recipient of an honorary award from "Word in Focus 2003," a symposium to raise environmental and cultural awareness through photography. The Phoenix Art Museum is acquiring "Tender Moment" for their upcoming fundraising auction, to raise money for the new Phoenix Museum of Contemporary Art. Goodrich will also have two major solo gallery shows in 2005—at The Esposible Gallery in Scottsdale in February, and at Magidson Fine Art in Aspen.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW A GALLERY OF BOBBIE GOODRICH'S IMAGES
Goodrich is also a world traveler who has photographed people and their cultures in countries like Peru and Africa. Her early appreciation of ballet is apparent in her dance imagery. And, although she's got a following among people who collect her beautiful photography, she also considers herself a painter. "I like each equally; they both take me to heaven."

To see more of Bobbie Goodrich's work, visit www.bobbiegoodrich.com.


Inside Bobbie Goodrich's Camera Bag:
• Canon 20D and 5D digital SLRs
• Canon 70–200mm f/2.8 and 28–70mm f/2.8 lenses
• Canon 2X tele-extender "when I need a super zoom."  


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