life with a trucker : the video

life with a trucker

growing up in the ritchie household was interesting to say the least. just ask my friends most of them carry the scars to prove it.



barry, my dad, was/is a truck driver. his profession molded him into the man his today. back then that man sat around the house in his whitey tighties smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. that in it's self is fine. the problem was that when company came over he just sat there in his whitey tighties smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. he would often say "it's my house. if you don't like it there's the door". obviously social grace was not one of his strong suits.





the first time he met my wife, at that time she was my girlfriend, he asked her to turn around so he could see her ass. those were literally his first words to her. thanks dad.



now that i am older i have to say i wouldn't have him any other way. sure he embarrassed me on more than one occasion, but the stories i have are priceless. i realize he just wanted some attention even if it was at the expense of keeping our food where it belonged.



thanks dad. you rule!

at long last......

......the new "photojosh.com" is here!!!



a few weeks ago, while surfing the web, i came across a company called "photobiz". after spending about an hour on thier site looking at all of their web templates i decided to take the plunge and sign up. i have been in love ever since. there really easy to use, and allow for quick site updates. look 'em up. you won't be disappointed. oh, and tell them i sent you!

my new site features full screen flash powered galleries.....



....as well as an html version.



go ahead, linger. you know you want to.

Master of Disaster

the magazine group has been a great client for me recently. i have shot for three of their publications, edtech, statetech, and biztech, and the editors of each have always really easy to work with as well as willing to listen to my ideas.

a few weeks ago i got a call from the folks at biztech and was asked to shoot a portrait of greg taffert for a story on computer disaster recovery. the editor and myself chatted for a while about what the story was about and what i could do to visually contribute to the package. after a few moments we both realized that we had our work cut out for us. the publishers of the magazine did not want any technology in the image, nor did they want the image to focus on "bad things, like broken computers, chaos and things like that. so it was my goal to shoot something up beat and "happy" while still saying something about disaster. so the brain storming session started. we (the editor and myself) chatted for a bit longer, and then we decided that i would sleep on it and come up with some more ideas to run past them. the next mooring i decided that i would try and make this guy look like a hero. that way i would steer clear of the "bad things" and still be able to show something that fit with "disaster recovery".

i called the editor and explained that i thought we could make this guy look like a business superhero. my vision was put superman into a suit and have his cape and tie blow in the wind. she loved the idea, but said we should forgo the cape.

in the end i think i accomplished the image that i wanted to make, even with out the cape, and made the editors at biztech really happy. that a great day of shooting in my book.

so here is my set up.....



i used a total of six lights to accomplish the desired effect. one main, and one fill on the subject (both with grid spots). two edge lights, one snooted light for the tie, and a background light with an amber gel.





here is a stop motion video of the entire shoot


the images......







the layout....

Coming Very Soon........

......an all new, completely redesigned, fullscreen version of "photojosh.com"

Key West Via Iphone

I've Been "Raped"....Well Not Really

about a week ago i got an assignment that i was stoked to shoot. the story was about bars that held karaoke nights that catered to the spainish speaking population in south florida. i figured drunk latinos singing on the beach while their friends danced had to make for a good time. and it did for the hour or so that it lasted until the cops shut it down due to a noise complaint. it was really getting into the mood of the evening, and trying to make some images that showed the craziness that ensued during each salsa song when my frame went dark. at first i tried to move out of the way so i could continue shooting the drunken dancers that made the broad walk into their personal dance club, but the figure blocking my lens moved with me. after a few seconds of trying to figure out what was going on, i realized that one of the ladies decided that she wanted a piece of josh ritchie!!! she proceeded to grind me as sweat, which was mostly made up of alcohol by now, poured from her body. all i could do was nervously laugh and keep my camera between me and the crazy lady. after she came after me a second time the writer and i joked that i had been raped on the dance floor. it made a fun assignment a little weird, and very memorable.

here is what i saw coming at me. if you are a bit squeamish look away now.......






....don't say i didn't warn you!!!

it's election day again

so thank you to all of you that voted on the front of my promo cards. now it is time for the back.

the two above this message (all grey) are the ones i am currently using. the ones below are the potential new ones. i have been trying to keep everything the same as far as design goes. from my website to my blog to my newsletter, and business cards i want everything to have a similar feel. the newly designed back seen here step away from that design slightly. so far there has been no color in my logo design until now. that is the major change.

so i am curious about your thoughts. do you like my message on the back? how about the new logos? is the color working? is there anyther color that might work better? any saying/moto you would use instead? any and all suguestions on any and all parts of the designs is greatly appreciated.

if you click on the image it will open bigger. if you are viewing the larger version of the image ignore the black border. only what is inside of that border will be in the final version.

thanks in advance.

rock the vote!

so i am taking votes on which design i should use for my promo cards. i am looking for the most effective design that showcases my images while giving out my contact info. i have decided to include my website and phone number on the front. my reasoning is that if an editor hangs the image near their desk then they will not have to take the card down to see my contact info. let me know what you think. all opinions are welcome.

feel free to vote as many times as you like!!!

edtech magazine

yet another new client has started using me on a regular basis. the good people at the magazine group have hired me for 4 different shoots over the past month or so. they are really easy to work with. when some of the shoots present a challenge they have been right there to help iron an issues out.

the first was at kaplan university for a story on online colleges for edtech magazine.

here is what the magazine did with the layout.


and here are my favorite out takes.




i really enjoy shooting for these guys. more to come as the images are published so keep your eyes peeled!

wealth manager

recently i started working with wealth manager magazine. i always love working with new clients, esspecially one that is as great to work with as this magazine and tim schafer their photo editor. tim always knows what he wants, but is willing to listen to the photographer's input to make sure that the idea will be something that can be accomplished. gotta love a relationship like that.

so for my first two shoots for them i was sent to a company, gen springs, to shoot two of their excutives. they were hoping for very straight forward kind of stuff, so it was a relatively easy shoot.

here is what they decided to run from the first shoot, with a note from tim that came with the zine in the mail.


and here are a couple of out takes....






here is what they did with the second shoot, again with a note from tim.


and an outtake.


i hope all of you are lucky enough to have clients that are as great as these guys. they have made these hards times seem just a little bit brighter.