The Purple Portal When I was in Agra, I wandered around the streets surrounding the Taj Mahal for a few hours. The textures and details everywhere are an absolute field-day for photographers! There is so much to see and capture... it was totally overwhelming trying to grab all of that, while still thinking about getting into the Taj Mahal for another full slate of shooting!So many of the little homes here are richly painted in every possible shade in the most interesting textures and shapes. This is one of many little snaps I got while walking around.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog. - Trey Ratcliff | Stuck In Customs

Thank you again for all the comments and feedback - much appreciated and I read them all! A lot of requests come in for my tutorial about how I do these shots - you can find it here: HDR Tutorial

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StuckInCustoms > The Lime Couches One of my favorite sites for finding boutique hotels is Tablet Hotels. They are not an advertiser or anything... I just wanted to thank them for having an awesome service! I quite like staying at boutique hotels. These are usually smaller, quaint, with unexpected interiors. Often times, I like them better than the huge hotels because they seem more intimate and I sometimes get more personalized services.This hotel is The Magnolia in Houston. At least, I am 95% sure that is the name of the place! It was one of those I found on Tablet... give it a try next time you travel and let me know if you like it too!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

StuckInCustoms > An Icy Cold Evening I'm always amazed at all the little living things in the most extreme conditions. I'm a big fan of all those science shows that talk about various organisms and extremophiles that barely cling to life in the most bare of circumstances. I was reminded of this while at this icy cold lake in Argentina.I'm used to moss and lichen and this sort of thing growing in more temperate climates, so I was surprised to see whole rocks covered in it, especially with little icebergs floating nearby. It did give some nice color to an otherwise blue-cold-stark scene.The only thing more stark than this scene was the cooking waiting for me back at the camp. I don't mean to say anything bad at all about the two Russian women that were cooking for me -- but over a week's worth of in-the-bush Russian food is enough to harden any soft man. My main mate on the trip was ex-Soviet military, so he was used to these sorts of rations and seemed to enjoy it -- or, at least tolerate it with less of a grimace.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

StuckInCustoms > Leipzig at Night When I was changing planes in Zurich, I had to go through some of the Customs run-around. It turns out that the customs officer was German. He asked where my ultimate destination was, and I said, "Leipzig". I pronounced it "Leap-zig"."What?" he asked. "Leap-Zig" I repeated, careful to enunciate each syllable. "I have never heard of that." he asked, regarding me suspiciously.I was in a pickle. This guy was clearly German, as I could tell from his accent. I was a bit surprised because he was in Switzerland, but I figured that all nationalities come there to work. No big deal. But, still, how could a German not know about Leipzig. It's not the biggest city, but I think it's in the top 5.I tried again and again. He seemed to be serious and not joking. Finally, after about four more back-and-forth sessions, he said, "Do you mean Leipzig?" He pronounced it "LIPE-ZEEG"."Yes!" I exclaimed. He gave me a little self-satisfied smile and signed my paperwork, sending me through...- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

StuckInCustoms > One Plane Alone at the End of the Night Here we are at Santa Monica Airport deep in the night. It was quiet. And peaceful. I spend a massive amount of time at airports. I'm usually totally alone, and, most of the time, this is perfectly all right. I've developed an ever-changing internal dialog that keeps me mentally stimulated at all times. I'm glad no one can read my thoughts... surely they would find the cacophonous chorus to be the height of lunacy. And then, when things finally bubble over, well, it is nice to have a kindred spirit around.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

$StuckInCustoms > From Osaka to Tokyo I'm not too far from popping over to Japan for a bit for the Tokyo Workshop. This time, I'm flying into Osaka, which is connected to their amazing bullet train network. Did you know that you can buy a bullet train pass from outside the country for a fraction of the price? And for that, you get unlimited bullet train usage all over the country... what a deal!This was shot from atop one of Tokyo's biggest towers. I've yet to have any trouble shooting in Tokyo with a tripod, and I hope writing that does not jinx me!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.$

StuckInCustoms > Doors of India India is filled with all sorts of amazing temples and fine examples of Mughal architecture. When visiting the famous places, there are often a lot of "periphery" buildings that are quite empty. The crowds flock to the centers of these places, but all kinds of little treasures wait around the edges. I think being a photographer (beginner or advanced) helps you to enjoy the other bits as much as the major bits.The only problem, if it can be considered a problem, is that you are constantly over-stimulated by any place that is remotely interesting! There is a bit of sensory-overload, but I guess there are worse things in life!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

StuckInCustoms > Under the Ancient Skies Sometimes, an HDR image of a cool place can come out a little boring, even in an interesting place such as this. So, often times I will run the image through a black and white treatment (see my Silver Efex Pro Review). That tool is a lot of fun and can help take a boring photo and make it more interesting.As I begin the processing, I sometimes discover a photo is more about shape, line, and contrast than it is about color, light, and saturation. It's all still there, in all it's HDR glory, but the emphasis has had a bit of a correction.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

StuckInCustoms > The Endless Tunnel There is a long walk in Kyoto called "The Philosophers' Path". I've now walked on it five times. It's incredibly peaceful and there are countless opportunities for photography. The path has everything from gentle streams to temples to cherry blossoms to interesting architecture. Near one of the temples, I found this series of arches, which seemed to be all lined up for something just like this!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

StuckInCustoms > The Purple Portal When I was in Agra, I wandered around the streets surrounding the Taj Mahal for a few hours. The textures and details everywhere are an absolute field-day for photographers! There is so much to see and capture... it was totally overwhelming trying to grab all of that, while still thinking about getting into the Taj Mahal for another full slate of shooting!So many of the little homes here are richly painted in every possible shade in the most interesting textures and shapes. This is one of many little snaps I got while walking around.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

StuckInCustoms > Super Happy Hoppy Fun Beer Tokyo is awesome! It's like someone went and built the perfect Japanese place in Disneyworld and then made it real! I know that sounds kinda stupid -- but maybe you know what I mean! :)I love how they use cute animals to sell everything in Japan. If you don't like cute animals and beer, then what kind of person are you, anyway? What kind of twisted, sick, aberrant member of a proper society doesn't like fuzzy animals chugging beer? I wonder if there are an Japanese people that are into furries. I learned all I know about furries from CSI. That glowing-blue light was workin' overtime that evening! :)- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

StuckInCustoms > Chihuly in Space I know you guys don't get tired of the Chihuly pieces, and neither do I! In fact, I like this one so much that I use it as my desktop wallpaper. Just as much thought goes into lighting these as it does the creation. I always wonder if he has the "lighting scenario" in mind when forming the piece and its colors. Or maybe, it's just so awesome and naturally formed that it looks good under any kind of light. Heck, it would probably even look good in a 7-11 at 1 AM when all the pasty-lonely people stumble in for a Big Gulp and a Snickers. I can say this because I am often one of those people.By the way, you all are free to use my images as desktop wallpaper, for fun, on your blogs, etc. That is the beauty of the Creative Commons license. If you are going to use them for any commercial purposes whatsoever, contact licensing at stuckincustoms.com -- the team there will take care of you.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

StuckInCustoms > The Consumer Tube This is one of the new shopping areas in Las Vegas inside the City Center. At the time I shot this, the mall had just opened and many of the stores had not yet been completed... but the architecture was all in place and it was impressive from so many angles.While I was there, I saw another dude with a tripod setup. I like seeing other photographers around with tripods... I always give them a brotherly nod of approval.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The Purple Portal

When I was in Agra, I wandered around the streets surrounding the Taj Mahal for a few hours. The textures and details everywhere are an absolute field-day for photographers! There is so much to see and capture... it was totally overwhelming trying to grab all of that, while still thinking about getting into the Taj Mahal for another full slate of shooting!

So many of the little homes here are richly painted in every possible shade in the most interesting textures and shapes. This is one of many little snaps I got while walking around.

- Trey Ratcliff

Click here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The Purple Portal

Camera: Nikon Corporation (Nikon D2xs) |

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