The London Underground - Piccadilly Piccadilly Circus is one of the most popular places in London for tourists. I don't like to always hit all the obvious places, but, then again, I kind of have to hit the obvious places, yes? So, when I went to this famous spot, I tried my best to find some interesting angles and compositions.This was a standard HDR shot - five exposures from -2 to +2. To fix the ghosting problem with the people, I did the same thing I always do! I think that's on page 2 or 3 of the HDR Tutorial... (maybe that is the #1 Question about HDR!)- 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 > from the blog www.stuckincustoms.com

StuckInCustoms > On Gossamer Wings I had spent most of the day inside the Forbidden City, trying my best to find little bits here and there. Tiny discoveries, you know. I was pretty tired after a day of searching, but I still had barely enough energy to keep exploring into the night. At that point, I decided to go to another, older area of the city.There were hundreds of quaint shops, the smell of fresh food, families walking to and fro... it was all very nice. I came to cross a little raised bridge, and I saw this woman standing there. She was dressed in vintage Chinese grab and holding a delicate umbrella. While talking with her friends, the light caught her umbrella just right, so I snapped a quick photo.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

StuckInCustoms > Sunset in the Hills There is a long and somewhat barren road between Los Angeles and San Diego. It seems extra-barren because I was really thirsty before I entered the long-bit that had absolutely no place to stop for a drink! You know how sometimes you are driving along, kind of thirsty... not really being TOO picky, but kind of passing by places that look not-too-exciting? Well I did that one too many times then ended up having to drive for a lot longer before I found relief.What compounded the problem (and made it better too) was that it was sunset time! That means I had to stop many times to drink the landscapes into the camera.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

StuckInCustoms > Liftoff at the Ranch I ran out into the field to capture this just as the helicopter takes off after unloading another group of guests. The lighting and angle were perfect, so I was curious to see if I could catch the helicopter blade totally still. I did! A good experiment... note that many of my experiments fail... but this one worked out.And yes, obviously, this is an HDR from a single RAW.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

StuckInCustoms > The London Underground - Piccadilly Piccadilly Circus is one of the most popular places in London for tourists. I don't like to always hit all the obvious places, but, then again, I kind of have to hit the obvious places, yes? So, when I went to this famous spot, I tried my best to find some interesting angles and compositions.This was a standard HDR shot - five exposures from -2 to +2. To fix the ghosting problem with the people, I did the same thing I always do! I think that's on page 2 or 3 of the HDR Tutorial... (maybe that is the #1 Question about HDR!)- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

StuckInCustoms > The Prison of Marie Antoinette What an amazing (and somewhat eerie) place this is! You all have heard of the famous Marie Antoinette and know of her fate... but maybe you've never seen her lavish French prison? It's called the Conciergerie, and now it's on my must-visit list! I got the hot tip from one of my workshop students in London... an unexpected find. Okay... I'll be quiet and just let you enjoy this photo.P.S. This was made from a single RAW... it was handheld. - Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

StuckInCustoms > The Window of Life The beautiful Bacelona is home for fanciful masterpieces of Antonio Gaudi. I thought I'd had pretty good grasp on the architectures of Gaudi's but I didn't anticipate the subtle interior design when I get into some of his buildings.This is the fanciful Casa Batlló. I was surprised by every turn when I was inside, and it was always inspirational. I wonder whether you have ever played Myst? This place reminded me of Myst--except Gaudi had come up with the ideas so long ago--in 1877! And those designs were not only for beauty but large sums of functionality built-ins too. Simply moving cool air from room to room is stylish and unexpected.I took lots of other photos in Barcelon that are coming up soon. I tried my best to take good photos at the places where I'd been but caught up by the flu. And that put my productivity into half--so that's the bummer--yet also another good reason to go back!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

StuckInCustoms > The Metal Ribbon Here we have another stunning example of the fanciful architecture in Beijing. The opera house is a huge, cavernous complex. On the top level towards one side, there is an immense gathering area that's used for banquets, parties, and other such events. Luckily, my translator and assistant had set everything up ahead of time, so we were able to get in for several hours before the big concert to take some photos in peace before the crowds arrived.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

StuckInCustoms > Boats in Ancient China This is the spot where I cracked a rib. I'll tell that story in a moment... This is the ancient village of Feng Huang in distant southern China. I hired a local driver to get me there, and the ride was longer than most plane trips! And a lot less comfortable... Anyway, after arriving, I had a wonderful time exploring. One morning, the old town was covered with thick fog. And it's that still, wet, timeless fog of China. When you are looking at it, you become convinced it will just never go away. I worked my way down one of the banks to an area where the local rivermen keep the boats to grab this shot. The morning was wet, obviously, and that was the downfall of my mishap. I stepped down onto what looked like damp, dirty concrete. I've done this a thousand times. I was carrying my D3X with 14-24mm lens on a tripod on my left hand and holding my D3S with 50mm 1.4 prime in my right hand. It turned out that I was stepping onto that super-slick wet clay. It was razor-thin and slicker than ice. I didn't stand a chance. I fell right down, both cameras slamming into the ground. The D3X hit extra hard because the tripod gave it some painful torque. I landed on the D3S, it's body caving in one of ribs... right in the middle of the man-nipple area. It was too bad because I've always treasured that area. I made reference to the injury when I was still unsure about it in this Part 2 China Interview. - Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

StuckInCustoms > The Orsay One of my favorite museums! I'm a huge fan of Impressionism, and this museum has an amazing collection. It also houses one of the most famous paintings by Manet - Le dejeuner sur l'herbe (Wikipedia). I've always heard about and studied this painting, so it was of particular interest to me. When I saw it in person, it was absolutely striking... I did not expect to have a reaction like that.Well, you aren't supposed to take photos in here, but I just can't help it. I think the rule is silly and somewhat insulting to he artist in me. I remember studying the Impressionists... Manet himself would come into museums and paint... so what is the difference? Nothing... I think my Impressionist heroes are looking down on me and smiling for defying such a silly rule. In this case, I did not use a tripod (would have been a bit obvious). So I cranked up the ISO on my camera to keep everything sharp. Also, I set my F stop at 2.8, which keeps a scene like this in focus when you're using a wide angle lens, since everything is effectively at infinity.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

StuckInCustoms > Gardens in the Mist The Li River valley is a beautiful and serene area of southern China that's green, alive, and mysterious. The verdant limestone cliffs cover the landscape and give everything an ethereal feel.After a trip down the river, I got off the boat and decided to hike back to the little village where I was staying. Along the way, I decided to hike down a side-road that went off into these little family-run farms. I set up for a shot on this quiet dirt road.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

StuckInCustoms > Young Schoolgirl Returning Home in Tokyo One thing I recommend to travelers as they go from point A to point B in an unpredictable manner. Whenever I want to hit an exact location, I tell the taxi to drop me off a few kilometers from the destination. Either that, or I exit the subway early. I then meander my way from street to street and feel my way to the final location. Usually, by taking these unpredictable paths, I end up seeing a lot of things that would have been left unseen.That is how I found this little schoolgirl in Tokyo. I ended up on a busy street in the late afternoon, just as kids were running back to their homes.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

StuckInCustoms > La Gare I took the train from Paris to Nimes in the middle of the day, and ended up here with half an hour to spare. I had just enough time to get some pastries and some HDRs. What else does a man need in life?Here is a little tip that I'm sure many of you already know... but I thought I would go ahead and say it anyway! If you want a symmetrical shot, get in the absolute center. And I mean absolute. Check your corners, count the girders, etc. You'll have to get a little OCD if you want a perfectly centered shot!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

StuckInCustoms > Remote Farmhouse with Waterfall On one of my first nights in Iceland, I was driving along the southern coast. Pristine farms are plopped along the side of the road every few miles. As I began to approach one of the volcanic areas, the terrain changed enough so there were huge waterfalls in many of the vistas. This one was nestled deep behind the farmhouse, and it seemed like a nice little spot for a photo.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

StuckInCustoms > The Sharks are Circling Google The very nice Cliff Redeker over at Google took me all around the campus after my Authors@Google talk. It's a very cool campus, and I set up a for a bunch of fun shots.I don't know if this is supposed to be a shark fin or not, but it reminded me of all these silly recent news stories about everyone coming after Google. From the German government to other bureaucratic busybodies, things seem to be heating up. But don't worry Google... I got your back... and so do all my friends here on StuckInCustoms!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The London Underground - Piccadilly

Piccadilly Circus is one of the most popular places in London for tourists. I don't like to always hit all the obvious places, but, then again, I kind of have to hit the obvious places, yes? So, when I went to this famous spot, I tried my best to find some interesting angles and compositions.

This was a standard HDR shot - five exposures from -2 to +2. To fix the ghosting problem with the people, I did the same thing I always do! I think that's on page 2 or 3 of the HDR Tutorial... (maybe that is the #1 Question about HDR!)

- Trey Ratcliff

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