The New Garden Path Along the Great Wall of China Just to get to this point required a long walk through a rocky forest. It wasn’t like the super-pristine part of the Great Wall (which is actually quite fake and Disney-like) — where you can drive up in a huge tour bus and park in huge parking lot. No, it wasn’t like that at all. Instead, there was a “path” that was barely discernable (much less so when I walked back in the dark alone!) that wove up through a forest along an old creekbed. I’m not sure I could find it again if I had to!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Driving High Along the Fjords The roads in Iceland normally follow the bottom part of the valley. Here, in this particular area, the road was about halfway up one of the mountains, which gave me a bit of a downward perspective. Every few miles there is an interesting, old, weather-beaten barn like this one to set the scene. It may not even be so old, and maybe the weather there is so rough that it makes things look old before their time.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Trees in Yosemite I’m not really an “expert” on Yosemite by any means! I’ve only been there once, and I know there are many photographers that have been there 5 or 10 or more times! I spent most of my time driving around the main roads and going off on little mini-hikes. But I didn’t really know the best places to go… so I would hike along little creeks and get shots like this.I remember I did a little walk to a place called “Mirror Lake” or something. It sounded so awesome from the name! But then I got there, and it was just a puddle of ice. I felt ripped off! They should change the name of it every hour depending on what it currently looks like. There’s no way I would have walked to “Dirty Ice Ugly Lake."- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Walking in Yosemite Here’s a photo from a walk along this beautiful little path in Yosemite. It looks very serene and welcoming, yes? Well it is! I was sad I only got to spend one day here in the forest… I’d like to go back. Actually, I’d really like to get to Yosemite when it is snowing. I bet there are a thousand interesting photos all over the place… but now, by the time out I find out it is snowing, it will take me too long to get over there! :(I took this one during the crazy photowalk there… we had so much fun!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Four Bums in Beijing  I was in one of the art-studios area of Beijing when I saw this most unusual statue! As you can see, there are a lot more than four bums in a row, so it was a bum-composition-issue that I had never faced before. Notice the ears too.Actually this kind of “Avant Garde” art in Beijing is very unusual. It’s strange to find a Chinese artist that goes way outside of the norm to try something new… most of them are traditionally trained and do traditional, predictable work.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Birds in the Nest This is the famous “Bird’s Nest” building from the Olympics in Beijing. After the Olympics are over, these special buildings all seem a bit lonely. I know they still hold events in them from time to time, but that seems more like the exception than the rule. Also, this location is so far away from the center of the city that it is extremely inconvenient. Once you arrive to have a look, you are interested, but always thinking of getting back to the main part of the city… this gives it even more of a forlorn feeling… but maybe that is just me.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Random Sighting in Beijing I was walking around the arts district in Beijing and saw this cute girl posing up against a wall for her friend. After I was sneaky and took this photo, she looked over and gave me an even bigger smile! hehe… I notice sometimes that girls over there take a lot of photos of each other and act silly. And then, whenever I swoop in and take a picture, they get even sillier. It’s a very strange phenomenon but it’s always fun.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
A Moody Evening at the Great Wall One of the good things about the haze around parts of China are the moody sunset hours. You rarely get those epic cloud-sunsets, but instead things drift away into black through a myriad assortment of colors.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Reflections in Yosemite I’m currently with Karen Hutton and many other people in New Zealand. One of my previous trips with Karen was to this very place! We jumped around mud bank after mud bank until we found a clean reflection. It was quite cold… I think we were both thinking of getting back inside for something warm to drink!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The New Garden Path Along the Great Wall of China


Just to get to this point required a long walk through a rocky forest. It wasn’t like the super-pristine part of the Great Wall (which is actually quite fake and Disney-like) — where you can drive up in a huge tour bus and park in huge parking lot. No, it wasn’t like that at all. Instead, there was a “path” that was barely discernable (much less so when I walked back in the dark alone!) that wove up through a forest along an old creekbed. I’m not sure I could find it again if I had to!

- Trey Ratcliff

Click here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Click here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog." href="javascript:openLB(2442582828,'',XLarge,'',1024,598);">The New Garden Path Along the Great Wall of China Just to get to this point required a long walk through a rocky forest. It wasn’t like the super-pristine part of the Great Wall (which is actually quite fake and Disney-like) — where you can drive up in a huge tour bus and park in huge parking lot. No, it wasn’t like that at all. Instead, there was a “path” that was barely discernable (much less so when I walked back in the dark alone!) that wove up through a forest along an old creekbed. I’m not sure I could find it again if I had to!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The New Garden Path Along the Great Wall of China


Just to get to this point required a long walk through a rocky forest. It wasn’t like the super-pristine part of the Great Wall (which is actually quite fake and Disney-like) — where you can drive up in a huge tour bus and park in huge parking lot. No, it wasn’t like that at all. Instead, there was a “path” that was barely discernable (much less so when I walked back in the dark alone!) that wove up through a forest along an old creekbed. I’m not sure I could find it again if I had to!

- Trey Ratcliff

Click here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
See photo in original gallery.