The Batmobile On one of my little Texas road trips, I saw this thing on the side of the road and it was worth a turn-around!  It kind of makes me want to have an awesome and impractical car like this.  Everything else I do in my life is so dang practical...I think I need an impractical car!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Abandoned Farmhouse This place was another one of those New Zealand fence-hoppers. I'm never 100% sure that jumping over fences is a great move.  But if the place looks abandoned, I just go for it.  I don't mean any harm....  I'm just going to take photos.  So far, this has never caused me an issue (except for when I forget to check to see if the fence is electrified).I don't do a lot of these urbex shots, but I certainly do enjoy them.  Did you know there are several forums out there that have listings of abandoned buildings around the world? - Trey Ratcliff Read the rest here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Chemical Pool I was driving from Tampa, Florida up to Washington, DC.  Along the way, about halfway through North Carolina, near a little town called Rowland, I found an abandoned motel.  It was called the "Family Inns of America".  It looked like every roadside hotel you've ever seen, except it looked like it had run through about 20 different horror movies.  Every room was completely gutted and scary, almost all the windows were broken, and the playground was rusted and creaked.  I jumped out of the car with Ethan and we walked around, exploring the place.  At one point, we found a bunch of old pink insulation pouring out of a split wall.  My son had never seen insulation before and he asked what it was.  I said, "I think it's a pig skin."  That freaked him out big time.  Oh yeah.We stopped momentarily at the central pool, located right in the middle of the dilapidated complex.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Homestead I took my campervan from 90 KPH to 0 as soon as I saw this place on the side of the road! This caused some mild excitement with my two kids that were nestled in their clubhouse above my driver's seat.  This was a move they came to expect over the coming days.It seemed just like the kind of place that I needed to shoot.  The old house was abandoned and falling apart.  So, of course, after I took shots of the outside, I ventured inside to really have a look.  I got a ton of photos, and here is the first.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
 The Place in Texas Where They Found the 17 Bodies Now this is a proper Texas ghost town! It was always one of those things that fascinated me as a child.  Pretty much anything with the name "ghost" in it was cool back then, including my "Choose Your Own Adventure" books.  I remember there was one called "Deadwood" or something like that, which always had a creepy ghost town feel to it.Anyway, this is a strange abandoned town outside of Brenham, Texas (Home of Blue Bell Ice Cream!).  And no, 17 Bodies were not found here... just being a bit dramatic.  Or maybe there WERE 17 bodies here but the authorities are just covering it up.  It's all true.  I heard Alex Jones say it.Last, I have updated my Nikon 14-24 Review and my Nikon 24-70 Review with new photos and the like.  I know that only about half of our audience is photographers, but some people are looking to get into it more seriously, so maybe those will be helpful to you!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Abandoned Harrods in Buenos Aires There are parts of Buenos Aires that are not too safe to walk around by yourself.  This part was not so bad, but there were several abandoned stores around, including this Harrods.  I was surprised to see such a nice store in a state of disrepair, especially after visiting its Valhalla-like anchor in London.  Out front, there was a man playing the violin alone.  It echoed around in a strange way through the acoustics of the tile, the roof, and the lonely streets.  There was a Argentine rhythm he mixed into his playing that really made me feel like I was in a different place.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Safehouse Sorry about the long gap in posting!  You know my promise to you is a photo every day, 365 days a year.  This is a promise I break several times a year, so it's hardly a promise.  But, yesterday just happened to be one of those days.Whenever I don't post, it usually means I am traveling somewhere EXTREMELY remote that has no hint of internet.  Those places are fewer and farther between nowadays!  ...but at least I'm getting some good stuff for y'all!Today's photo is from a forgotten field in the south of Argentina, not too far from Ushuaia.  There was a housing community near here that was built then abandoned when the lake level started to rise.  It was full of old husks of structures that were still beautiful in their own way (and doubly so at sunset).- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Swallowing the Ruins - Trey Ratcliff I made it to the heart of Ta Prohm, an undisturbed Bayon ruin out the outskirts of Angkor Wat. It was late in the day and there was a break in the afternoon summer showers.To me, the best thing about these temples and ruins is that you can go anywhere, high or low, safe or not. There are hundreds of tiny nooks, old broken stone doors, lost hallways, and mysterious carvings peeking out of the overgrowth. There are no tort-related legal signs barring you from going anywhere... explorer beware. Besides, if you got injured, the jungle and insects would eat you alive before the night was over.As soon as I walked into Ta Prohm, the thunder started rumbling around and dappled clouds rolled in. The rain started and stopped several times, so I would take refuge in crumbling crypts and hallways until the rain let up. I took some wrong turns, but I eventually ended up here with a break in the storm. I popped out with the 10 mm get this shot.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Milan Train Station at Midnight If you want to see how I made this (and how you can too!), visit my HDR Tutorial. I hope it gives you some new tricks!I had a super-long day in Milan. I was tired and just wanted to go back to the hotel to have a cappuccino in the bar and edit photography on my laptop. But I remembered the really pretty train station and how I wanted to get a shot with nobody around.I went in around midnight, found the perfect spot, and then shot away.The HDR process always takes that slick concrete and makes it extra-reflective. Reflective ground is always great for photography. Also, people always think that I "colored" the lights up at the top, but I did not. In fact, I never "paint" on my photos. Any color that you see in them was actually there, except in the cases when I apply a texture treatment.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The Place in Texas Where They Found the 17 Bodies


Now this is a proper Texas ghost town!

It was always one of those things that fascinated me as a child. Pretty much anything with the name "ghost" in it was cool back then, including my "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. I remember there was one called "Deadwood" or something like that, which always had a creepy ghost town feel to it.

Anyway, this is a strange abandoned town outside of Brenham, Texas (Home of Blue Bell Ice Cream!). And no, 17 Bodies were not found here... just being a bit dramatic. Or maybe there WERE 17 bodies here but the authorities are just covering it up. It's all true. I heard Alex Jones say it.

Last, I have updated my Nikon 14-24 Review and my Nikon 24-70 Review with new photos and the like. I know that only about half of our audience is photographers, but some people are looking to get into it more seriously, so maybe those will be helpful to you!

- Trey Ratcliff

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

The Place in Texas Where They Found the 17 Bodies


Now this is a proper Texas ghost town!

It was always one of those things that fascinated me as a child. Pretty much anything with the name "ghost" in it was cool back then, including my "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. I remember there was one called "Deadwood" or something like that, which always had a creepy ghost town feel to it.

Anyway, this is a strange abandoned town outside of Brenham, Texas (Home of Blue Bell Ice Cream!). And no, 17 Bodies were not found here... just being a bit dramatic. Or maybe there WERE 17 bodies here but the authorities are just covering it up. It's all true. I heard Alex Jones say it.

Last, I have updated my Nikon 14-24 Review and my Nikon 24-70 Review with new photos and the like. I know that only about half of our audience is photographers, but some people are looking to get into it more seriously, so maybe those will be helpful to you!

- Trey Ratcliff

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