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In Old China I was nursing my cracked ribs at this point after my clumsy slip down by the boats. But I had a bit of that post-accident adrenaline that numbed it enough to keep shooting a bit. Also, I think I was a bit loopy because of the pain, but that can make for good artistic endeavors, I think. When I remember walking around this area, it's all a bit more foggy than some of my other experiences, which are more crystal-clear. In some ways, I almost feel like I didn't take these photos, even though I know I did. It's strange thinking about it now.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Time Frozen in the Ancient Village I feel like I'm in a hurry to take photos of all these ancient places before they become homogenized. I worry that in 10 years that every place will look like a typical street corner in Plano, Texas. Know what I mean? There's nothing horrible about having a Home Depot and an Applebee's within every five mile pod of super-structure, but it can lose a bit of charm after a while.This is a famous old village in China where the legend tells of two phoenixes hovered endlessly, transfixed by the beauty they saw below. It's located in the western part of central China's Hunan Province. It's called Feng Huang Cheng ("feng huang" being the Chinese name for the phoenix), and I'm happy I got to spend a few days wandering around its mysterious bits. This is a good overview of the city, and I'll have many more from the insides coming soon enough.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
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.
Templestorm It’s hard to keep up with my students! I feel they are catching up and surpassing me! I won’t have it! Hehe… no no… my theory is that HDR will begin to splinter into a million different shards. I can’t wait to see where each of them take the artform. This is just outside of JogJakarta, Indonesia at an ancient temple called Prambanan. It was the kind of place that has been sitting there waiting for me to bring my story-telling-machine there. You have seen a few of my other shots of this place perhaps, just after the storm hit. As I was leaving, I looked back over my shoulder to see this. I sometimes forget as I walk away from things to turn around and look back, and I can see things I don’t expect. - Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Bellweathers Today, we're showing a new photo from Indonesia - the unique temple of Borobudur. This was taken prior to sunrise, when a thick layer of damp fog covered the mountain lowlands, where this temple is located outside of Jogjakarta. It was one of those very wet mornings when there is really no appropriate attire. It's not too cool and not too hot - but just "uncomfortable." I was listening to my music to make me forget about that nonsense though... it helped quite a bit! - Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Ancient Feng Huang Cheng As many cities in China quickly leapfrog American cities into one technopolis after another, there are still many old, ancient places across the countryside. So, in an effort to find some of the more unique and classical Chinese places, I had to go pretty deep beyond the major cities.This is an old place that maintains its classic charm. It's called Feng Huang, and the old buildings along the river are still up on stilts. They don't build right along the river, since they know every 50 years or so, a major flood clears everything away. In the meantime, locals go on about their business, going down to the river to wash clothes, prepare food, and the like.The entire time I was here, I never saw another white person and did not meet anyone that spoke English. I also suffered a fairly significant injury one morning... will talk about that another time. I'm going to hit a hospital here in Beijing to see what exactly happened! But, most importantly, even though my cameras hit the ground pretty hard, they are all in perfect working condition. Sweet Nikon.- Trey RatcliffRead more here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Yellow-Eyed Penguin These are the rare yellow-eyed penguins of New Zealand. I think they are rare. I don't know. It seems like all animals are rare or endangered, so those words kind of lose their punch after a while, don't they? I mean, if most everything is rare, then it becomes quite common, linguistically speaking. Anyway, they said it was rare, so there you go.And I know why they are rare! They just stand there ... - Trey RatcliffRead the rest of this entry here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Halls of India I understand that many of these royal halls used to be inlaid with rare stones. I can't even imagine what it was like... since they are already beautiful and detailed with all the stones missing! I don't believe I've ever seen a re-creation of one of these, even where the stones are fake. One place that comes to mind is the Amber Room in St. Petersburg, but I haven't been there yet... although it's on the list. - Trey Ratcliff Read more here at Trey Ratcliff's travel photography blog, Stuck in Customs.
Wrapping Around Time The ancient ruins of Angkor Wat are wild and unprotected. I think the country just cannot afford to properly keep the sites maintained. This is both good and bad. It's good for me, since I can go anywhere, climb anywhere, and take photos of anything ... - Trey Ratcliff The rest of this entry is available here at the Stuck in Customs blog.

Templestorm


It’s hard to keep up with my students! I feel they are catching up and surpassing me! I won’t have it! Hehe… no no… my theory is that HDR will begin to splinter into a million different shards. I can’t wait to see where each of them take the artform.

This is just outside of JogJakarta, Indonesia at an ancient temple called Prambanan. It was the kind of place that has been sitting there waiting for me to bring my story-telling-machine there. You have seen a few of my other shots of this place perhaps, just after the storm hit. As I was leaving, I looked back over my shoulder to see this. I sometimes forget as I walk away from things to turn around and look back, and I can see things I don’t expect.

- 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(1137343630,'',XLarge,'',1024,767);">Templestorm It’s hard to keep up with my students! I feel they are catching up and surpassing me! I won’t have it! Hehe… no no… my theory is that HDR will begin to splinter into a million different shards. I can’t wait to see where each of them take the artform. This is just outside of JogJakarta, Indonesia at an ancient temple called Prambanan. It was the kind of place that has been sitting there waiting for me to bring my story-telling-machine there. You have seen a few of my other shots of this place perhaps, just after the storm hit. As I was leaving, I looked back over my shoulder to see this. I sometimes forget as I walk away from things to turn around and look back, and I can see things I don’t expect. - Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

Templestorm


It’s hard to keep up with my students! I feel they are catching up and surpassing me! I won’t have it! Hehe… no no… my theory is that HDR will begin to splinter into a million different shards. I can’t wait to see where each of them take the artform.

This is just outside of JogJakarta, Indonesia at an ancient temple called Prambanan. It was the kind of place that has been sitting there waiting for me to bring my story-telling-machine there. You have seen a few of my other shots of this place perhaps, just after the storm hit. As I was leaving, I looked back over my shoulder to see this. I sometimes forget as I walk away from things to turn around and look back, and I can see things I don’t expect.

- Trey Ratcliff

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