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The Old Bones I Found on the Way to Mordor As for this photo from Argentina, this was found on the second day of hiking into the Andes. The landscape changes very quickly and we emerged from one forest and were suddenly facing another. The stark white roots reminded me of bones coming out of the ground and holding up old trees. In the distance, you can see the final destination of this hike - the mysterious peaks of Fitz Roy. These are covered by clouds 90% of the time, so to have them on a crystal clear day was lucky indeed. Tomorrow, in addition to posting the short film, I'll show you a closer shot of Fitz Roy that was taken around 6 AM the next morning, after an icy hike of 1500 feet in pitch black. Will there be clouds at sunrise, or will it be visible?- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
About to Cross the Stream on the Hike, Approaching the Blue Glacier This is about 20km into our backpacking. The fertile soil from recent glaciation sprang colorful life everywhere, even as the valley was changing colors for autumn. Little streams trickled here and there and fell into larger streams. Fording some of these was always a little sketchy when carrying a bunch of expensive camera equipment, but it was always worth it.I can't explain how often I stopped to take photos along this hike! I am sure it took about 4x as long as needed, but that was the point of the whole trip, after all...If you zoom into the large or original size, you can see the glowing blue glacier there, spilling out from between the edge of the Andes.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Sunflowers at Sunset This photo was much harder to take than it might seem!First of all, these sunflowers are tall - and I mean tall! They must be between 6 and 7 feet in the air. I was on the ground with them, so, of course, I was looking UP at them. No one wants to see a shot like that...!So, I put the camera on the tripod, set the timer to 5 seconds, extended the legs, set the manual settings correct, then jacked the whole thing in the air, holding it rock steady while it took the exposure. Getting a steady horizon while holding the camera 12 feet in the air is not easy... and after a number of takes, my shoulders were just about spent for the rest of the night.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Secret Underwater Passage This was shot under the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas where they have this lavish aquarium. It's really gorgeous and dreamy under there, as you can tell. This area has all kinds of sharks and other wild-lookin' things that were swimming all around me. I was fortunate enough to take a private tour of the place thanks to the nice people at the MGM/Mirage management company, who also owns the Mandalay Bay. That allowed me to take the time I needed to set up this 5-exposure HDR shot without tourists getting in the way.One time I did find a nurse shark in the Caribbean. It was a baby. I followed it for a while until it occurred to me that it might be swimming back to its mom. That sudden realization made me turn around pretty quick.All of this underwater stuff reminds me of watching those Discovery channel shows about strange ocean creatures. I swear I could watch those things all day. I can't get over how some of these things have evolved to fit their environment... just amazing. My favorite creatures are cephalopods ... I never get tired of those documentaries!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Beating Hearts of the Buddhas The morning fog coming off the top of the jungle trees was not like anything I had seen before. There was just enough morning light to give everything a twilight blue and paint the mountains in the distance a deeper color.I tried something a little bit different with this photo. I was holding two flashlights to help me climb the temple in the morning. I think I got there about 5:30 AM when it was still pitch black, so the flashlights helped me find the right footholds and whatnot. Anyway, this was an extremely long exposure, so I used some of that time to "paint" the inside of the bell cages with the beams of my flashlights. Each of those bell cages held a solitary outward-facing Buddha. I'm glad I was there alone, because I'm sure I looked like a loon running around shining the flashlights in patterns to illuminate the Buddhas inside.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite - L'Hôtel de Ville in Paris Here is a shot of the Hôtel de Ville, just about a 15 minute walk at midnight from Notre Dame, where I had just shot a stirring sunset shot. I wish I could freeze sunset and run around and hit every landmark at the same time… but since it’s impossible… I suppose I just have to go back another time. Anyone want to join me?- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Where Geothermal Steam Covers the Land Every time I go to Yellowstone, I see something different. There are hundreds of great locations, each one of which should be visited for at least an hour during three different times of the day.This is a new area I visited on my most recent trip there. I don't think it is always this steamy, since the air temp has to be a certain delta to the water. I don't know why, but it's always fun to sit there and watch the boiling water. I don't enjoy watching boiling water in my kitchen, but the sight there is always mesmerizing.. There is also the strong smell of sulfur carried through the area. It wasn't repulsive at all, but it did give me the just-took-off-my-helmet-on-an-away-mission feeling.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Beautiful Austin at Sunset I went downtown on Sunday night to work on some new drawings, and I was pretty sure that the gray clouds would not be conducive to shooting. But then, just as the sun dipped below the horizon, it tore through the city with bright pinks for about 10 minutes. I sped over to the other side of the Colorado River and jumped out for a quick shot. Luckily, I always keep the D3X in my car with me in case of a photo emergency like this.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Downtown Dallas from the Flower Market Here is that photo of Dallas I promised. - Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The Old Bones I Found on the Way to Mordor


As for this photo from Argentina, this was found on the second day of hiking into the Andes. The landscape changes very quickly and we emerged from one forest and were suddenly facing another. The stark white roots reminded me of bones coming out of the ground and holding up old trees. In the distance, you can see the final destination of this hike - the mysterious peaks of Fitz Roy. These are covered by clouds 90% of the time, so to have them on a crystal clear day was lucky indeed. Tomorrow, in addition to posting the short film, I'll show you a closer shot of Fitz Roy that was taken around 6 AM the next morning, after an icy hike of 1500 feet in pitch black. Will there be clouds at sunrise, or will it be visible?

- 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(742623852,'',XLarge,'',1024,729);">The Old Bones I Found on the Way to Mordor As for this photo from Argentina, this was found on the second day of hiking into the Andes. The landscape changes very quickly and we emerged from one forest and were suddenly facing another. The stark white roots reminded me of bones coming out of the ground and holding up old trees. In the distance, you can see the final destination of this hike - the mysterious peaks of Fitz Roy. These are covered by clouds 90% of the time, so to have them on a crystal clear day was lucky indeed. Tomorrow, in addition to posting the short film, I'll show you a closer shot of Fitz Roy that was taken around 6 AM the next morning, after an icy hike of 1500 feet in pitch black. Will there be clouds at sunrise, or will it be visible?- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The Old Bones I Found on the Way to Mordor


As for this photo from Argentina, this was found on the second day of hiking into the Andes. The landscape changes very quickly and we emerged from one forest and were suddenly facing another. The stark white roots reminded me of bones coming out of the ground and holding up old trees. In the distance, you can see the final destination of this hike - the mysterious peaks of Fitz Roy. These are covered by clouds 90% of the time, so to have them on a crystal clear day was lucky indeed. Tomorrow, in addition to posting the short film, I'll show you a closer shot of Fitz Roy that was taken around 6 AM the next morning, after an icy hike of 1500 feet in pitch black. Will there be clouds at sunrise, or will it be visible?

- 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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