Meditation It's sort of hard to find time to meditate nowadays, eh?  I mean, there is a lot of stuff going on.  I wonder if the old-school Buddhists would be as good at meditating if they had broadband.  It's quite easy to distract yourself online.  By the way, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for distracting yourself with the blog!  I guess I'm happy to be a source of distraction for you.And, should you find the inspiration to meditate a little, maybe this shot from Siem Reap, Cambodia will help.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Approaching the Glacier after a Stormy Sunrise We left while it was still dark to reach this spot by the morning.  The glacier is already a deadly blue, but the morning light gets into the nooks and crannies and makes the blue reflect around like an argon laser.It was really cold when I took this.  And raining.  And windy.  I had a panoply of towels, rags, and other drying agents in various pockets, constantly wiping down the lens.  I also had the sweet lady D3X inside of a clear plastic bag to protect it from the whipping rain.  Every 30 minutes or so, I could hear an ungodly creaking and ripping of ice as another cleaved off into the water below.  I understand if there was going to be a huge piece cleave off that the splash could actually make it all the way to me.  I both wanted it to happen and didn't want it to happen at the same time.  I think my indecision made it not happen.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
A Razor to the Sky As is the case with every day here, I have also included a photo.  This is of the indomitable Fitz Roy at sunrise buried deep in the Andes, in the hinterland between Argentina and Chile.  To get this shot, it was none too easy!  First, I "woke" up after a sleepless night in a two-man tent with Yuri.  It was perhaps the worst night of my life and I've never had a panic attack before, but I honestly felt like I was pretty close.  The smell combined with the pitch black, the snoring, the freezing cold, and the tiny tent was almost more than I could bear!I woke up around 4:30 AM with -7 Celsius temperatures.  It was bitter cold.  I got dressed QUICKLY in the pitch black cold and then headed off with two of my Russian friends to begin scaling the mountain.  They had lights on their hats;  I did not.  I walked between them, trying not to slip on the icy "trail" between the dodging shadows cast by their headlights.  I'll never forget it for the rest of my life.  We ascended 1,500 feet in less than 45 minutes so we could catch the pink rays of sunrise just as they hit the peaks.Last, I have been interviewed about photography and more on the Pro Photo Show.  It's a free podcast that you can listen to if you want to know more about the process or just hear me ramble on about stuff you may or may not find interesting!- 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.

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 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(742622447,'',XLarge,'',1024,680);">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.

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 Ratcliff

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