The Midnight Wonder Garden Whenever I am in a place like this, I try to linger as late as possible so I am the last one remaining.  There are occasionally other people around, but I really prefer to be by myself.  I enjoy listening to music, relaxing, and walking around to find the interesting angles.These are the lower gardens of Kiyomizu-dera in one of the older parts of Kyoto.  I've been to this area multiple times, and I try to go at different times of the day and different seasons.  I'd love to be lucky once and catch it in the snow...  I suppose that would mean I need to go in the winter or something.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Dark Temple Corridor in Morning Mist at 4 AM I arrived at the temple of Borobudur a little after 4 AM. I had a tiny disposable flashlight, and, other than my driver idling about a mile away, I was the only person here. In fact, it was my second day in a row to do this, since I had so much fun the first. I was there with my friend Will, and he decided to sleep in the second day… but I had a few shots in mind I wanted to grab before the sun came up. There were these strange argon lights around the temple to light up areas of excavation. They cast a gloomy and surreal light on the Buddhist reliefs that make concentric circles up to the top. I was able to get about 45 minutes of nice darkness with unexpected light until the sun started to appear over the nearby volcanoes and jungle mist. - Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Burning Through the Clouds - Angkor Wat in the Morning Morning at Angkor Wat was a very cool experience. It was very muggy — the kind of muggy that makes you just give up and give in to being covered in sweat. I wasn’t going to any dinner parties, so I figured it was okay. Moving around the complex to get photos from many perspectives was a lot of fun… this place was a treat to compose.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Forgotten This was brought up in the chat session yesterday -- Black and White HDRs! Yes, they are possible, and they are a lot of fun! I don't do it that much because I am so in love with vibrant colors.. but sometimes, on a lark, I'll do it. The one below, of a forgotten temple in Cambodia, is a simple black and white with a bit of a sepia tone. Enjoy!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Monkey Love A male monkey and his mate relax near an ancient naga at the ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.This is the first shot from a new upcoming tutorial that describes some new techniques with which I am experimenting.  I hope you like it!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Treetop Temple Protects Kyoto I'm just finishing up almost two weeks in Japan, and it has been an amazing trip! Usually I try not to start posting shots until the trip is at its close, and this is the first.While there, I spent time all over the country. I got a rail pass and just jumped on the bullet train to take me from one remote spot to another. I ended up with a few days in Tokyo to do my best to capture the city. I'll be posting photos from the trip throughout the next few weeks, months, and years, as usual. I hope this is a new line of photographs that will be interesting to you.Photographed here is the Kiyomizu-dera temple in Kyoto. The city is known for its traditional Japanese architecture, slower-paced life, natural beauty, graceful geishas, and zen peacefulness. I probably could have stayed in Kyoto capturing scenes the entire trip. I remained here until the sky turned black, and then I headed back down some winding streets to find an old small restaurant where the food was mysterious and every course was served with a gentle bow.- 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.

The Midnight Wonder Garden


Whenever I am in a place like this, I try to linger as late as possible so I am the last one remaining. There are occasionally other people around, but I really prefer to be by myself. I enjoy listening to music, relaxing, and walking around to find the interesting angles.

These are the lower gardens of Kiyomizu-dera in one of the older parts of Kyoto. I've been to this area multiple times, and I try to go at different times of the day and different seasons. I'd love to be lucky once and catch it in the snow... I suppose that would mean I need to go in the winter or something.

- 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(1289442525,'',XLarge,'',1024,749);">The Midnight Wonder Garden Whenever I am in a place like this, I try to linger as late as possible so I am the last one remaining.  There are occasionally other people around, but I really prefer to be by myself.  I enjoy listening to music, relaxing, and walking around to find the interesting angles.These are the lower gardens of Kiyomizu-dera in one of the older parts of Kyoto.  I've been to this area multiple times, and I try to go at different times of the day and different seasons.  I'd love to be lucky once and catch it in the snow...  I suppose that would mean I need to go in the winter or something.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The Midnight Wonder Garden


Whenever I am in a place like this, I try to linger as late as possible so I am the last one remaining. There are occasionally other people around, but I really prefer to be by myself. I enjoy listening to music, relaxing, and walking around to find the interesting angles.

These are the lower gardens of Kiyomizu-dera in one of the older parts of Kyoto. I've been to this area multiple times, and I try to go at different times of the day and different seasons. I'd love to be lucky once and catch it in the snow... I suppose that would mean I need to go in the winter or something.

- Trey Ratcliff

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