The Village of Lijiang
I tried to get this shot for almost a week!It turns out there is a hill/mountain that requires significant planning and calories to ascend for this dusky time falls.  And I kept miscalculating the time with Tom.  We always thought the sunset would be a little later than it was.  And then we would start to get up into position, and we realized it was too late -- so we went to go do something else instead.This evening, I would snap a few photos and then sit down with my sketch pad and work on a few drawings.  I'd wait about 10 minutes for the light to change between photos... and it was nice just to listen to music and play around with some sketching-ideas...- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the entire post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Old Man on Steps near Drum Tower
While I was circling the Drum Tower in Beijing, there was a small community of people that were outside exercising, milling around, talking, and watching the world go by.  Many of the homes in the little houtong had their doors painted red, and that was a common element that tied everything together.  I had my hip-shooter with me too so I could capture this one.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of the post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Nest
I took this photo while I was outside another tower in the open air with Joe McNally.  It was a great time..  It was also a bit scary.For this one, I took my 28-300 and turned it upright to portrait mode and zoomed in quite tight.  I liked the way the layers of the city stacked upon one another into the distance, and that was lost in the wide-angle landscape mode.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the entire post on the Stuck in Customs blog.
Father and Daughter in Beijing I was in one of my favorite artsy/bohemian areas of Beijing with my D3S doing some people-photography.  It’s some of the best people-watching in the world around there.This area is full of all sorts of galleries, shops, curio-stores, antique shops, and other various unique Chinese shopping.  The crowd ranges from the wildly artistic to families out on a little escapade.  While I was weaving through the crowd myself, I spied this father and daughter walking in my direction…- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Little Beijing
While at the top of one of new towers built for the Olympics, I was able to get a good vantage back towards different parts of the city.  Beijing is so spread out -- there does not seem to be a central focus in the traditional "skyscraper" sense.  I've taken a few other downtown shots you might recall (click on the"Beijing" category), but this spot was kind of cool and unique because of this tower I was in.I happened to be outside with Joe McNally, after we finally convinced the officials to let us get beyond the inside and dirty windows.  We were out in the "5th ring" where many Olympic venues were built.  And so, here was this huge tower in the outskirts, looking back towards the city.  It seemed like a good situation for a zoom-in compression shot.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this entry at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Walking in the Park
Instead of describing this photo, I'll talk about a little trick.  See how the background is all blurry and quite flat (not complex)?  This happens when you use a very low number for your F-Stop.  In this case, it was 1.4 on the 50mm 1.4 lens - although this would have also worked with the more inexpensive 1.8 lens.  Anyway, if the person (or object) you are shooting is a lot closer to you than the distant background, the entire area back there will be very washed-out and flat.  Behind her, there was actually a lot of complexity.  There was a park with trees and sky and lights and everything, but it all gets washed away with this technique.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this entry at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Boat in Feng Huang
It was a cool and calm afternoon in the ancient and impossible town of Feng Huang. It's an old town, wreathed in many legends.

On the old river, you can occasionally see a boat passing here and there. The boatmen come in all shapes and sizes, but many wear the same hat and style. It is absolutely like a warp of time...

- Trey Ratcliff

Read more here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Mysterious Creatures Among Us While in the southern town of Lixiang, I came upon this creature in the evening.  Maybe you know the legend of this...  maybe it is better to make up your own legend than to have me tell you everything about it... or, perhaps one of you intrepid explorers in the community can tell us all what is going on here!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

Old Man on Steps near Drum Tower


While I was circling the Drum Tower in Beijing, there was a small community of people that were outside exercising, milling around, talking, and watching the world go by. Many of the homes in the little houtong had their doors painted red, and that was a common element that tied everything together. I had my hip-shooter with me too so I could capture this one.

- Trey Ratcliff

Click here to read the rest of the post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Click here to read the rest of the post at the Stuck in Customs blog." href="javascript:openLB(1752776578,'',XLarge,'',1024,703);">Old Man on Steps near Drum Tower
While I was circling the Drum Tower in Beijing, there was a small community of people that were outside exercising, milling around, talking, and watching the world go by.  Many of the homes in the little houtong had their doors painted red, and that was a common element that tied everything together.  I had my hip-shooter with me too so I could capture this one.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of the post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

Old Man on Steps near Drum Tower


While I was circling the Drum Tower in Beijing, there was a small community of people that were outside exercising, milling around, talking, and watching the world go by. Many of the homes in the little houtong had their doors painted red, and that was a common element that tied everything together. I had my hip-shooter with me too so I could capture this one.

- Trey Ratcliff

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