The French Quarter of Disney
Amazing Disneyworld! I am starting to switch my opinion about the best place to shoot in Disneyworld. I'm now thinking it is definitely Epcot. It used to be Animal Kingdom, which is still amazing.. but I find myself with more options and variety at Epcot, especially in the evening.Here's a great tip. If you stay at the resort, then go to Epcot on the "bonus hours" evening. Then get yourself way out at the opposite end of the park when it closes. You can then take your time and leave, taking photos all along the way. It's pretty much absolutely deserted! The security guards did not seem to bother me either...- Trey RatcliffRead the rest here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Man Sketching in Uzès
After spending the day walking around the old market, I started to walk back to where I started. Weaving through small alleys, I would occasionally enter larger courtyards. In one of them, I saw this man, sitting on a step, and sketching the scene.

When I took the photo, he looked up and gave a little smile, then went back to his business.

- Trey Ratcliff

Read more here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Little Girl in a Tiny French Market
There was a small market in France with all sorts of little wonderful objects. Little fanciful things rested and leaned here and there. I had a lot of fun moving around with my 50mm to grab shots as I peeked and poked about. I chose to compose this scene in just this way and focus in just this manner. 

I believe the shot below tells just enough of a story, and sets up just enough of a scene to let the a wandering mind wander…

Am I just a romantic that likes to do things in this way? Am I a fuddy-duddy that finds the idea of people re-focusing my shot as they click about to be "tech for the sake of tech?" Maybe I am…

Read more here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Sorbonne
My friend (and website designer), Fabien Barral, met my wife and I in Paris to take us out to dinner. We left the hotel, and about 30 seconds out the door, we came across this street side cafe right by the Sorbonne, the famous university. Luckily, I think both of them were used to this behavior and chatted pleasantly while I snapped away.

I worked on this photo all day. People often ask me how long I work on photos. If you've seen the HDR Video Tutorial here on the site, you know it takes me anywhere from 15 minutes to three hours. This one was on the long side for sure... It was tough work, but I am happy with the results.

- Trey Ratcliff

Read the rest here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Eiffel Tower Through Art Oh darn, I hear you saying. Another photo of the Eiffel Tower. I know I know… I’m sorry… hehe.Actually, you should see my Lightroom. I have so many interesting shots of the tower that I can’t hardly stand it. I’ve only processed a small percentage of them. Every time I dip my toe into that “unprocessed” category, I get all excited again.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Sunflowers So is it a weed or is it a flower? I am sure people in the plant-community get as exercised discussing these categorizations as I do about talking about categorizing photography. You would not believe the millions of words and sentences wasted discussing photography and how to categorize one type of photo. I can only assume the same thing happens in the flower/botany community!I got this one with my friend Scott Kublin one day in the south of France. We had Fabien (the website designer) pull over on a tiny little road so we could pop out and get some sunflower photos. I think he almost got rear-ended while waiting on us, so he had to pull away then circle back to get us! On the second drive-by, he started honking so we had to run and dive into the car like it was an action movie.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Pantheon
Scott and I went out almost every night taking photos all over Paris. The Pantheon here was right by our hotel. It was a rainy night when we were arriving home, so I had a feeling it would be a good time for photography! My intuition is not always spot-on, but in this case it worked out pretty well.

- Trey Ratcliff

Read the rest and see the long version of the SmugMug video here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Light
La Sainte-Chapelle is really an amazing place.  I can't believe it took me so many trips to Paris to finally see it.  It wasn't exactly a blind-spot, but I knew it was some place that I had to visit at some point, and I finally got there.

Tripods were forbidden, so I decided to use a tripod to get a shot.  

I did manage to squeeze off several rounds until security came up to make me stop.  Of course, the only reason I ignore their rule is because I think it is does not have a solid foundation in logic or rational thought.  I wasn't bothering anyone.  I wasn't going to trip anyone because of the configuration of my tripod and body.  Everything was cool.

- Trey Ratcliff

Read more here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Flying in France
I remember when I was learning French at Jesuit.  I took four years of it, and one of the first things I saw was a little cartoon in a book.  It was two little French girls on a ride just like this.  One was saying to the other, "Aiiyeeeee!  Sylvie!  Tenez!!!!"  Anyway, I always think of that when I see little French children on a ride.  I feel like calling it out, but it always seems a little creepy for a stranger to say such a thing.

- Trey Ratcliff

Read the rest here at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The Sorbonne


My friend (and website designer), Fabien Barral, met my wife and I in Paris to take us out to dinner. We left the hotel, and about 30 seconds out the door, we came across this street side cafe right by the Sorbonne, the famous university. Luckily, I think both of them were used to this behavior and chatted pleasantly while I snapped away.

I worked on this photo all day. People often ask me how long I work on photos. If you've seen the HDR Video Tutorial here on the site, you know it takes me anywhere from 15 minutes to three hours. This one was on the long side for sure... It was tough work, but I am happy with the results.

- Trey Ratcliff

Read the rest here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
HDR Video Tutorial here on the site, you know it takes me anywhere from 15 minutes to three hours. This one was on the long side for sure... It was tough work, but I am happy with the results. - Trey Ratcliff Read the rest here at the Stuck in Customs blog." href="javascript:openLB(1555926095,'',XLarge,'',1024,654);">The Sorbonne
My friend (and website designer), Fabien Barral, met my wife and I in Paris to take us out to dinner. We left the hotel, and about 30 seconds out the door, we came across this street side cafe right by the Sorbonne, the famous university. Luckily, I think both of them were used to this behavior and chatted pleasantly while I snapped away.

I worked on this photo all day. People often ask me how long I work on photos. If you've seen the HDR Video Tutorial here on the site, you know it takes me anywhere from 15 minutes to three hours. This one was on the long side for sure... It was tough work, but I am happy with the results.

- Trey Ratcliff

Read the rest here at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The Sorbonne


My friend (and website designer), Fabien Barral, met my wife and I in Paris to take us out to dinner. We left the hotel, and about 30 seconds out the door, we came across this street side cafe right by the Sorbonne, the famous university. Luckily, I think both of them were used to this behavior and chatted pleasantly while I snapped away.

I worked on this photo all day. People often ask me how long I work on photos. If you've seen the HDR Video Tutorial here on the site, you know it takes me anywhere from 15 minutes to three hours. This one was on the long side for sure... It was tough work, but I am happy with the results.

- Trey Ratcliff

Read the rest here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
See photo in original gallery.