The Remarkable Mood Oh wow do I love New Zealand!  Every city I have been to is remarkable in its own way, and I was particularly struck by the environs around Queenstown.  It's just an amazing place.  I've been completely swamped with photo activities, but I stayed up till 4 AM in my "HomeCar" (as my daughter calls it) to process this photo.  It's all a perfectly magical place, as you can plainly see here.  This was the beginning of a three-hour sunset drive that went around this same lake...  every stop was more moody than the next.That mountain range?  It's called "The Remarkables".  What a cool name. - Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Guarding the Beaches of LA Being a lifeguard in LA must be a great job.  Or it might be a boring job.  Or it might have occasions of greatness filled with a long periods of boredom.  There was a lifeguard sitting here in the station on Manhattan Beach when I took the shot.  I guess I could have asked her while I stood outside her station for 10 minutes with all my glass aimed right at her.  I kept giving her a nod of confidence, indicating that everything was okay.  I was really just waiting for the colors to get right in the reflection.- 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 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.
The Parisian Boulevard Where I Should Not Have Been Standing While I was working on this, I was thinking how nice it would be to have someone near me who could speak French... I always love the sound of it, and the words can make matters seem ephemerally okay.Paris is one of those places where the streets are always a little wet, at least in my head.  If they are wet, then they are slippery and traffic will be crazy...  so it sounded like a capital idea to go out into the middle of the Champs-Élysées to get a quick one!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Dragon Boats of Commoners on a Lonely Stream near Hangzhou On the weekend while in Shanghai, I was in the mood for an adventure, so I went down to the train station to buy a ticket to Hangzhou.  This was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty in the 12th century and it was in the middle of the Yangtze river delta.  The royalty established a number of temples around West Lake, the dozens of tiny freshwater lakes that were created for the emperor.As I explored around, there were many beautiful things to be seen.  Here is one of many more I have to bring you.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The High Altar and the Inner Cloister of Notre Dame This is one place they do not like you to use a tripod — inside Notre Dame. I stuffed it down beside my leg inside my overcoat and acted like an invalid, limping in to pray to the pantheon of saints. Once inside, I dropped the rouse and extended the tripod like a transformer and shot away. I got off enough right before they told me to stop in rather polite French.- 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.

The Remarkable Mood


Oh wow do I love New Zealand! Every city I have been to is remarkable in its own way, and I was particularly struck by the environs around Queenstown. It's just an amazing place. I've been completely swamped with photo activities, but I stayed up till 4 AM in my "HomeCar" (as my daughter calls it) to process this photo. It's all a perfectly magical place, as you can plainly see here. This was the beginning of a three-hour sunset drive that went around this same lake... every stop was more moody than the next.

That mountain range? It's called "The Remarkables". What a cool name.

- Trey Ratcliff

Click here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The Remarkable Mood


Oh wow do I love New Zealand! Every city I have been to is remarkable in its own way, and I was particularly struck by the environs around Queenstown. It's just an amazing place. I've been completely swamped with photo activities, but I stayed up till 4 AM in my "HomeCar" (as my daughter calls it) to process this photo. It's all a perfectly magical place, as you can plainly see here. This was the beginning of a three-hour sunset drive that went around this same lake... every stop was more moody than the next.

That mountain range? It's called "The Remarkables". What a cool name.

- Trey Ratcliff

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