The Most Beautiful Road in the World I found it!I've looked at travel guides and driven on a ton of beautiful, scenic roads all over the world, but I think this road to Queenstown (on the way to/from Glenorchy) is the most beautiful in the world.  The road winds down one side of a perfect, fjord-like lake, and every few kilometers, the mountain views change dramatically.  Depending upon the time of day you travel it, the entire landscape transforms before your eyes.Wonder what it looks like on the other side of the lake?  You won't believe that it is in the same place!  See this photo called Mountainstorm that I took on a previous trip to this location.  It was shot later in the evening, so I wasn't able to properly capture the road that time.What's the prettiest road you have ever found?  I've seen conflicting guides of the most beautiful roads in the US... I'm sure everyone has their opinion... I'd love to know what you think!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Storm Hitting the Barn It was about 3 in the afternoon and things were getting over-the-top warm.  You know that feeling when the weather gets so uncomfortably warm that you expect something to happen soon?  This feeling washed over me about 30 minutes before these violent clouds form to sweep over the Rocky Mountains towards the barn.The tripod was nearby, so I grabbed it to go outside and set up the easel. - Trey Ratcliff Read the rest of this entry here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Tetons, Revisited This area is not too far from Yellowstone.  Just outside of the south exit, there is a fairly short drive to this area of Wyoming.  It's on the way to Jackson Hole.  This is also an amazing place if you are into Bison.  There are hundreds and hundred of bison in this area.  A free one was roaming about while I took this.  They're actually quite dangerous for something that looks like a giant silly stuffed animal. - Trey Ratcliff Read the rest here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Rainbow After the Storm All that's missing from this one is a unicorn.  This is one reason I am excited about genetic engineering.  I think that some odd-ball researcher is going to make a real unicorn one day...  and everyone (well, MOST everyone) will love it.  Hey future-unicorn-genetic-engineer, please contact me after you successfully bring one of these to term so I can take the first photo.  That would be very cool. - Trey Ratcliff Read the rest of this entry here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Natalia on the Farm After getting back from one of those long hikes in Patagonia, I stayed with my Russian friends at a small hotel in El Chalten.  It was a little family-run operation and the daughter Natalia helped out by running errands and these sorts of things.  I took her around with me to take some photos in the little town, and she was happy to pose!  It was plenty easy to find all kinds of interesting backgrounds, since El Chalten is a picturesque little town with old buildings, horses in fields, and mountainous backdrops. - Trey Ratcliff Read more here at my travel photography blog, Stuck in Customs.
The Falls of Yellowstone This is a very famous waterfall in Yellowstone National Park.  I was there smack dab in the middle of the day, which is just about the worst time to take photos.  So be it, Jedi.I got out the old trusty and handy 200-400mm lens to take a shot.  It's not that big.  It'll fit right in your back pocket.  (BTW, see my Nikon 200-400 Review for more).- Trey RatcliffRead more here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Morning. Coffee. Yellowstone. Fog. My poor family.  I dragged them all out of bed at 5 AM and put them in the car so I could go take this photo.  I did load up on plenty of coffee to keep things fresh and warm on this cool morning, but my kids zonked out in the back of the car anyway.  Well, if they're not asleep, they're whining, "Dad???  You stopping again!" ... I rush out the door and trail off, muttering into the wind, "Yes but art must be made, you see..."This spot is not too far from the entrance to West Yellowstone.  The warm water that comes from the earth mixes with the cool morning sky.  It creates a surreal layer of fog that simply rests on top of the river.  It flows up, around, and through the neighboring trees.  It reminds me of the dry ice that comes out of cauldrons on Halloween.To take this shot, I set up with a tripod and grabbed 7 exposures from +3 to -3.  I always anchor at even zero for these "sun shots."  I also set up for matrix metering, since you can't figure out where in the dynamic range to hang your spot.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Tetons, Revisited This area is not too far from Yellowstone. Just outside of the south exit, there is a fairly short drive to this area of Wyoming. It's on the way to Jackson Hole. This is also an amazing place if you are into Bison. There are hundreds and hundred of bison in this area. A free one was roaming about while I took this. They're actually quite dangerous for something that looks like a giant silly stuffed animal.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Valley To Forever The first part of one of my hikes in the Andes included a pretty serious jaunt up a mountain.  This was jarring in many ways -- mostly because I simply wasn't expecting it.  But, once I got to the top, and emerged to the other side, I was afforded this view.My lackluster food rations and absolute lack of Internet was not really an issue with this sort of view.  It was nice to be able to spend hours and hours hiking without having to worry about checking my email.  Maybe this is partly why I like adventuring in remote places so much... I have really good excuses for being slow on emailing people back!  When I am on the Internet, and people see me on Twitter all the time... they know I am there... they know they know... and ignored emails and tweets have no excuse!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

Natalia on the Farm


After getting back from one of those long hikes in Patagonia, I stayed with my Russian friends at a small hotel in El Chalten. It was a little family-run operation and the daughter Natalia helped out by running errands and these sorts of things. I took her around with me to take some photos in the little town, and she was happy to pose! It was plenty easy to find all kinds of interesting backgrounds, since El Chalten is a picturesque little town with old buildings, horses in fields, and mountainous backdrops.

- Trey Ratcliff

Read more here at my travel photography blog, Stuck in Customs.
here at my travel photography blog, Stuck in Customs." href="javascript:openLB(976883997,'',XLarge,'',1024,683);">Natalia on the Farm After getting back from one of those long hikes in Patagonia, I stayed with my Russian friends at a small hotel in El Chalten.  It was a little family-run operation and the daughter Natalia helped out by running errands and these sorts of things.  I took her around with me to take some photos in the little town, and she was happy to pose!  It was plenty easy to find all kinds of interesting backgrounds, since El Chalten is a picturesque little town with old buildings, horses in fields, and mountainous backdrops. - Trey Ratcliff Read more here at my travel photography blog, Stuck in Customs.

Natalia on the Farm


After getting back from one of those long hikes in Patagonia, I stayed with my Russian friends at a small hotel in El Chalten. It was a little family-run operation and the daughter Natalia helped out by running errands and these sorts of things. I took her around with me to take some photos in the little town, and she was happy to pose! It was plenty easy to find all kinds of interesting backgrounds, since El Chalten is a picturesque little town with old buildings, horses in fields, and mountainous backdrops.

- Trey Ratcliff

Read more here at my travel photography blog, Stuck in Customs.
See photo in original gallery.