The Lone Cypress Tree This is kind of a famous tree, I think. Well, I guess it’s famous if you’ve heard of it, otherwise it’s completely unknown. It’s one of those things you find out is famous, and then every time you see it, you think, “Oh that is the famous tree.”It’s kind of like when you play trivia games with annoying people. You know the ones. Every now and then, a question comes up that is INCREDIBLY TRIVIAL and some annoying person will guffaw, “Oh My God, that is sooooo easy!” Of course it is easy if they happen to know this incredibly small piece of arcane information! Either you know it, or you don’t.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Waterfalls on the way to Milford Sound There is a good question that will never be answered: Is the drive to Milford Sound equal to the epicness of Milford Sound itself? No one knows!! I can’t figure it out. But, one random element that comes into the equation is the rain. When it is raining (or a recent rain), there are over 100 waterfalls that decorate the steep valley.It’s kind of hard to shoot waterfalls in the rain. Actually, it’s really hard. I usually amp up my ISO and drop my F-stop very low to make sure I get a quick picture before the rain settles on my lens.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Royal Guard in Beijing The interior space and design of the Capitol Museum is absolutely amazing. I don’t know if they designed the light to do this in the middle of the day or not, but I found it rather striking! If the architects did this on purpose, then even more kudos to them.I must admit that I do not find all museums to be equally interesting. Some are just plain boring. Others are awesome… it depends on if the subject matter is something that is up my alley. I don’t like the “pressure” of making you feel bad if you aren’t fascinated by every little thing in a museum… that is silly.Like, for example, I found this museum a little bit boring. I know a bit about Chinese history (I played a lot of Romance of the Three Kingdoms back in the day, and I was always Gu Yu!), but I get a bit confused when it comes to the some of the more bizarre and abstract lineages. Anyway, this museum featured a lot of that. But, on the plus side, the architecture was so cool that it kept me pleasantly distracted!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Old Boats in the Afternoon Maybe I arrived in the low part of the tourist season, but I rarely saw these boats out and about on the river. They were always tied up here on the dockside. This was good for me, since it allowed many easy shots after I got around all the slippery bits. BTW, if you are by a dock in a small town in China, and the dock looks slippery, well it probably is SUPER SLIPPERY. That’s my little hard-earned piece of advice for the day…- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Feeding Chooks in Feng Huang When in Feng Huang, I decided to go down to the river to take some photos. There was a direct way, but I thought it might be more interesting to zig-zag my way there through alleys. One of the most wonderful things about China is how safe it is. I never had any fear for my life or anything as I move around these places. It’s so safe, in fact, that it’s almost eerie! But, eerie in a good way, of course…- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Milford Sound Spray People are sometimes disappointed when they come to Milford Sound and it is raining, but that is really one of the best times! The waterfalls go absolutely crazy, and there are, in my opinion, more interesting photos to be taken than in the sunshine. Of course, it’s a very different kind of photo, but you really can’t go wrong.There are a few boat cruises that go out into the sound and the ocean as well… those are all highly recommended. If you see Eric Lim from Southern Discoveries, be sure to tell him hello from Trey! - Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Sheepstorm On the drive down to Te Anau from Queenstown, you pass countless fields of sheep with dramatic mountain backdrops. I think sheep in fields are already pleasant enough to look at, but it gets even better when there is drama in the mountains and drama in the skies!I’m not exactly the Sheep Whisperer yet, but I have noticed that you have to be quiet as a mouse when approaching a fence to take a photo. If just ONE of them gets scared and runs, they ALL get scared and run.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Bowen Falls in Milford Sound This is one of many sights we’ll be seeing together if you come down here to New Zealand. This place is quite the turkey shoot! There’s beautiful bits all around.The best way to get to this particular spot is to get off the walking path and work your way across the rocks. I prefer the view where you are looking across the water… The conditions change quite violently depending on the light and the amount of rain. Sometimes, after a fresh rain, that waterfall is absolutely insane! In this photo, it’s still pretty crazy, but only of average sanity.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Internal Weather System This is another view inside the cavernous symphony hall in Beijing. The place is so enormous that you can see the beginnings of little clouds inside when the lights move a certain way. I actually think only part of it is related to the size – the other part is related to the awful pollution all around Beijing. There is so much particulate in the air, and it fills up inside big places like this. When the distance is obscured by cloud-matter, it makes everything feel more epic and grand (albeit dirty!).- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The Lone Cypress Tree


This is kind of a famous tree, I think. Well, I guess it’s famous if you’ve heard of it, otherwise it’s completely unknown. It’s one of those things you find out is famous, and then every time you see it, you think, “Oh that is the famous tree.”

It’s kind of like when you play trivia games with annoying people. You know the ones. Every now and then, a question comes up that is INCREDIBLY TRIVIAL and some annoying person will guffaw, “Oh My God, that is sooooo easy!” Of course it is easy if they happen to know this incredibly small piece of arcane information! Either you know it, or you don’t.

- 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(2438332773,'',XLarge,'',512,768);">The Lone Cypress Tree This is kind of a famous tree, I think. Well, I guess it’s famous if you’ve heard of it, otherwise it’s completely unknown. It’s one of those things you find out is famous, and then every time you see it, you think, “Oh that is the famous tree.”It’s kind of like when you play trivia games with annoying people. You know the ones. Every now and then, a question comes up that is INCREDIBLY TRIVIAL and some annoying person will guffaw, “Oh My God, that is sooooo easy!” Of course it is easy if they happen to know this incredibly small piece of arcane information! Either you know it, or you don’t.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The Lone Cypress Tree


This is kind of a famous tree, I think. Well, I guess it’s famous if you’ve heard of it, otherwise it’s completely unknown. It’s one of those things you find out is famous, and then every time you see it, you think, “Oh that is the famous tree.”

It’s kind of like when you play trivia games with annoying people. You know the ones. Every now and then, a question comes up that is INCREDIBLY TRIVIAL and some annoying person will guffaw, “Oh My God, that is sooooo easy!” Of course it is easy if they happen to know this incredibly small piece of arcane information! Either you know it, or you don’t.

- Trey Ratcliff

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