The Home of the Artist What do you think is happening here?  What fanciful story can you concoct?I grabbed this yesterday while exploring inside and around Lijiang...- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Rest of the Chinese Snake Story
I had climbed up and down the spires of Zhangjiajie twice, which is twice more than my legs wanted to go.

I foolishly went up one of the spires at sunset trying to get a photo.  I got to the top, and there was no good sunset.  It was still awesome and everything -- just no sunset photo.  And getting up is not easy.  There are little stairs caved into the sides of the mountain that spiral up and through inlaid cave systems.  There is occasional ducking and a lot of worry about slippery bits.

So the time had come to descend.  It was dark. Bear-den dark.  I had a little light on my camera strap (not really a full-on flashlight like I should have had).  I kept it on as I walked back.  It was about a four kilometer back through these spires alone.  I never saw another human, and I didn't expect to see anything -- until I almost stepped on this snake ...

- Trey Ratcliff

Read the rest of the snake story here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Boy and Grandfather at Tiananmen Square
I was walking through Tiananmen on a white-out cloud day taking photos of people. I had on my earphones and was kind of drifting in and among the crowd. It's a bit like being in a movie when you do this... anyway, I'm sure you've heard me mention it before, so I won't go into details.  It's often a very nice way to make things timeless... to separate people and objects from their place and time.

These two were on the ground wrestling and having fun.  I squatted about 15 feet away to take a photo, and they were most delighted!

- Trey Ratcliff

From the blog post at www.stuckincustoms.com.
Shopping in Beijing
Megamalls are everywhere here.  And many of them are as beautiful and ornate as this one.  In some ways, i think it is kind of cool that everything is ultra-modern and slick... in other ways, it's not because it feels like I am back in Dallas or something... know what I mean?

Who knows... the Chinese people seem to love it... who am I to say....

- Trey Ratcliff

Read more here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Cyborg Fabrication Plant
This comes from a cool area of Beijing in the CBD.  It's not really where they make cyborgs in China.  I don't know where that place is...

- Trey Ratcliff

Read more here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Boats on Lamma Island
I don't think many people leave Hong Kong to come visit Lamma Island, but it is a nice jaunt.  There is a nice hiking path around the island and it ends at this little harbor.  There's lots of food and the reflections around sunset are a treat.

- Trey Ratcliff

Read the entire entry here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Tiny Tea House
Once it got to be quite dark outside, I was dog-tired, so I retreated back into this little tea house to relax.  There were so many ornate details and nic-nacs everywhere... It was very nice to zen-out, eat tea and snacks, and just sort of look around at all the little nooks and crannies.  After about half an hour, I had regained my wits and decided to set up for this quick shot to share it with you.

- Trey Ratcliff

Read more here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Adorable Chinese Girl  
So, maybe the full title of this photo should be what I realized after I took the photo: "Adorable Chinese Girl OMG I Think She's About To Pee On The Street".   But she didn't.  She was just in that position.  And her pants are kinda funky.  Or maybe those are leg-warmers or something.  I don't know... it's all confusing.  Her mom was right by her, sitting on a set and eating rice.  She smiled at me, and was very excited when I was taking a photo.  Or maybe she was laughing because she thought it was funny I was trying to take a photo while her daughter was about to go to the bathroom.  I really can't say!

But I did see lots of kids go to the bathroom in the street, on sidewalks, and this sort of thing.  Not all the time, mind you, but they would just drop their business right there in the middle of a busy sidewalk.  

- Trey Ratcliff

Read more here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Towering Rice Field
Once again back in Zhangjiajie.  These spires are murder to walk up and down.  I thought I was in reasonably good shape, but these things will suck the life out of you!

At the top of one of them, there is this lonely rice field just on the edge of a 1000+ foot drop.  The whole place is beautiful, old, and beyond belief.

- Trey Ratcliff

Read the rest of this entry, which includes a story about how I got into China to take some of these shots, here at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The Towering Rice Field


Once again back in Zhangjiajie. These spires are murder to walk up and down. I thought I was in reasonably good shape, but these things will suck the life out of you!

At the top of one of them, there is this lonely rice field just on the edge of a 1000+ foot drop. The whole place is beautiful, old, and beyond belief.

- Trey Ratcliff

Read the rest of this entry, which includes a story about how I got into China to take some of these shots, here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
here at the Stuck in Customs blog." href="javascript:openLB(1414253220,'',XLarge,'',672,768);">The Towering Rice Field
Once again back in Zhangjiajie.  These spires are murder to walk up and down.  I thought I was in reasonably good shape, but these things will suck the life out of you!

At the top of one of them, there is this lonely rice field just on the edge of a 1000+ foot drop.  The whole place is beautiful, old, and beyond belief.

- Trey Ratcliff

Read the rest of this entry, which includes a story about how I got into China to take some of these shots, here at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The Towering Rice Field


Once again back in Zhangjiajie. These spires are murder to walk up and down. I thought I was in reasonably good shape, but these things will suck the life out of you!

At the top of one of them, there is this lonely rice field just on the edge of a 1000+ foot drop. The whole place is beautiful, old, and beyond belief.

- Trey Ratcliff

Read the rest of this entry, which includes a story about how I got into China to take some of these shots, here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
See photo in original gallery.