The Night of the Aurora I think these happen a lot down here in New Zealand! I’m hardly an expert though… I’m very last-minute about all these things and only know about them once they start happening. Some people are real aurora experts and track them like storms. There are websites, apps, and all sorts of things. I gotta get my act together so I can plan for these events better. I was having so much fun with the landscape orientation… but then I decided to go vertical for a few shots, and I am glad I did! When I show people these photos without any explanation, they never ever ask me what that yellow-green light is in the lower part. I don’t know if they just assume it is the aurora, or maybe they think it is light from a city, or maybe they think I added it in post. I just don’t know… but I do like to see people’s reactions, especially when they are confused. I don’t know why I enjoy confusing people with these sorts of photos, but it is just kinda fun. I think it is fun because I am also confused by how this kind of light can even be possible!  - Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Gardens of Queenstown The class took a nice stroll through these gardens. I challenged people to try to get five different photos of this bridge, and this was one of mine.The actual shot I took was much bigger, but I decided to crop down in post to focus on the water. I liked the way they all looked like brush strokes. It made me begin to understand why Monet spent so much time trying to capture the strange light that comes from water and plants.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Skyline of Melbourne from Across the River Melbourne has one of the most “walkable” skylines I’ve seen. It runs all up and down the river and looks pretty from both sides. It also works out well because there is very little to obstruct your view. It’s the complete opposite, of, say, Bangkok, where getting a view across the river is next to impossible.I look forward to going back to Melbourne to walk along this river many more times!- 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.
Reflections in Yosemite I’m currently with Karen Hutton and many other people in New Zealand. One of my previous trips with Karen was to this very place! We jumped around mud bank after mud bank until we found a clean reflection. It was quite cold… I think we were both thinking of getting back inside for something warm to drink!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Enjoying the Melbourne Skyline Here’s another photo from our amazing Melbourne photowalk. I really enjoyed walking up and down this area along the river. It felt like one of the most “walkable” and scenic downtown areas I’ve ever encountered. It reminded me a little of Zurich in that way.I stayed over in The Olsen hotel, which is one of the “Art Series” hotels… a very cool idea where the entire hotel is themed after a certain artist. They have a few different hotels, and next time I might try to stay a little closer in by the location where I took this shot.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Jane Fondle, the Light Dancer in Melbourne After hour THREE of the mega-photowalk, we came across this gal. She said her name was “Jane Fondle,” which I thought was kind of strange. And I thought it was even more strange when she gave me a brochure and it said that she does live performances in front of children so they stay in shape. Jane Fondle! hehe…Anyway, this was a tough shot… as you can probably tell… getting HDR with movement is especially tricky — and double-tricky when playing with light trails!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Southern Lights in New Zealand I’m busy getting everything ready for the upcoming one-day event in Christchurch. I have a few surprises in mind, but they take a bit of preparation!I know that there will be many skill levels that I need to work with, and that’s okay. I think we’ll start really slow, then start moving faster and faster. Even when it gets a bit complex, I still think it will be interesting to new people!As for this photo, I took it during the amazing light show from the Aurora Australis down here on the south island of New Zealand.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The Night of the Aurora


I think these happen a lot down here in New Zealand! I’m hardly an expert though… I’m very last-minute about all these things and only know about them once they start happening. Some people are real aurora experts and track them like storms. There are websites, apps, and all sorts of things. I gotta get my act together so I can plan for these events better.

I was having so much fun with the landscape orientation… but then I decided to go vertical for a few shots, and I am glad I did!

When I show people these photos without any explanation, they never ever ask me what that yellow-green light is in the lower part. I don’t know if they just assume it is the aurora, or maybe they think it is light from a city, or maybe they think I added it in post. I just don’t know… but I do like to see people’s reactions, especially when they are confused. I don’t know why I enjoy confusing people with these sorts of photos, but it is just kinda fun. I think it is fun because I am also confused by how this kind of light can even be possible!

- 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(2495530362,'',XLarge,'',513,768);">The Night of the Aurora I think these happen a lot down here in New Zealand! I’m hardly an expert though… I’m very last-minute about all these things and only know about them once they start happening. Some people are real aurora experts and track them like storms. There are websites, apps, and all sorts of things. I gotta get my act together so I can plan for these events better. I was having so much fun with the landscape orientation… but then I decided to go vertical for a few shots, and I am glad I did! When I show people these photos without any explanation, they never ever ask me what that yellow-green light is in the lower part. I don’t know if they just assume it is the aurora, or maybe they think it is light from a city, or maybe they think I added it in post. I just don’t know… but I do like to see people’s reactions, especially when they are confused. I don’t know why I enjoy confusing people with these sorts of photos, but it is just kinda fun. I think it is fun because I am also confused by how this kind of light can even be possible!  - Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The Night of the Aurora


I think these happen a lot down here in New Zealand! I’m hardly an expert though… I’m very last-minute about all these things and only know about them once they start happening. Some people are real aurora experts and track them like storms. There are websites, apps, and all sorts of things. I gotta get my act together so I can plan for these events better.

I was having so much fun with the landscape orientation… but then I decided to go vertical for a few shots, and I am glad I did!

When I show people these photos without any explanation, they never ever ask me what that yellow-green light is in the lower part. I don’t know if they just assume it is the aurora, or maybe they think it is light from a city, or maybe they think I added it in post. I just don’t know… but I do like to see people’s reactions, especially when they are confused. I don’t know why I enjoy confusing people with these sorts of photos, but it is just kinda fun. I think it is fun because I am also confused by how this kind of light can even be possible!

- Trey Ratcliff

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