The Pool at the Traders in Kuala Lumpur This is an open-air area atop a beautiful hotel in KL. There’s an awesome pool and a trendy bar where you can have drinks and watch all sorts of sylph-like Euros make sinuous music-video-like moves in and out of the pool. This top level up here is a “spa” area with doors that lead of into little massage rooms, where, no doubt, other Euro sylph-like maneuvers are going on.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Flying Through the Night Skies of Kuala Lumpur My grandmother told me that Kuala Lumpur was one of my grandfather's favorite cities.  I wonder what he would think of it now... but I know what he means - it's also one of my favorite cities!  I have many friends there, and people are generally as friendly as can be.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Purple Sunset in Indonesia I promised that I would continue my story about the dead body in Indonesia, so here it is.  It doesn't really go with a pretty sunset, but, well, here we go.  It's short and not too spectacular, so don't get your hopes up for a good old-fashioned dead-body story.While walking through downtown Jogjakarta with Will the crowds were thick.  There were thousands of Indonesians walking around through busy downtown streets.  It was an area without cars, but hundreds of bikes and carts darted in and out of the traffic.  It was not really a commercial district, but it was somewhat third-world in the types of little shack-like stores that fringed the edges.  Food carts rolled around selling hot, steaming mysterious meat-mashes and small ziplocks of coconut juice hung from poles, ready for sale.After walking through a bit, we approached a curb where we saw some poor soul splayed out across the concrete.  I've seen thousands of homeless / passed out / drunk / unfortunates splayed out in the street before, but this was different.  This guy was dead.  You can just tell.  People walked around him and certainly regarded him as an empty shell.  People would kind of step on or trip on bits here or there.  I passed by his legs and didn't quite know what to do.  There was no one stopping to help, and I didn't really want to get involved, since I don't speak the language and didn't want to get carted off for questioning/shakedown.So I passed by and Will said, "Do you think that guy was dead?"  I nodded and we got the hell outta there. Read more here at stuckincustoms.com.
The Lotus Sunrise These delicate shapes are seen on a variety of temples all over southeast Asia, India, and other parts of the Far East.  It is the shape of a Lotus Blossom, a timeless symbol, and it is repeated over and over here at Angkor Wat.  The lotus represents the purity of body, speech, and mind.  Like the lotus, these should float above the muddy waters of attachment and desire.  The shot was taken around 5 or 6 AM in the morning.  While shooting, I was attended to by a small Cambodian girl that would bring me strong Vietnamese coffee whenever I ran out, which was often.  I don't know where she would go to get it -- she would disappear off into the jungle and come walking calmly back every 15 minutes or so, smiling. - Trey Ratcliff Read more, including some info on my upcoming London photowalk (and vote on some locations for shots!) here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Wrapping Around Time The ancient ruins of Angkor Wat are wild and unprotected.  I think the country just cannot afford to properly keep the sites maintained.  This is both good and bad.  It's good for me, since I can go anywhere, climb anywhere, and take photos of anything ...  - Trey Ratcliff The rest of this entry is available here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Under the Ancient Skies Sometimes, an HDR image of a cool place can come out a little boring, even in an interesting place such as this.  So, often times I will run the image through a black and white treatment (see my Silver Efex Pro Review).  That tool is a lot of fun and can help take a boring photo and make it more interesting.As I begin the processing, I sometimes discover a photo is more about shape, line, and contrast than it is about color, light, and saturation.  It's all still there, in all it's HDR glory, but the emphasis has had a bit of a correction.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
One Night in Bangkok I arrived into Thailand this weekend and have been in content-creation mode non stop.  I did take a chance back at the hotel to process this one picture I thought y'all would enjoy.(and yes that sun picture is real... it was burning through the bottom while still streaming light over the top).This picture is of Wat Arun, a famous Buddhist temple in Thailand.  I took it from a really cool little Italian restaurant across the way that is attached to a boutique hotel named "Arun Residence".  I will stay at this place next time - be sure to get the balcony room at the top if you come... it's just over $100 a night and is the best (and only) view of this temple in Bangkok.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Across the Line I found this guy in the Batu Caves just outside of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Batu Caves are enormous caverns that hold various Hindu temples and plenty of fruit for monkeys. This was shot after a quarter-mile spelunk through the cave and an emergence into a geological oddity – a shaft of sunlight shining downwards through an open chamber that had been carved through the limestone after centuries of rainfall.The day was bright and sunny, and the monkey sat alone in front of the inky blackness of the cave entrance. This was shot as a single RAW photo. It only had minor HDR adjustments, to get the texture in the wall and the details in his fur.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Veins of Bangkok If you want to see how I made this (and how you can too!), visit my HDR Tutorial. I hope it gives you some new tricks!I love getting up to the highest point in cities to get a nice perspective. I'm afraid I have forgotten the name of this place in Bangkok, but it's the tallest building there. I have a good memory; it just doesn't last very long.The top of many tall buildings have bars or restaurants where you can take photos. No one ever really seems to mind. One BIG problem though is the lights inside the bar. They bounce off the windows and create an awful reflection. I usually contact someone that works there and give them a tip to turn off all the lights for 5 minutes while I take the photo. I am sure to set everything up first, so I can get to snapping... especially since as soon as the lights go off, a mild amount of panic ensues from the patrons.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

Purple Sunset in Indonesia


I promised that I would continue my story about the dead body in Indonesia, so here it is. It doesn't really go with a pretty sunset, but, well, here we go. It's short and not too spectacular, so don't get your hopes up for a good old-fashioned dead-body story.

While walking through downtown Jogjakarta with Will the crowds were thick. There were thousands of Indonesians walking around through busy downtown streets. It was an area without cars, but hundreds of bikes and carts darted in and out of the traffic. It was not really a commercial district, but it was somewhat third-world in the types of little shack-like stores that fringed the edges. Food carts rolled around selling hot, steaming mysterious meat-mashes and small ziplocks of coconut juice hung from poles, ready for sale.

After walking through a bit, we approached a curb where we saw some poor soul splayed out across the concrete. I've seen thousands of homeless / passed out / drunk / unfortunates splayed out in the street before, but this was different. This guy was dead. You can just tell. People walked around him and certainly regarded him as an empty shell. People would kind of step on or trip on bits here or there. I passed by his legs and didn't quite know what to do. There was no one stopping to help, and I didn't really want to get involved, since I don't speak the language and didn't want to get carted off for questioning/shakedown.

So I passed by and Will said, "Do you think that guy was dead?" I nodded and we got the hell outta there.

Read more here at stuckincustoms.com.

Read more
here at stuckincustoms.com." href="javascript:openLB(976933324,'',XLarge,'',1024,680);">Purple Sunset in Indonesia I promised that I would continue my story about the dead body in Indonesia, so here it is.  It doesn't really go with a pretty sunset, but, well, here we go.  It's short and not too spectacular, so don't get your hopes up for a good old-fashioned dead-body story.While walking through downtown Jogjakarta with Will the crowds were thick.  There were thousands of Indonesians walking around through busy downtown streets.  It was an area without cars, but hundreds of bikes and carts darted in and out of the traffic.  It was not really a commercial district, but it was somewhat third-world in the types of little shack-like stores that fringed the edges.  Food carts rolled around selling hot, steaming mysterious meat-mashes and small ziplocks of coconut juice hung from poles, ready for sale.After walking through a bit, we approached a curb where we saw some poor soul splayed out across the concrete.  I've seen thousands of homeless / passed out / drunk / unfortunates splayed out in the street before, but this was different.  This guy was dead.  You can just tell.  People walked around him and certainly regarded him as an empty shell.  People would kind of step on or trip on bits here or there.  I passed by his legs and didn't quite know what to do.  There was no one stopping to help, and I didn't really want to get involved, since I don't speak the language and didn't want to get carted off for questioning/shakedown.So I passed by and Will said, "Do you think that guy was dead?"  I nodded and we got the hell outta there. Read more here at stuckincustoms.com.

Purple Sunset in Indonesia


I promised that I would continue my story about the dead body in Indonesia, so here it is. It doesn't really go with a pretty sunset, but, well, here we go. It's short and not too spectacular, so don't get your hopes up for a good old-fashioned dead-body story.

While walking through downtown Jogjakarta with Will the crowds were thick. There were thousands of Indonesians walking around through busy downtown streets. It was an area without cars, but hundreds of bikes and carts darted in and out of the traffic. It was not really a commercial district, but it was somewhat third-world in the types of little shack-like stores that fringed the edges. Food carts rolled around selling hot, steaming mysterious meat-mashes and small ziplocks of coconut juice hung from poles, ready for sale.

After walking through a bit, we approached a curb where we saw some poor soul splayed out across the concrete. I've seen thousands of homeless / passed out / drunk / unfortunates splayed out in the street before, but this was different. This guy was dead. You can just tell. People walked around him and certainly regarded him as an empty shell. People would kind of step on or trip on bits here or there. I passed by his legs and didn't quite know what to do. There was no one stopping to help, and I didn't really want to get involved, since I don't speak the language and didn't want to get carted off for questioning/shakedown.

So I passed by and Will said, "Do you think that guy was dead?" I nodded and we got the hell outta there.

Read more here at stuckincustoms.com.
See photo in original gallery.