Lonely Tree in WanakaThis is one of three tree photos I will publish over the coming weeks. You may remember a previous one where the bottom of the trunk was on fire… that one DID have a bit of Photoshop… We’ll also go over that one in the class.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the entire post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Mountains at Lake Wanaka Now that I am getting a bit more settled in New Zealand, I’ve begun to make a few short road trips. We haven’t found a house for sure, but we are getting pretty serious in that hunt! It’s a fun process, and we have many good candidates to choose from. Once the whole family gets settled, it will make everything a bit easier with the photography!A few days ago, we took a mini-road trip to Lake Wanaka. It’s only about 2 hours away, and the mountains are pretty crazy. This day was extremely windy, so it took all of my manly weight to hold down the tripod when I took a short mini-hike to get this shot…- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the entire post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Sunset in Virgin Gorda I’m having a great time in Virgin Gorda! I took this a few nights ago while waiting on the Supermoon! I was here on the rocky coast (Savannah Beach) all alone when I took this photo, and I had an idea for a photo plus processing… it turned out to be much more painstaking than I originally thought, but I learned a few things along the way… the light and the motion of the water was so… intoxicating… that I wanted to bring it back to life here for you all…- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Mountains Forever During the Yosemite PhotoWalk, the sky was beyond belief for the first few nights.  The second half of the trip had fairly mundane skies.  So, I was happy I went out there and got a lot of shots in the beginning!I’m often optimistic about the “future” of the trip, assuming that the sunsets will always get better and better.  This rarely is the case, so I don’t know why I’m consistently optimistic about the prospects.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Walking Through Paris Sometimes things on the map look really close together... and then you start walking and get about 25% of the way there and you become quite shocked at how far it actually is.  This feeling can be a little defeating, until you realize of course that you are in a beautiful city like Paris and there is fabulous stuff all around you.  And then, you remember you are a photographer with a ridiculously easy job, and everything comes right back in perspective.And, speaking of that, believe me... I am super-grateful for this strange life I have.  I never take anything for granted, and I get excited like a little kid on all these trips... love getting on planes... love the adventure... all of this sort of stuff.  I know a lot of jaded people out there that do this stuff, and I just don't understand them.- Trey RatcliffRead more here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Unknown Land After a while, my boat driver thought I was insane.  We started before the sunrise and kept going, and going, and going, and going... he kept giving me the international head movement for "we really should be returning for a spot of tea," but I kept motioning him further up the river.To me, the river got most interesting when we saw no more people, except for the occasional fisherman that still had remote hut for his family along the river.  I had plenty of battery power, amazing music on my iPod, a full array of snacks, a ton of drinks, and nothing to do for the rest of the day and night... so I was perfectly content just going until our gas tank reached 50%.  And that took a long time... and who would want to stop with views like this around every other turn?- Trey RatcliffRead more, including some exciting news about our YouTube channel, here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Morning Fisherman Now, getting to this place was not easy!I arrived about 1 AM at a tiny family-run inn by the river.  I was meeting a local guide at 5 AM, so I didn't get a lot of what I would call "quality sleep".  Anyway, I got up very early and went downstairs in pitch black.  There seemed to be a big white cloth box I had to go around to find the front door.  My guide was outside.  The door was locked and we could not figure out how to get it open.  Everyone at the little inn was sound asleep and I was totally confused.  Then, from inside the big white box, a body flew out of it!  There was a 60-year-old Chinese guy inside that was sleeping until I woke him up with all my lock-manipulations.  His naked limbs in the white sheets scared the bejeezus out of me and woke me right up!And then we were on the river about 5:15.  It was still completely dark outside.  And I mean COMPLETELY DARK.  It was a thin bamboo raft with an outboard motor.I turned around to ask my guide, "How the heck does the boat driver know where he is going?!?"He calmly said, "Oh, no worry.  The river is very wide."I not-calmly said, "Well, that's great and everything, but I can't even see the edge to the river!"He calmly said, "But it is so wide."This line of questioning was not getting me anywhere, so I just decided to sit back and enjoy my possible last moments on Earth.  Then the sun started to rise, and we moved the boat over to the best bank for the angle.Want to hear something amazing about these fishermen?  You won't believe it... but maybe others can confirm this! The fishermen use these two trained cormorant birds that have their throats tied.  The birds dive into the water, eat a fish, but then can't swallow it because of the rope.  The fisherman rudely pulls the fish from the bird's throat and drops it into that basket behind him.  The bird then goes over to a tiny keyboard and sends out the tweet, "WTF".- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
The Mighty Temple I can't wait to get back to India for more photography.  I shot nonstop while I was there, but I feel like I did not take enough!  As you may know, I process these images out-of-order, and I still have plenty to go through, but the pile is thinning with each ensuing week!This is a beautiful and huge temple in Agra, India.  I was there in the morning, barefoot, and it was quite cool and arid.  I felt a little strange running around a temple, barefooted, holding my giant camera... but it was really fun!  These wonderful old temples have countless angles and compositions of interest.  I did my best from this vantage to capture the grandeur of the fort.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Meandering in the French Streets After Dark I don't sleep much, even when I am home.  I get a good 5-6 hours of sleep a night; but when I travel, I'm so charged up I get less.  These foreign city streets seem to have a romantic sense about them, so that impedes even more on my sleep since there are so many great places to shoot.This perfect little European medieval street was in Lyon, if I am not mistaken.  Sometimes I forget here in my old age.  There's a 10% chance it is in Paris. There's a long path from click to final image and my memory fades betwixt.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

Meandering in the French Streets After Dark


I don't sleep much, even when I am home. I get a good 5-6 hours of sleep a night; but when I travel, I'm so charged up I get less. These foreign city streets seem to have a romantic sense about them, so that impedes even more on my sleep since there are so many great places to shoot.

This perfect little European medieval street was in Lyon, if I am not mistaken. Sometimes I forget here in my old age. There's a 10% chance it is in Paris. There's a long path from click to final image and my memory fades betwixt.

- 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(742624623,'',XLarge,'',961,768);">Meandering in the French Streets After Dark I don't sleep much, even when I am home.  I get a good 5-6 hours of sleep a night; but when I travel, I'm so charged up I get less.  These foreign city streets seem to have a romantic sense about them, so that impedes even more on my sleep since there are so many great places to shoot.This perfect little European medieval street was in Lyon, if I am not mistaken.  Sometimes I forget here in my old age.  There's a 10% chance it is in Paris. There's a long path from click to final image and my memory fades betwixt.- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

Meandering in the French Streets After Dark


I don't sleep much, even when I am home. I get a good 5-6 hours of sleep a night; but when I travel, I'm so charged up I get less. These foreign city streets seem to have a romantic sense about them, so that impedes even more on my sleep since there are so many great places to shoot.

This perfect little European medieval street was in Lyon, if I am not mistaken. Sometimes I forget here in my old age. There's a 10% chance it is in Paris. There's a long path from click to final image and my memory fades betwixt.

- Trey Ratcliff

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