Stuck In Customs

This is the Perito Moreno Glacier that empties into Lago Argentina. It was simply awesome to be there, as you can plainly see.

I was there with a bunch of Russians who had brought an insane amount of cognac. Between shots, they would all drink cognac, yell, and try to bring down the next ice wall. We were the only ones there, and we stayed until the last moments of dark to eek out every last bit of light from the sky.

Also, I wanted to point you to an article over at Abduzeedo yesterday about the new book. It was written by good man Paulo Canabarro (his Twitter account here). You can also follow @Abduzeedo if you are looking for another good set of Tweets. I notice that people that complain about Twitter always have the same sort of complaints: “I don’t want to know when everyone is standing in line at Starbucks!” Well, then, I say, you are following the wrong people! Once you get 50-100+ people to follow, it becomes a nice source for information, fun, and inspiration. It might take a while to build your personalized list, but then you will be hooked. (I am @TreyRatcliff, in case ya didn’t know).

This was my driver in Siem Reap, Cambodia. He’s a heck of a nice guy. We had a growing retinue as the weekend wore on, and he was always there to help out! First it started out with just my guide, Ratanak (who recently set up his own Cambodia Tour Guide site here – I recommend him!), and then we added one monk and then another. By the end, we had five us piled into his car and we were having a great time.

He was there every morning at 4:30 AM to pick me up for first light and there every night until sunset. We kind of bonded because of the one-eye thing… (I also only see from one eye). I asked about it and he said it happened when he was a young boy. It’s been gradual, but he has gotten used to it; He seemed to be at as much ease as the monks in the backseat with me. Below are a few of the places he took me… thanks again mate!

This is a classic motel here in Austin.  It’s on South Congress, and one of many examples of unique neon in the city.  It looks positively phallic (if that wasn’t in your head, it was now, excuse the pun) and you just can’t miss it when you’re driving down the street.

There is a long and rich history, starting even before when it became a hotel in 1938.  One thing I remember as a kid (and still hear now from the backseat), is that my primary feature in any Texas motel was a swimming pool.  I understand they still have a kidney-shaped one out back.

As you can tell, I’ve been working my way around Austin, doing my best to grab some of the classic spots.  It takes a lot of time, because the conditions aren’t always perfect.  I like the sky and everything to be just about right…  but, sometime by the end of the year, I should have the major spots of interest captured!

The triceratops definitely falls into one of those “Top 5” dinosaurs of my youth. Now there are so many, I hardly know where to begin. I go through my son’s dinosaur books and I am shocked at how many different names there are. I can’t keep track of all that. Plus, the names are kinda rough. Each one seems to have over seven syllables.

This was shot at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman. It’s one of the top dinosaur museums in the world and the curator is Jack Horner. I was lucky enough to get a personal tour through it with Jack… he showed me all kinda of secret stuff throughout. Awesome! I have another friend up there named Dr. David Sands who actually found one of the triceratops that is in the museum. I can’t imagine finding something that big… If I did, I think I’d tell everyone I know the first time I met them. Hi, I’m Trey, I found a Triceratops!

I also made a new page here on the site in tribute of my favorite photographer, Edward Curtis. I mentioned him in a recent interview and it occurred to me people may not know who he is! So, I put together a grouping of some of my favorite photos of his. Be sure you read the bit about his ex-wife.

This is probably one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. I knew it was going to be pretty beforehand, but I wasn’t really prepared for the non-stop grandeur of the landscapes. We chose the perfect time to go, right in the middle of Autumn. The backpacking took about twice as long as expected. I couldn’t stop myself from holding up every few minutes to set up for another photo. It was irresistible!

In other news, I’ve cleaned up and updated the “About Me” page here on the site. That thing gets longer and longer… I’m sure it looks like I’m some kind of egomaniac! Hehe… but people keep asking me the same sorts of questions over and over, so it’s kind of grown organically over time. Plus, my publisher was asking for a photo for the back cover of the book. We’re leaning towards that first one… they kind of like the little story that was related to it (which, in turn, is related to this photo!).

I’ve always thought the Dale Chihuly glass sculptures are some of the coolest things in the world. I’d love to learn how to blow glass. It always looks dangerous and exotic. I remember when I got my HDTV a few years ago, one of the first shows I saw was when Chihuly was doing this exhibit in Venice. He spent some time in Murano, which is near Venice and a famous place for glass blowing. They made these amazing sculptures then hung them all over Venice. I wish I could have gone there to take photographs of the event!

In other news, I was interviewed yesterday by an extremely nice guy named Victor Cajiao who hosts a podcast called “Typical Shutterbug“. Click there and you can hear my interview. We talk a little about the upcoming book, HDR, do’s and don’t, and this sort of thing. If you enjoyed the show, leave him a comment there — I’m sure he’d appreciate it!

Hey y’all. I’m sure i don’t say this near enough – but thank YOU very much. I simply can’t believe the Flickr photos have been viewed over 20 million times. It’s just staggering, and I can’t thank you enough. I appreciate each and every view, each and every comment, and every email I get a chance to read. I apologize for not being able to attend to everyone’s needs and questions — I do my best while trying to keep a balance on everything else in my life.

I know many of you have enjoyed the HDR Tutorial – that is great. I’ll continue to update that in coming months, as always. I want to keep it fresh for everyone. As always, that free as a bird. I may make a video of that in the future… stay tuned to the “Videos” page on the website for that.

And thanks again for the good feedback on the new Stuck In Customs Textures Tutorial that launched yesterday. I’m really glad you like it… putting that thing together was not easy, but I wanted to try to find a way to encapsulate a lot of experience into about two hours of video.

Now, all of these Flickr Views put me in a mind to put up some of the top photos. Here is a selection of a few of the top ones that have gotten over 100,000 views each. I guess that means they’re generally well-liked!

For the full scoop and to purchase, visit the Stuck In Customs Textures Tutorial Page now!

The first one that came out about 18 months ago did really well. Since then, I’ve learned all kinds of new tricks and put them all into this new one. Also, since I am talking non-stop for about an hour and a half in the video, you get a pretty good view into my thought process around how I create these sorts of images. It’s a ton of fun… I think you’ll enjoy it a lot!

If you liked the Textures Tutorial, consider joining our new Affiliate Program.

Here is a little sneak-preview video!

What is included?

• A 90+ minute video that shows all my latest techniques for using textures
• Thorough examples from beginning to the end of seven example photos including landscapes and portraits
• 25-150 hi-res exotic and unique textures, depending upon the package you choose
• Two bonus videos that show bonus techniques for two more photos (with the Ultimate package)
• Countless tricks and techniques that will help your photos be unique and stand out
• A 100% money back guarantee if you are not satisfied

The visions of a farm bracing against a Montana storm had come true that afternoon. I’m sure the last thing I was supposed to be doing was taking a photo of the swirling maelstrom, but I couldn’t help it. What else are you going to do with a good tripod and a nice Nikon? I don’t carry around this stuff so I can go inside when dire and picturesque events are about!

Thanks again for all the nice feedback on the recent Newsletter (note, if you subscribe now for free, you get links to the previous release). So far, it’s been opened by 157.2% of the people on the list! I think this is because people are forwarding it around to their friends and family… that’s cool – thanks! I get all these stats from this cool newsletter software that manages all that stuff for me called AWeber. If you need to do a newsletter for your group, church, school, or whatever, I highly recommend it.

We are getting ever-closer to the release of the new Stuck In Customs Textures tutorial. The video is now over 90-minutes long and it’s full of all sorts of examples and new techniques that I’ve figured out over the past few years. I’ll go ahead and post the results of one of the finished products. I recorded video live of all these things… didn’t know how they would turn out before I started. I kept it live and voiced aloud my “thinking process” around accomplishing these images.

Everyone who has bought a previous Textures Tutorial will get a coupon for either the same level of product or an upgrade to a new “Ultimate Package”. The coupons will be very fair because we want to take care of all previous buyers.

This shot below is another from the outdoor crypt area of Buenos Aires called La Ricoleta. The airlines lost my bags, so I did not have my tripod! I had to walk around this awesome place without a tripod. So I had to do everything I could to wedge myself against statues and scary-spikey-gargoyles to try to stay stable.