Will Scown, Author at Stuck in Customs

Stuck In Customs

My daily travel blog to inspire and get you motivated!

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5
Jan 2019 : Saturday
See More Photos of:  China, Guilin, Sony A7R

Fishing in Guilin

Categories here on the site

Don’t forget you can click on the “China” category here in the post to see all of my photos from China… I probably have over 100 here on the site, so don’t be afraid to scroll down and click NEXT to see another page full of travel goodness!

Becoming an Artist, Episode 1!

Hey, I’ve decided to start releasing this great season for free on YouTube. I actually premiere them every Monday at 1600 PST / 1900 EST. Be sure to Subscribe to my YouTube Channel and Click the Little Bell then you can be sure to see them all first.

Anyway, let’s get started with Episode 1! (And be sure to set a reminder for the next episode here.)

Daily Photo – Fishing in Guilin

This picture is all kinds of fake, and I’m not 100% happy with myself for taking it! You know, most photographers won’t tell you this, but I will. These are not even fishermen, really. I mean, they definitely know how to fish, but they make more money now by being photo-models than fishing… so… why fish? Lots of photographers go down there to get this kind of shot, and I’m not usually one to do the same thing as every other photographer. It just doesn’t seem that original. But, I figured, hey, if I’m gonna do it, let’s see if I can make something unique in my own style. So, in that way, I’m pretty happy with the shot.

Fishing in Guilin

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-06-04 00:51:47
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/6
  • Aperture
  • ISO1000
  • Focal Length
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

4
Jan 2019 : Friday
See More Photos of:  Africa, People, Sony NEX-7

Bel in the Middle

The New Critique Show!

Well, here’s yet another experiment in fun! I have a goofy and funny neighbor here in New Zealand who is a photographer. We decided to try out a new concept for a critique show. Here’s episode 1! Tell us what ya think! 🙂

Daily Photo – Bel in the Middle

Man, these guys loved Bel. They really loved her hair. The couldn’t stop touching it and she was just giggling in her silly way. All in all, we spent about half a day in this little village. You’ll see the whole thing in an upcoming episode that we are premiering on YouTube from Africa.

Bel in the Middle

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-09-27 02:10:15
  • CameraILCE-7S
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/8000
  • Aperture
  • ISO320
  • Focal Length
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

3
Jan 2019 : Thursday
See More Photos of:  Africa, Sony A6000, Travel

Having a Snack in Africa

Join us in Africa!

I think we have two slots left for our Africa Photo Adventure! Come join me! 🙂

Daily Photo – Having a Snack in Africa

If I could be any animal in Africa, I think I’d like to be an elephant or a leopard. I think being an elephant would be fun because you can just kind of roam around, eat all day, hang out with your family and buddies, and contemplate life. Yeah, you have to watch out for the occasional poacher that wants to grind your tusks into a homeopathic medicine for superstitious Chinese people, but that’s more of an existential threat. The other option would be to be a leopard, like this one. You kind of rest all day, and then when you get hungry, you run 100mph and catch a warthog snack, then rest again, eating your warthog s’more on a tree.

Having a Snack in Africa

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-10-03 23:54:02
  • CameraILCE-6000
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/1250
  • Aperture4
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length200.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

2
Jan 2019 : Wednesday
See More Photos of:  Arrowtown, Burning Man, Music, New Zealand, Otago, Queenstown, Sony NEX-7, Spotify

Crossing the Range

Spotify Playlist Fun

Here is a new playlist of mine on Spotify for you to enjoy. It’s made up of songs that I listen to on a lazy, relaxing afternoon at Burning Man.

Daily Photo – Crossing the Range

There is a beautiful road that connects Wanaka and Queenstown that is locally known as the Crown Range. It’s the highest highway in all of New Zealand as it crosses the Southern Alps. There are plenty of places to pull off the side of the road and get a view of the valley down below. I live down in there somewhere… kinda over on the right side of the photo.

Crossing the Range

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2013-10-31 07:19:47
  • CameraNEX-7
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time0.3
  • Aperture16
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length10.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias+1

1
Jan 2019 : Tuesday
See More Photos of:  Antarctica, Sony A7R

Sleeping in an Ice Cave

Passport Goodies

If you’re a Passport Member then you’ve seen about half a dozen of my videos from Antarctica. Here is a link to all the Passport videos published over the past few years and you’ll find them in there!

Daily Photo – Sleeping in an Ice Cave

On my first day in Antarctica, I was shipped off to survival training. This was a great idea, because I’m not much of a survivalist and I could do with a bit of training. We spent most of the day building an ice-block kitchen to protect fro the wind so we could cook some food, set up some blizzard-proof tents, and digging out an ice-cave to sleep in. Now, I didn’t dig out most of this cave, but I definitely got down inside to enjoy its benefits. By the way, in the winter it never gets dark there, so this is what it looks like around midnight.

Sleeping in an Ice Cave

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2015-01-08 10:16:05
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/1600
  • Aperture4
  • ISO50
  • Focal Length16.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias+0.7

31
Dec 2018 : Monday
See More Photos of:  Hasselblad H5D, Italy, Travel, Venice

Carnivale Fun in Venice

Cliff Baise Paintings

My friend Cliff has started really getting into painting. Check out his latest Venice-related creation!

Daily Photo – Carnival Fun in Venice

Here’s one of about 1,000 photos I took of the awesome costumes in Venice during Carnivale. I highly recommend going to Venice at this time of year if you are interested in taking photos of people but kind of shy. Every one of them loves having their photos taken. And, it’s totally free. I was afraid they would charge money or something… but they do it for the fun of it. I sometimes wonder what kind of people they are. My guess is they, themselves, are secretly very shy, and this is their one chance to safely be extroverted and the center of attention.

Carnival Fun in Venice

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2016-02-09 17:02:27
  • CameraH5D
  • Camera MakeHasselblad
  • Exposure Time1/125
  • Aperture2.8
  • ISO400
  • Focal Length100.0 mm
  • Flash
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

29
Dec 2018 : Saturday
See More Photos of:  Italy, Leica Q, Venice

Rene in Venice

Speaking of Workshops

Come and visit our workshops page to see what’s on tap! In this video below, you’ll see this Wayne Norrie guy that I mention… he’s the first one to speak in the video. What an eloquent dude!

Daily Photo – Rene in Venice

Here’s my bestie Rene in true form. We were in Venice for my workshop during Carnivale, so we all got dressed up and had a fancy dinner. It was completely ridiculous, especially with Wayne Norrie at our table. We’ve never laughed so hard. He said some of the craziest things that I would be nuts to repeat! You can see here how Rene made a short attempt at a rueful rebuttal, but then how was immediately ransacked with a hilarious laugh to which there was no defense.

Rene in Venice

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2016-02-07 13:55:45
  • CameraLEICA Q (Typ 116)
  • Camera MakeLeica
  • Exposure Time1/60
  • Aperture1.7
  • ISO2500
  • Focal Length28.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

28
Dec 2018 : Friday
See More Photos of:  Istanbul, Sony A7R 2, Turkey

A Remastering of the Hagia Sofia

Looking at things in a new way

I have learned a lot of this through meditation and just noticing and accepting the world as it is.

Anyway, when I walked into the Hagia Sofia here in Istanbul, I was a little disappointed by the scaffolding. I wanted to experience this place 100% perfect, but, if you think about it, not many places (or people) are. So then I started thinking of ways to make the scaffolding an integral part of the artistic structure of the photo, and I came up with this. I think it’s more interesting than if it was totally clear. I could have done some Photoshop tricks (quite easily) where I flip around the top part of the photo and mask through so there is perfect symmetry, but I really like this better.

Daily Photo – A Remastering of the Hagia Sofia

I was working on a large format book, and this photo will probably go inside. When I started looking at my previous edit, I saw all sorts of mistakes. I thought, hey, those will be easy to fix. They weren’t. I probably spent a good four hours on the clean-up of this bad boy.

A Remastering of the Hagia Sofia

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2016-10-03 19:07:42
  • CameraILCE-7RM2
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time0.6
  • Aperture7.1
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length11.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-1

27
Dec 2018 : Thursday
See More Photos of:  Argentina, Camera Gear, Chile, Nikon D3X, Patagonia

A Snowy Walk in Patagonia

What’s in Trey’s Bag Video

See everything on my kit.com page and here are some highlights in a new video!

Daily Photo – A Snowy Walk in Patagonia

I took a long hike one morning here on the edge of Chile. It was quite a vertical ascent too, and I did it without any water, hoping I would find some freshwater lakes along the way. Luckily enough, I came across this one where I filled up my bottle with some of the freshest water I’ve ever tasted.

A Snowy Walk in Patagonia

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2009-03-31 06:30:34
  • CameraNIKON D3X
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time1/15
  • Aperture22
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length14.0 mm
  • FlashNo Flash
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

26
Dec 2018 : Wednesday
See More Photos of:  Japan, Kyoto, Nikon D3X, Travel

Wandering in Kyoto

Japan Highlight Video

Here is a copy of our Japanese highlight video from early in the year – enjoy!

Daily Photo – Wandering in Kyoto

I don’t think I would ever get tired of wandering around streets in Japan. I can’t quite figure out my fascination with it. I’ve really tried to analyze why it is so appealing. I find them all to be organically pleasing on an aesthetic level for one. Also, I like seeing all the little restaurants and funky sake bars, knowing I could just walk into any one of them, any time, sit down and have a rest while putting amazing stuff in my mouth part.

Wandering in Kyoto

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2009-09-28 08:21:36
  • CameraNIKON D3X
  • Camera MakeNikon
  • Exposure Time1
  • Aperture8
  • ISO200
  • Focal Length24.0 mm
  • FlashNo Flash
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias