Passport Sunday Fun!

Thanks again to all of you that have subscribed to the Stuck In Customs Passport! Today I’ve got some fun behind-the-scenes from a very interesting place in China. I’ll add a few of my favorite photos below… and if you’re a Passport member, you can see the video in the expanded section.

https://stuckincustoms.smugmug.com/Portfolio/i-GMJ6dBR

The China Galaxy

Here’s some behind-the-scenes from a rather unique area of Beijing that I always wanted to visit!

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Passport Sunday – China Wander!

If you’re a Passport Member then today you get to see me wandering all over Beijing to get these shots!

China Wander

Okay, this is maybe the dumbest video I’ve ever made. I don’t even know the purpose of it really! But maybe it’s so pointless and strange that it is interesting! I flipped on my 360 camera just to show random stuff in Beijing. I had a free day, so I just kind of wandered around with no goal. I was taking photos here and there… and, well, you just maybe can get a sense of what Beijing is like!

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Influencer Hats

Speaking of influencer hats (you’ll see one in today’s daily photo), I thought I would include a blurb from the new book I am writing. This is related to this “Influencer Kit” that Nicole S. Young told me about!

Oh, this book is not yet available… still adding the finishing touches.

If you’ve been wondering where to get one of those “influencer hats” or any of the typical tropes, well here’s just what you need. There’s a website at Tomorrowland that offers you all the props you need to take the perfect Instagram photo. The package includes Mohave fedora hat, an Aztec blanket, a set of fairy lights, and a kerosene lamp. I haven’t tested it, but I’m pretty sure that kerosene lamp is battery powered.

There are lots of reviews for these packages. One reviewer, who is “verified” named K***n gives this package five stars and says:
“I’ve been taking pictures for a while now but I just wanted to spice it up a little 🙂 So, I went ahead and bought this pack and I have to say it was one of the best purchases I’ve done towards my hobby. I love playing around with these props to get the best shots and now I can imitate some of my favorite creator’s shots too! I’m so happy. Thank you Tomorrowland!”

That’s some classic K***n right there!

Another review of this Wanderer pack shows how people have become fully immersed in the mass delusion. This one from E***e (also verified) says:
“I was skeptical of the pack at first but went ahead and took the leap. I have to say, it was one of the best decisions I’ve made. I love all four pack items. Definitely a boost to my Instagram game and now people look at me differently when I go out and shoot with these props. It’s like I’ve become a professional. I love it!”

I have to say that it sounds so serious, as if, perhaps, they really had to say it, otherwise it would remain unsaid.

Daily Photo – Laura Troy in Beijing at the Water Cube

Is that an influencer hat I see? Yes! And it’s being worn by Laura Troy, mother of dragons and influencers. I don’t normally feature influencers in my photos, but I decided to do this as an abstraction. We were there on tour with the Ritz-Carlton and spending the day around the Olympic park area. This is the famous “Water Cube” where all the aquatic events were held. I spent a long time here this evening, taking photos all over the place. I started to feel bad, though, because it was getting pretty cold outside. I run pretty hot, like a werewolf, so I never feel the cold. But Laura will get cold in a Starbucks that is 80 degrees, so she was really not in a good place. I eventually tore myself away from taking photos of these radical longboarders to get her back into a warm place! 🙂

Laura Troy in Beijing at the Water Cube

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-06-10 23:16:46
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/160
• Aperture4
• ISO200
• Focal Length16.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Beijing From Above

Below is one of my more popular videos clocking in at a good 1.6 million views! It’s one of my first quad videos. I see SO MANY problems with it. I’ve learned a lot since then… but, I suppose it has its moments.

Daily Photo – The Metal Underpants

I took this photo from a cool tapas restaurant where I had one of my favorite meals in Beijing. I wish I could remember the name to share it with you. I’m a terrible blogger because that’s exactly the kind of information that would be useful to you. I’m really more of a photographer than a blogger, so all my focus was on getting this photo at dusk.

The Metal Underpants

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-06-12 00:04:20
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time2.5
• Aperture4.5
• ISO100
• Focal Length26.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Galaxy Soho Complex, Beijing, China

This is an 18-story building (3 are underground) that only took about 30 months to finish, in typical Chinese style. It was designed by Zaha Hadid Architects in London. Ever since I first saw photos of it on the internet, I wanted to visit!

Daily Photo – Beautiful Shapes in Beijing

There’s something interesting about some of the buildings throughout China and here in Beijing, especially. They have some of the craziest and most interesting architecture in the world, and the vast majority of it comes from Western architects. The Chinese educational system has lacked an emphasis (in the past) on the creative arts, so there was a dearth of innovative architects for many generations. But some city planners decided to make statements by bringing in Western architects that were really able to experiment.

Beautiful Shapes in Beijing

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-06-11 21:55:48
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/800
• Aperture4
• ISO200
• Focal Length16.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Hot a7R Mark 3 Tip

I should not have gotten extra batteries for this a7R Mark 3! I was worried, I think because the batteries on the Mark 2 were so bad! The other thing I did not realize is that you can charge them in-camera using USB-C. That is perfect since I use USB-C on almost all my devices now. So, I haven’t taken the battery out of my camera in like 2 months! 🙂

Sony a7R Mark 3 Review

Don’t forget to check out my Sony A7R Mark 3 Review!

Daily Photo – Waiting for the Bus in Beijing

On my walk-around day in Beijing before I visited the Great Wall, I randomly walked around the city to visit areas I had never seen before. Beijing can honestly get a bit monotonous after a while, especially in the hot sun. But I still forced myself to move around with my camera because I knew I would eventually find something interesting.

Waiting for the Bus in Beijing

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-06-05 16:11:44
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/800
• Aperture4.5
• ISO100
• Focal Length69.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Upcoming Event in San Francisco!

I’ll be heading out to San Francisco tomorrow for about a week to attend this Burning Man Art Auction – The Artumnal! It should be a great event, and I have a few pieces in the auction. I think there are still some tickets available – see you there! All the money goes to Burning Man artists (none for me).

Daily Photo – Longboarding in Beijing

How cool is this gal? This picture doesn’t even illustrate how graceful she was. I guess I haven’t seen a lot of longboarding, but there is almost kind of a dance that takes place while they are rolling from place to place with an occasional stunt thrown in. There were probably over 100 longboarders out. In the background, you may notice the famous “Bird’s Nest” from the Olympic Games.

Longboarding in Beijing

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-06-10 23:44:23
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/200
• Aperture2.8
• ISO1000
• Focal Length16.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

A New Interview

Here’s a new article from Lightfoot Travel called “Around the World with Photographer Trey Ratcliff” that you might enjoy! 🙂

Getting A Little Deeper Into the Festival Presets…

… which are not just for festivals!

Daily Photo – More Selfies in China

Wow, they are selfie crazay there! They do it so often, I started to make a little sport of taking photos of Chinese girls taking selfies. No one ever seemed to mind. One of the best things about their selfie-taking is that they are very very slow and they stay in the same position for like five minutes. This gives me more than enough time to move around and try to get interesting shots like this one! Again, this isn’t a portfolio shot or anything… I think it’s just these little fun composition games that photographers play.

More Selfies in China

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-06-11 17:19:05
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/1250
• Aperture6.3
• ISO320
• Focal Length24.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

First Video form Beijing

Here’s one of my first quadcopter videos I ever made. I don’t really like the way I edited it, but, it’s okay. Anyway, it has over 1.6 million views, which isn’t so bad!

Daily Photo – Night time in Beijing at Olympic Park

I was really impressed by how there were thousands of people walking around at night at the Olympic Park in Beijing. The Olympics were there in 2008, right? Usually, Olympic areas are pretty much abandoned after. I think I heard the ones in Brazil are being taken over by drug gangs or something. Anyway, that’s not the case here. Everyone was walking around and very happy. I can’t figure out WHAT they were actually doing. They seemed to be in a random amble.

Night time in Beijing at Olympic Park

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-06-11 00:14:11
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/50
• Aperture2.8
• ISO1250
• Focal Length35.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Updated Gear Page

Pop over to my Kit page at Kit.com/TreyRatcliff to see all the latest goodies. I try to keep that refreshed every month or so with new stuff.

Wild Great Wall

Just right by where we slept, I got the quadcopter up nice and high so you can see how wild some parts of the Great Wall have become!

Daily Photo – Spending the Night Under the Stars on the Great Wall

This is the last picture I took of our little cozy tents before we drifted off to sleep. I didn’t end up getting a great night of sleep that night, but I technically slept, I think. That was especially tiring after an entire day of hiking in blazing heat. It was even worse for Tane and Curtis who were with me and had just gotten off a plane the same morning!

Spending the Night Under the Stars on the Great Wall

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-06-07 01:40:58
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time30
• Aperture
• ISO400
• Focal Length
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias