Beijing Archives - Page 3 of 25 - Stuck in Customs

The UNIQLO Store

Passport Sunday Edit Day

If you’re one of our awesome Passport Members then you’ll get a fun, quick, and easy tutorial that shows how I made today’s photo.

Uniqlo Processing

Today I do a pretty extreme treatment with a little overexposure trick at the end to make all the people feel a little more surreal. (Also, we’ve made a few changes to the site this week and a couple of people reported issues playing the last Passport video. If you are affected by this email [email protected] and he’ll sort you out with a link until we fix the prob. 🙂 )

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Daily Photo – The UNIQLO Store

One thing is for sure about Asian megacities: They really know how to make some cool-looking shopping areas. The lights always call for some sweet sweet night photography. Also, I am pretty much usually the only one out there taking photos. People must be wondering what the hell I am doing. They would come up and ask, but they are too polite. Also, they don’t speak the same language.

The UNIQLO Store

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2018-06-11 01:59:47
  • CameraILCE-7RM3
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/5
  • Aperture3.2
  • ISO320
  • Focal Length16.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

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Detail of the Bird’s Nest

Daily Photo – Detail of the Bird’s Nest

I don’t know if that is the official name of this building in Beijing, but that’s what everyone calls it. The building is actually incredibly cool and there are no bad photos of it. I’ve never been inside, but I reckon it’s pretty amazing as well. It’s too bad this place is so far from the old city, so you’re basically stuck in a car in traffic for at least an hour each way just to visit it.

Detail of the Bird’s Nest

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2018-06-11 00:07:05
  • CameraILCE-7RM3
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time0.4
  • Aperture5.6
  • ISO250
  • Focal Length20.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

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Random Walk Around Beijing

Daily Photo – Random Walk Around Beijing

When I got to Beijing a day early, I decided just to get lost and walk around randomly. It’s incredibly safe there, so there was no danger except for a few crazy drivers and wild people on bicycles. It’s one of my favorite places to take street photos, so that’s what I got up to most of the time. Here’s one of the first ones I found… it was a great idea to get lost, but then I actually DID get lost and I could not find my back to the hotel… that made for quite a bit of confusion.

Random Walk Around Beijing

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2018-06-05 21:20:10
  • CameraILCE-7RM3
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/400
  • Aperture4
  • ISO400
  • Focal Length24.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

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Old Woman at the Summer Palace

Daily Photo – Old Woman at the Summer Palace

When I went on the “around the world” trip with my family a few years ago, our first stop was in Beijing. Besides the Great Wall, we also visited the Summer Palace. It’s a sprawling layout that is serene and beautiful, as opposed to the rest of a rather dreary Beijing. A lot of old people come here to walk around and get their exercise. This gal was not really doing a lot of that…

Old Woman at the Summer Palace

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2020-07-08 14:04:13
  • Camera
  • Camera Make
  • Exposure Time
  • Aperture
  • ISO
  • Focal Length
  • Flash
  • Exposure Program
  • Exposure Bias

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Happy Cowboy in Beijing

Daily Photo – Happy Cowboy in Beijing

When I took the family to see the Summer Palace, we saw all sorts of characters. But this was my first time ever see some dude wearing a cowboy hat and a poncho. I don’t even know where you could buy these things in the city. I wish I spoke Mandarin to find out where he got this getup! 🙂

Happy Cowboy in Beijing

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2020-07-08 14:05:37
  • Camera
  • Camera Make
  • Exposure Time
  • Aperture
  • ISO
  • Focal Length
  • Flash
  • Exposure Program
  • Exposure Bias

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Weddings in China

Funny Comedian

I thought I knew all Mitch’s work, but this new one just surfaced!

Daily Photo – Weddings in China

I found a place in the Forbidden City that had about 20 brides there, all competing with their photography team for the best spots. It was quite a funny scene. They were extremely aggressive. A lot of Chinese people are really only looking out for themselves and want to make sure they have the best shots. It’s all kinda weird. One thing that is cool, however, is the Chinese wedding dresses. They are all completely different and most are wildly colorful like this one.

Weddings in China

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-05-25 18:30:16
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/4000
  • Aperture
  • ISO320
  • Focal Length
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

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Kindergarden in Beijing

Daily Photo – Kindergarden in Beijing

I was randomly walking around when I saw this teacher walk out of the classroom with her students. They were having a big party day. You can tell, because the teacher is wearing her party hat.

Kindergarden in Beijing

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2014-05-31 15:30:54
  • CameraILCE-7R
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/5000
  • Aperture
  • ISO800
  • Focal Length
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramShutter speed priority AE
  • Exposure Bias+0.7

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The China Galaxy

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.

Beautiful Shapes In Beijing

Evening at the Summer PalaceI didn't make it to the Summer Palace until my final evening in Beijing, and I was graced with a delicate sunset.This place is also called the "Gardens of Nurtured Harmony" and it rests on top of "Longevity Hill", a very Chinese-folk-sounding name.  What is kind of interesting is that this entire area was manmade, and the huge hill was built out of dirt when they excavated the man-made lake!It is a truly beautiful place, as you can plainly see.  I could not have asked for a better place to explore on my last night in China.- Trey RatcliffRead more (and check out a new TWIT Photo Webcast) here at the Stuck in Customs blog.

The Resting Egg National Centre for the Performing Arts in China is one of the easiest AND most challenging things to photograph. This is an interesting duality, I think. Obviously, it’s a beautiful structure, and it’s easy to access and circumnavigate, but that is not the “easy” that I mean. I suppose it’s easy because it’s hard to take a bad picture of the the structure. The challenging bit is doing something very interesting. And that comes with the use of light and composition. I have hundreds of photos of this thing — and the challenging part to me is picking “the most interesting” — it’s a fun task that never gets old!- Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.

Farming in Deep Southern China

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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China Wander

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!


Power Boxes In China

Girl Outside RestaurantI normally don't re-process photos. Most of you may know this about me. But, I went over to have a little session with Jaime Ibarra (at the same time I talked him into writing an eBook for us!), and I took a few photos with me to work on. This is one of them. He has a very interesting technique, and I thought this would be a good candidate.I found this girl sitting outside of a restaurant. There's a dead time around 3 to 4 PM... to late for lunch and too early for dinner. I suppose she worked in the restaurant and was just taking a break...- Trey RatcliffRead more here at the Stuck in Customs blog.

A Child in a New Hutong

Little Girl Eating Rice near Yangshao

Clowning Around In Beijing

Waiting For The Bus In Beijing

Girl in Park in Beijing I was walking around a park in Beijing -- and it was quite unusual.  It was a city park, but it had all sorts of rides like Disneyworld.  Except, it wasn't really very good.  It was quite dated and everything was spread out all over the place.  To get from one attraction to the other, you had to walk for almost a mile along lonely pathways.There would be occasional clusters of people here and there, mysteriously milling about.  Inside one of the clusters was this girl, so I grabbed a quick shot with my 50mm lens on the D3s. - Trey RatcliffClick here to read the rest at the Stuck in Customs blog.

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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Laura Troy in Beijing at the Water Cube

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

  • 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

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