As a little study like project I love mixing together different levels of detail and smoothness in a photo. I think it’s important to have a series of transitions. This one has many transitions, jumping from smooth dull colors to riotous textured colors to bright smooth areas to dull-colored highly textured areas. It’s a fun way to process a photo because it comes out a little different every time, and I’m not ever sure I could re-create this.

Colors and Lines in Venice

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2016-02-08 16:53:17
• CameraH5D
• Camera MakeHasselblad
• Exposure Time1.6
• Aperture11
• ISO100
• Focal Length38.0 mm
• Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Some nights the water comes up so high that St. Mark’s square starts to flood. While unfortunate, it’s actually mega awesome for photography! Rene and I would swing by this square every single night to see if there was a flood…

This is one of those situations where my shoes and socks are soaked while I am squatting down with my tripod. In order to get a good reflection shot in these situations, you have to get really low and close to the ground. I always watch people’s reactions to my strange positions. The muggles think I am crazy but I know when I may eye contact with another photographer because they give me a knowing nod.

Venice Sinking Into a Flood

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2015-05-03 04:58:29
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time2
• Aperture4
• ISO320
• Focal Length13.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-0.3

Here’s another one of the images from my 1000 Stories from 1000 Places NFT drop. It sold out in minutes, but they are now available to trade on OpenSea and X2Y2, etc so be sure to check them out.

I was in Venice for about a month, out taking photos every morning at sunrise all the way through the sunset. Then there was always lots of heavy Italian food and bridge-wine on the way home with my friends. I’m not quite sure how I survived it or how I got up at every sunrise. I’m a trooper! But I guess we don’t want to miss any sunrises like this, do we?

I also made a video with this same scene in a meditative Alan Watts video that went viral and got over a million views. It’s one of my favorite videos I have ever made and I hope you enjoy it too. I actually made two Alan Watts videos and you can enjoy them if you jump on YouTube and search for “Trey Ratcliff Alan Watts.”

Ponte Dell ’Accademia at Sunrise

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2016-02-05 07:44:13
• CameraFC300X
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/400
• Aperture2.8
• ISO100
• Focal Length3.6 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramUnknown (58655)
• Exposure Bias

Venice has thousands of tiny alleys that twist this way and that, and before you know it, you end up in another square. This is the biggest square, San Marco, and there are about 7 exits to this square (as with most). Here’s my favorite of them all… as evening falls, this way is the most beautifully lit for another adventure in getting lost on purpose!

Leaving Saint Mark’s Square in Venice

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2015-05-05 02:31:44
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time30
• Aperture20
• ISO64
• Focal Length240.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

I probably stayed at least four weeks at the amazing Hotel O’lorogio in Venice. It’s a great place and the team there is amazing. Wow, what a fun time! Anyway, there was basically only one way back to the hotel, and it was over a small bridge that gave this view. One evening, I stopped to take my time and capture this scene.

Walking Home Again

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2016-01-27 19:16:18
• CameraH5D
• Camera MakeHasselblad
• Exposure Time8
• Aperture8
• ISO200
• Focal Length70.0 mm
• Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Every two years there is the Venice Biennale for arts. If you haven’t heard of it, I’ll attempt to explain it here.

It’s sort of like the Olympics for art. Each country sends one artist to decorate a room or home or villa or warehouse however they wish. Some countries do just paintings. others sculptures, others video with music, it’s just all over the place. And you sort of walk from one venue to the next to see what each country has offered into the mix.

This is Japan. They had this lovely room with old ships connected by one super-long red piece of yarn that interconnected throughout the space and were strung through 1,000 keys. The idea was that the sea and boats interconnect the world and hold the keys to connection.

Venice, Italy

The Keys That Bind Us All

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2015-05-11 23:54:35
• CameraDSC-RX100M3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/160
• Aperture1.8
• ISO320
• Focal Length8.8 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias-1

This shot was achieved during a rainstorm over a five minute period and after five glasses of wine. Manarola is one of a handful little towns that are nestled into the Italian coastline here in Cinque Terre.

Manarola, Italy
TreyRatcliff.com

under cover of darkness

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2017-05-02 19:35:25
• CameraX1D
• Camera MakeHasselblad
• Exposure Time16
• Aperture16
• ISO100
• Focal Length30.0 mm
• Flash
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

I’ve just bought myself a new drone, the Mavic Mini 3 Pro… in some ways it’s not as good as my existing drone however through an absolutely mad bit of engineering DJI have managed to keep the weight down to 249grams and its tiny size wise too. Still got 4k video, still got decent stills resolution and good range. So a really nice balance and something I can travel with far more easily! Looking forward to sharing content created with it. For now here’s a shot from the good old Phantom 3 Pro when I was in Venice.

New Toy

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2016-02-05 07:44:13
• CameraFC300X
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/400
• Aperture2.8
• ISO100
• Focal Length3.6 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramUnknown (58655)
• Exposure Bias

Here’s a view of Venice that you probably haven’t seen before. I grabbed this a number of years ago, back when the life of a quadcopter pilot was far simpler as far as rules and regulations go. Now, even though this was a reasonably straightforward flight with permission, it would probably not be approved. I heard it’s really tough to get any sort of flight approval ther enow. So, it was fortunate that I could get it done and that the universe threw in a nice sky as a bonus.

The Many Roofs of Venice

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2022-04-15 15:26:24
• CameraFC300X
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/13
• Aperture2.8
• ISO176
• Focal Length3.6 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramUnknown (58655)
• Exposure Bias

Next time you are in a big city, hunt down one of these small car tour things. They are great resources for doing some quick exploration if you’ve never been there before. I’ve done them now in a few places such as here in Rome and also in London (which used old Mini Coopers). Sure, it’s not the most luxurious ride you’ll ever have had but you always find out some great nuggets of info from the company running them and you get to find little places you’d not otherwise see.

Small Car Exploration

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2016-01-21 10:23:20
• CameraH5D
• Camera MakeHasselblad
• Exposure Time1/160
• Aperture5.6
• ISO100
• Focal Length35.0 mm
• Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias