I like to think I’m pretty good with my equipment and taking reasonable care of it. That the a7R III, for example, has lasted me 5+ years all over the globe, from the USA tour, to the Euro tour (as a backup), to Africa, Asia and most recently my Scottish adventure. You’ll note that I mention backup on the Euro tour. That’s because I’d decided back around that time to move to Hasselblad and their new X1D, as well as taking on an ambassadorial role with them. That’s not something I usually do for a brand but I liked the equipment after some time with the H5D and was interested to see how the support and relationship would be on a larger trip like our bus tour and photowalks from Portugal to Moscow (via loads of Europe). Anyway, on that very trip there was a “small” mishap with the X1D where I (and my team) left a train between Amsterdam and Rotterdam (i think) and well… the X1D continued onwards, alone, never to be seen again! Sorry Hasselblad!

As for the camera, soooo slow…. but that thing did take AWESOME images.

Note: I’m no longer a Hasselblad Ambassador. A mutual, uneventful end to the relationship when they decided to take their ambassador program in a different direction. I’m sure it was nothing to do with losing some of their high-end kit… probably.

The Hasselblad X1D Incident

Photo Information

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

I thought it’d be fun to go through what turned out to be my top content on social media for the year and that continues today. Mainly I’ll focus on Instagram but I’ll drop in a few others towards the end as when they get traction (e.g. Flickr) the stats go crazy. So, here’s number 6 in my most viewed posts of 2023… does that make them the BEST? Not so sure, but for whatever reason they connected with people, or the algorithm!

Number 6

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2017-05-02 18:30:40
• CameraFC6310
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/100
• Aperture4
• ISO100
• Focal Length8.8 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias

You are not really supposed to use your drone here, but I am also the kind of person that likes to break the rules if I don’t really feel like it’s that big of a deal. I know… that’s the mind of an artist. Also, what’s the downside? There is no prison in Cinque Terre! I think…

Over Manarola

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2017-05-02 18:30:40
• CameraFC6310
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/100
• Aperture4
• ISO100
• Focal Length8.8 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias

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

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

A few days ago, I shared an image from Cinque Terre, one of my favorites from there. Here’s a different angle, by drone, which shows more of the surrounding landscape which you don’t tend to see.

Further Back

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2017-05-02 16:13:52
• CameraFC6310
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/500
• Aperture5.6
• ISO100
• Focal Length8.8 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias

One of the absolute highlights of our tour in Europe was the day or so of down time that we had on the Italian coast. So much amazing wine, food and scenery… awesome, friendly people too. 🙂

When In Europe

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2017-05-02 18:30:40
• CameraFC6310
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/100
• Aperture4
• ISO100
• Focal Length8.8 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias

I’ve some cool projects in the works which have been a lot of fun to work on and some are nearing completion, so it’s time to start thinking about what comes next. Maybe it’s time for a new photography NFT drop… this image from Italy would definitely be in contention for that. (It’s also one of my favorite shots captured on the Hasselblad medium format.)

Thinking about the next drop

Photo Information

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

We stopped at an amazing restaurant here after our train ride into these amazing little towns along Cinque Terre. This was one of my favorite places, mostly because it was the most photogenic. Usually, after I order food, I get a bit restless and want to go out to take photos, especially in a place like this! So I headed out to launch the drone to try to get a bit of a unique view of this cool little town.

Manarola While Waiting on Pizza

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2020-07-08 14:04:12
• Camera
• Camera Make
• Exposure Time
• Aperture
• ISO
• Focal Length
• Flash
• Exposure Program
• Exposure Bias

Here’s one of the many photos I got with the quad while flying over Cinque Terre. It was an absolutely amazing place and I could definitely see myself living there. What could be better than an amazing coastline with Italian food every night?

Floating over Cinque Terre

Photo Information

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

We spent less than 24 hours here, but I did all I could to get as many regular and quad photos as possible. There are five little towns there in Cinque Terre, and this one was my favorite, Manarola. They had these colorful umbrellas all huddled together in the grey streets. It was pretty cloudy here, so the colors didn’t pop as much as they would in the sunlight, but I think it still looks pretty good. Sunlight may have even been overkill on the pop.

Over Manarola in Cinque Terre

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2017-05-02 18:32:27
• CameraFC6310
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/80
• Aperture4
• ISO100
• Focal Length8.8 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias