New Zealand – Stuck in Customs
23
Apr 2019 : Tuesday
filed under  Arrowtown, Camera Gear, New Zealand, Sony A7R 3, The Hills, Travel

The Hills

Africa and India Workshops

We’re loosely planning a workshop for India! Stay tuned to our workshops page to see what we have in store for you! 🙂

Daily Photo – The Hills

There are about a dozen perfect little ponds around The Hills golf course. Most of the time, they have perfect reflections as well. Michael Hill has been trying to talk me into making a full set of photos for the golf course, but I’ve been pretty busy lately. Maybe I’ll get around to it… it’s not a terrible idea!

The Hills

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2018-05-03 16:35:46
  • CameraILCE-7RM3
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/400
  • Aperture7.1
  • ISO250
  • Focal Length32.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
15
Apr 2019 : Monday
filed under  Camera Gear, Mavic Pro, New Zealand, Quadcopters, Travel

Lupin Party!

Working on a sequel!

I’m excited to be working on a new project. It’s really quite tough and takes a ton of time. Anyway, this is the first “test” version I did a little over a year ago…

Daily Photo – Lupin Party!

These are my favorite sort of pest. Kiwis definitely call anything not from New Zealand a “pest,” probably including even me. There’s an area between Lindis Pass and Tekapo where you see millions of these off the side of the road. This looks like a “normal” landscape but it is actually a quadcopter panorama!

Lupin Party!

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2018-12-21 12:55:04
  • CameraFC2204
  • Camera MakeDJI
  • Exposure Time1/400
  • Aperture3.8
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length8.6 mm
  • FlashNo Flash
  • Exposure ProgramProgram AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
9
Apr 2019 : Tuesday
filed under  Arrowtown, New Zealand, The Hills, Travel

Dave Gent in a Field

Sleeping Pills

I’ve had a tough time getting to sleep in the last 6 months. That’s strange for me because I’m usually a great sleeper. I was able to assume the supine position and sleep inside of a few minutes before. Anyway, my doctor gave me these amazing pills that are like elephant tranquilizers. I only have 20 of them, so I’m trying to use one once every four days so I get a solid 8 hours to ctrl-alt-delete my body.

Daily Photo – Dave Gent in a Field

This is one of the newest sculptures at The Hills. This is kind of a decent photo, but it really fails to capture the scale of the piece. It’s huge! I think I’m gonna go back and take my daughter Scarlett for scale. I’ll have her sit on the shoe or something. Maybe I’ll have her hold a purse… I’m not sure. My mom said it looked like my friend Dave Gent; I didn’t have the heart to tell him that. Yes, they are both old men, but this guy looks a bit more grizzled than the smooth Arrowtown Silver Fox. Maybe I’ll have Dave Gent sit on the foot and hold a purse.

Dave Gent in a Field

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2019-01-03 20:56:27
  • CameraILCE-7RM3
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time5
  • Aperture10
  • ISO125
  • Focal Length24.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
5
Apr 2019 : Friday
filed under  Burning Man, Lake Pukaki, Lake Tekapo, New Zealand, Travel

A Drive to Tekapo

“Mountains” by Hans Zimmer

I had the most amazing acid experience while listening to this song!

It was at Burning Man, and me, Rene, and Jonatas had all ended up in our RV. We were all on acid (of course). Anyway, we were listening to some of the craziest music from Jonatas’ Brazilian playlist and we were laughing SO HARD. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much. They went to sleep, but I was still pretty wired, so I decided to put on some Hans Zimmer. This song “Mountains” from Interstellar came up and started to play… whoa did it ever take me to another place.

Daily Photo – A Drive to Tekapo

It was a super moody and stormy day on my drive to Tekapo. I could see there was a big storm a-brewin’ ahead of me but it was still sunny where I was standing. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to stop here near Mount Cook and get a view from the quad of this rather amazing water on Lake Pukaki. Yes, that’s the real color!

A Drive to Tekapo

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2018-12-20 17:37:03
  • CameraFC2204
  • Camera MakeDJI
  • Exposure Time1/800
  • Aperture3.8
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length8.6 mm
  • FlashNo Flash
  • Exposure ProgramProgram AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
2
Apr 2019 : Tuesday
filed under  Camera Gear, New Zealand, Sony A7R 3, Travel, Tutorials, Wanaka

Free Camping in New Zealand

Intro to Photography Video

Today’s photo was one of the locations where we shot for the Newest Photography Tutorial! Here’s a preview of it!

Daily Photo – Free Camping in New Zealand

This is a cool hut we found on a mountain in Wanaka. I think it’s called the Bob Lee Hut. We were up here shooting a segment for the video you see above… one amazing thing about NZ is that there are about 1,000 of these huts scattered all over New Zealand and they’re all free or at least a very low price! I think this one was $30. Yeah, people just bring their own sleeping back and snacks and camp out inside. I think this one slept about 12, but there were only three of us this night. Everyone is also very good at cleaning up after themselves… I’ve never seen a mess left behind.

Free Camping in New Zealand

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2018-03-05 22:25:26
  • CameraILCE-7RM3
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time25
  • Aperture
  • ISO200
  • Focal Length
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
31
Mar 2019 : Sunday
filed under  360, Camera Gear, Dusky Sound, Insta360 One, Moscow, New Zealand, Passport, Russia, Sony A7R 2, Travel

Afternoon Walk in Moscow

Russia Highlight Video

Below is the highlight video from our photo walk in Moscow… it was a great way to end the event. If you look closely, there were two undercover marines following me for protection.

A Week in Dusky Sound

Here’s a fun video that shows a boat I was living on for about a week with some friends down in the fjordlands of New Zealand. What a great time we all had! I also recommend this a fun guy trip to anyone. I think everyone pitched in around $800 bucks or so. You get a captain and a chef and basically an unlimited week of freedom!

Exclusive content for Passport members

Unlock Now

Daily Photo – Afternoon Walk in Moscow

We were all pretty tired by the time we made it to the last stop in our 10-country tour of Europe a few years ago. But there’s something about being a new city that gives me a little boost of energy! So I tried to use every possible calorie left in my body to see as much as I could… this is the view from one of the bridges as you approach the Red Square.

Afternoon Walk in Moscow

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2017-06-03 11:56:44
  • CameraILCE-7RM2
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/1250
  • Aperture4.5
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length44.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
30
Mar 2019 : Saturday
filed under  Camera Gear, New Zealand, Sony A7R 2, Travel

The Nunatak

Train Journeys

I don’t really make New Years Resolutions because if I decide to make a change in my life, I go ahead and make it immediately. But, I do try to set aside generalized goals for the next twelve months. One of them was to have more long train journeys. I did a few in Japan in a few weeks ago, but I want to do more where I actually live on the train. So far, I’ve scheduled zero of them. Maybe that’s a good thing for me to spend a few hours on this afternoon.

Daily Photo – The Nunatak

Now here’s a word you may not know: nunatak. I sure didn’t know it until a few years ago, even though I briefly had a double-major in geophysics. I was at a retreat at Aro-Ha in Glenorchy and one of my fellow retreaters was a geologist. Each day, we would go on long hikes, and he told me about this word. Even though that looks like a perfect pyramid, almost volcanic in shape, it’s actually formed when two glaciers come together and carve out that particular shape. It’s one of many forms of a nunatak and the only Greenlandic word I know.

The Nunatak

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2016-10-20 02:24:37
  • CameraILCE-7RM2
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/2500
  • Aperture3.5
  • ISO200
  • Focal Length24.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-1.3

Comments
25
Mar 2019 : Monday
filed under  Arrowtown, Camera Gear, New Zealand, Sony A7R 3, Travel

The Par 3 Course at The Hills

Our New Zealand Workshop Begins Soon!

You may have missed this one, but we just put up another one on our workshops page for next year! I hope you can make it. New Zealand is beautiful every season of the year, but I think the most photogenic is in Autumn. BTW, Autumn down thisaway is in April… that kind of messes with your brain a little, I know!

Daily Photo – The Par 3 Course at The Hills

Here’s a shot of the new par 3 golf course at The Hills here in Arrowtown, New Zealand. I don’t think it’s officially open yet, but I do have some friends that have played it to test it out. I gotta get back out there… work on my golf game and work on my photo game!

The Par 3 Course at The Hills

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2017-01-12 09:29:33
  • CameraILCE-7RM3
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time1/400
  • Aperture7.1
  • ISO160
  • Focal Length32.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias-0.3

Comments
24
Mar 2019 : Sunday
filed under  Camera Gear, Fine Art, New Zealand, Passport, Sony A7R 3, Travel, Tutorials

In Sir Michael Hill’s Home

Passport Sunday Fun

If you’re a Passport Member, you’ll see a little video on how I make these photos below. It’s a simple trick. Well, kinda simple. And, this trick doesn’t always work, so I show a good workaround!

By the way, if you want to know more about the Fine Art series, visit www.TreyRatcliff.com.

Some of these photos below are newly printed and on display in downtown Queenstown at SLOW. Stop by and have a look!


Copyright Trey Ratcliff www.StuckInCustoms.com

Copyright Trey Ratcliff www.StuckInCustoms.com

Copyright Trey Ratcliff www.StuckInCustoms.com

Copyright Trey Ratcliff www.StuckInCustoms.com

Copyright Trey Ratcliff www.StuckInCustoms.com

Copyright Trey Ratcliff www.StuckInCustoms.com

Taking photos of photos

I don’t get a chance to see all my art hangings, but whenever I do, I often set up to take a photo of the photo. I think it’s interesting to share how people place these in their living or working areas. They read much differently when they are huge in large format. For some reason, even though I think I am above a mediocre photographer, I can never quite capture a photo of the photo, so I need to do a little photoshop action to recreate the scene!

Exclusive content for Passport members

Unlock Now

Daily Photo – In Sir Michael Hill’s Home

And here’s one of my favorite photos (now sold out) hanging in Sir Michael Hill’s home.

In Sir Michael Hill’s Home

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2018-08-18 11:44:18
  • CameraILCE-7RM3
  • Camera MakeSony
  • Exposure Time4
  • Aperture16
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length12.0 mm
  • FlashOff, Did not fire
  • Exposure ProgramManual
  • Exposure Bias

Comments
23
Mar 2019 : Saturday
filed under  Camera Gear, Hasselblad H5D, New Zealand, Queenstown, Travel

First Shot with the Hasselblad H5D

Grammarly

I recommend getting this plugin for your browser! It’s saved me from making a ton of errors. I noticed recently that if you are trying to use it in Google Docs, I had to re-install it to get a popup and ask me if I wanted to join the beta test for checking Google Docs. My new book is over 360 pages, so it’s really melting down their servers!

Daily Photo – First Shot with the Hasselblad H5D

This is not a new photo, but it’s one I took about two or three years ago as soon as I got that Hasselblad. Nice, eh? I was still trying to figure out the camera, as the behavior was quite a bit different than my Sony. So I spent a day traveling around the South Island here in New Zealand to try using the camera in a lot of different conditions. I took this over near Jack’s Point in Queenstown.

First Shot with the Hasselblad H5D

Photo Information

  • Date Taken2015-12-21 01:19:48
  • CameraH5D
  • Camera MakeHasselblad
  • Exposure Time1/100
  • Aperture16
  • ISO100
  • Focal Length42.0 mm
  • Flash
  • Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
  • Exposure Bias

Comments

Newsletter Sign Up

The most beautiful newsletter ever!